Videos go viral

Job gone, EM star! The hype surrounding the saxophone man

André Schnura warms up the fans with his saxophone.

(Bild: APA/AFP/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)

If you're on social media during the European Championships, you can't miss Andre Schnura's videos: the German saxophonist has become the secret hero of the European Championships. He lost his job in the first week of the tournament, as he told his followers ...

"Auf uns", "Zeit, dass sich was dreht", "Major Tom", "Freed from Desire" or "Samba": saxophonist Andre Schnura can do them all! A veritable EM hype has broken out around the 30-year-old. His videos, in which he plays numerous hits on his wind instrument in the middle of the fan miles, are going through the roof online. New clips go online almost daily, some of which generate millions of views. Andre Schnura's TikTok account alone currently has 665,000 followers, while his Instagram channel has 464,000 subscribers - and counting!

Job lost
But there is also a sad story behind the hype. "I'm completely overwhelmed and infinitely grateful for what's happening right now. This week has been so up and down - I was made redundant at the music school where I taught for 6 years at the beginning of the week due to a new TVöD regulation (German regulation in the collective agreement for the public sector, editor's note) and was already wondering how I should continue now," Schnura writes on Instagram.

Donations for sick children
The musician explains that the black saxophone he uses in his performances is his own brand. He launched it with his best friend. "To give something back, we have decided that from now on we will donate €150 for every saxophone sold through our store for the rest of this year," writes Schnura, who wants to give the money to the Toni Kroos Foundation to "help seriously ill children."

A great campaign that his followers also honor. "Our most valuable player doesn't wear soccer boots but a saxophone," commented one user on Instagram.

Tour planned
And Schnura already has big plans after the European Championship. The hype surrounding his person certainly opens up new opportunities for him. He wants to go on tour this year.

Schnura explains: "I want to carry this mood beyond the European Championships and I've just said fuck it and put all my eggs in one basket. My team and I have put together my first own tour in the last few days." Here, too, five euros will automatically be donated from every ticket. "It's all totally new to me and I can't estimate whether anyone will come at all. But there's no certainty in life anyway, so I just went all in."