Musical talents

A small village for small, big musical stars

Kids of all ages learn to dance, sing and act at the "Kulturreif" musical school.

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

The small village of Mahrersdorf near Ternitz has 196 inhabitants and 170 pupils attend the popular "Kulturreif" musical school run by Roland and Birgit Scheibenreif every week. And the number is growing all the time. It all started in their own living room with singing lessons for five children. 

Since 2012, they have been running a professional musical school in their purpose-built house in Roland's idyllic home town. The great thing about "Kulturreif" is that every child - no matter how talented and no matter how old - can take part. Rehearsals - singing, dancing and acting - take place throughout the year, as performances are regularly scheduled. For example, the third part of the self-written musical "Winter Sleep at Christmas Time" will be performed at Christmas.

"We always try to incorporate valuable educational themes such as friendship and envy into our plays," says Roland. During the year, other musical productions are also regularly on the program, where it can happen that the young talents share the stage with well-known stars such as Lukas Perman or Ramesh Nair. 

The married couple Birgit and Roland Scheibenreif rehearse daily with children of all ages for the musical stage. If you would like to take part, you can find out more at www.kulturreif.at

(Bild: Doris_SEEBACHER)

The couple have turned their hobbies into a profession. "I sing always and everywhere," says Birgit, a trained musical performer. She met her Roland, a musician and music school teacher, on stage - at a performance in the Ternitz town hall, where he was playing the drums. Together they soon developed the idea of a musical school for children, which was put into practice in 2012.

They also have some successes to report. In 2015, they reached the semi-finals of the "Big Chance of Choirs". And Anna Rosa Döller from Ternitz, who shone on stage this year as the leading actress in "My Fair Lady" in Mörbisch, made her first attempts at singing and dancing with the Scheibenreifs in Mahrersdorf.