From Volksmusik contests to Eurovision, Benjamin Grund started his career as a choir member and now he wants to touch all Europe with his amazing tenor's voice. He talked to JanelaESC about his experience and about his attempt to represent Switzerland in Malmö. Check it out:1 - You started at a really young age to sing in Tölzer Knabenchor, a traditional choir in Germany. How did you find out your talent to become a singer?
When I was a very young boy, I think it was in the age of six years, my grandmother Ilse heard that I was singing every time... At first, children songs, later songs which I heared at the radio. She said to my mother: " I think than Benjamin is very talented to sing"... She called the Tölzer Knabenchor, a famous boys choir in germany, and after a short while I got an audition there. They accepted me and now I was in the Tölzer Knabenchor. Here I learned to sing with notes and learned to read them. After half a year in this choir the conductor said, that I have the talent to be a solist in soprano and I learned the " Zauberflöte" of Mozart and was singing one of the " three boys" in this opera. Two years later I want to change to another famous boys choir with school (internat), the "Regensburger Domspatzen", conducted of Georg Ratzinger, the brother of pope Benedict XVI.
2 - Singing in a choir is different from singing on your own, because there are a lot of voices, with different types, singing different notes. How did you get used to this, specially being that young? When did you stand out to become a solist?
The most different thing between solist and choir is, that as a soloist you everytime have to sing with full voice and you stand alone. In a choir you have to hear to your neighbors and to the other voices and you should not hear out of the harmonic sound of all voices. So you have to hear and to feel the other voices to get a perfect sound of choir.
My grandfather Bert Grund, a conductor and composer of film music in Germany said as I was young: "there is no wrong and no better music, but you have to do a good sound", so I never had a problem with german folk music. But I have to say, that the famous Oktoberfest "umb-umba music" is not my style. I prefer love ballades... no matter if in german or english language. We were always singing folk music even in the boys choir, so I had never a problem with it, and today in the evening (October 6th), I am also in the german ARD channel at 20:15 and sing the song " Es waren zwei Königskinder", a very old german song.
4 - An interesting fact about you: you were solist at Phillip Lahm's wedding! How did he invite you and how was the ceremony? Did he and his wife-to-be choose the repertoire; what did you sing there?
The wedding of Philipp Lahm was a great ceremony. He heard me in a christmas concert in Munich and after then, we are standing outside, drinking Glühwein and he and his wife asked me, where I am singing during the year. I said by the way, that I am singing sometimes at the television, in concerts or wedding-engagements... Then he said: "Oh wedding??, This could be interesting for me in the next time" - and he was smiling... I gave him my business card and his manager contacted me. I was singing "You raise me up" and So nimm denn meine Hände" in the church ceremony. It was a great day for me, and I hope for him and his wife also, and I will never forget it.
My new song " My heart wants to fly" is my first song in english language. I had the idea to try out, if I have any chances to make a new kind of music next to the folk songs and the first parts of this song existed while I was going out with my dog... Then I was calling Hermann Weindorf and we met together. He wrote the arrangement and the choir lines and I produced the song within one week with him... I hope that the people like this lyric ballade.
6 - Francine Jordi was the winner of Grand Prix der Volksmusik in 1998 and, years after, she represented Switzerland in Eurovision Song Contest. Do you think 2013 is your turn? What would you do if you were selected?
I know Francine Jordi from some television shows in ZDF channel where we both were with a song. I like her voice very much and she is very talented. The song " dans le jardin de mon ame" was really great. I don´t know if my song is similar good, this have to decide the audiance and the jury. But, of course, I hope that I have a little chance to come in the pre-show. If I was selected, I would be unbelievable glad. It is one of the biggest wishes I have, to represent Switzerland in the ESC.
JanelaESC wishes Benjamin Grund all the best in his career and in his attempt to represent Switzerland.
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