Strengthening cooperation as a musical ensemble
Coming together to sing and gain intercultural experiences through it: that was the aim of a project week for staff from the European partner universities of the EUT+ Alliance, held at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da). A real ‘aha’ moment: how wonderful it is to sing songs together without understanding the language. Another insight: singing brings people together and fosters connections – something that can also be put to good use in a professional context.
10/21/2025
Yiannis Christidis stamps the syllables out on the floor with his right foot. “Mi-a fle-vi,” sings the tall Cypriot with the frizzy hair, slowly crooning the first line of the Greek chorus as he continues to stamp. “Fle-vi-tsa a-mar-to-li.” The others don’t understand a word, but try to sing along anyway. So far, it’s going rather poorly. There’s a lot of laughter and giggling. Even when the lead singer explains parts of his song in English in between. “It’s a funny love song.” The woman he adores turns out to be a vampire and bites him on the neck. “Very nice,” remarks one participant dryly. All laugh. Then they join in again: “Mi-a fle-vi”.
Coming together to sing, gaining intercultural experiences through it and breaking new ground: that was the aim of a project week for staff from h_da’s European partner universities, organised as part of the EUT+ (European University of Technology) consortium with a view to establishing a cross-border European university. “Multilingual & multicultural learning – that is how EUT+ sounds”, was the title of the week in Darmstadt, attended by 16 participants from partner universities in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Italy, France and the h_da; guests from Finland and Portugal were also present.
“Creative, inclusive and emotionally engaging”
“Building a shared identity across borders, languages and academic cultures requires new forms of collaboration – ones that are creative, inclusive and emotionally engaging,” explains Tanja Münch, Head of University Management and the initiator of the music project. Singing together in different languages is intended to break down barriers and build bridges. In this way, the project also supports “change management within the EUT+ Alliance by strengthening our staff’s ability to cooperate and their intercultural competence.”
In the music room of the h_da faculty of Social Work, it becomes apparent remarkably quickly – as early as the second day of the project week – how, despite all the language barriers, a harmonious ensemble is taking shape. Just half an hour after the first halting attempts to sing along in Greek, the colourful group stands together in a semicircle and sings through the first verse and the chorus with considerable fluency. The Greek lines sound lovely set to a universally simple melody; the song is already starting to take off a little, with some swaying to the beat, stepping from their left foot to their right. “Very nice,” praises choir director Jan Hansen, who otherwise teaches on the Information Law study programme at h_da. “It gets a bit better every time; it’s a process.”
A European-style singing group: staff from partner universities in the EUT+ network – from Cyprus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Italy, France and the h_da – are rehearsing with guests from Finland and Portugal to harmonise their voices. All photos: h_da / Samira Schulz
Picking up his guitar: Yiannis Christidis from Cyprus teaches the others a song in Greek.
Singing without understanding the lyrics is both challenging and amusing.
Pens are constantly being pulled out to add notes to other people’s lines of text.
There’s plenty of laughter too – and it sounds the same in all languages.
The initiator of the music project, who also sings along: Tanja Münch, Head of University Management at h_da.
“Very nice,” says choir director Jan Hansen, who otherwise teaches on the Information Law study programme at h_da.
Coming together and growing closer: the members of the EUT+ University Choir with their founder, Tanja Münch.
Rehearsing several songs in foreign languages is a new experience even for the 63-year-old choir director. “But it’s going better than I thought.” Project leader Münch, who sings along throughout, agrees. “The group has gelled really quickly.” A dynamic emerged early on that she hadn’t experienced in this way on other projects. She believes this is down to the power of music and singing together. And she emphasises: “It’s a means to an end.” Because the cultural exchange involved is an important prerequisite for working well together. The project’s approach is deliberately low-threshold, designed to create a welcoming space for interaction and exchange amongst staff at the partner universities. “In projects, we often focus on a specialist topic, which is usually very intellectually driven,” she notes. Singing, however, is something emotional and unifying. “The language of music is international.”
“Learning how people from other countries approach things”
This effect is also described by the participants, who are conversing in English. “My very first introduction to the English language came through music,” says Rosella Tinaburri from the language centre at the University of Cassino in Italy. She explains that she used to really like the U2 song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and wanted to learn the language. Now, during the week at h_da, the Italian is working on songs from France, Bulgaria and Germany, each suggested by the participants. “It’s not just about language,” she says. “We learn how people from other countries approach things.” She believes this has great potential, including for work. Olga Malinkova from the International Office at the University of Technology of Troyes in France feels the same way. “It’s an opportunity to work together and forge a common path, even when we’re different.”
Die Befassung mit kulturellen Eigenheiten steht dabei mit auf dem Programm. Nachdem die Gruppe fünf Songs einstudiert und dann gemeinsam mit Studenten des projektbegleitenden Studiengangs „Sound, Music and Production“ am h_da-Mediencampus aufgenommen hat, nimmt sie am letzten Tag die Lieder im Hinblick auf Klischees nochmal genauer unter die Lupe. „Clichés“, steht als Überschrift auf dem Whiteboard in einem Seminarraum im Studierendenhaus. Darunter haben sie Eindrücke zusammengetragen. Die italienische Mitsinghymne „Volare“ übermittelt demnach ein Gefühl von Liebe und Freiheit oder das deutsche Traditionslied „Hejo, spann den Wagen an“ lässt wegen seiner Rhythmik an arbeitende Menschen denken.
Insights from ‘Volare’ and ‘Hejo, spann den Wagen an’
But where does this impression come from, and what lies behind these songs? Participants will gain some interesting insights into this during a concluding session with musicologist Silke Loettel-Forderer. According to her, the song ‘Volare’ was released in 1958 against the backdrop of the spirit of optimism following the war and celebrates not only freedom but also a joyful sense of eroticism. “I’m Italian myself and there were some things I didn’t know,” says Alessandra d’Aquino Hilt, who is taking part as head of the h_da language centre, expressing her surprise. And on closer examination of the German folk song “Hejo, spann den Wagen an”, the group learnt that it originated from the English folk song “Hey ho, nobody home” and was sung as a plea by people begging at doors. In Germany, however, the solemn piece was adapted as a children’s song and a harvest song, and since the 1970s, with new lyrics, it has become a protest song (“Wehrt euch, leistet Widerstand” – “Fight back, put up resistance”).
“Don’t judge things right from the start; give them a bit of patience and time.” This is the insight Markos Souropetsis takes away from this session and from the whole week. For him, it was “a brilliant experience”, as he sums it up. It has brought new ideas, new friends and perhaps even new collaborations. And this can also be applied to the broader context of intercultural understanding. “I have to be open-minded to understand others,” points out Alessandra d’Aquino Hilt, a linguist by training. The aim of the week is for participants to take away a few different insights about the countries. And reflecting on how others perceive them and how they perceive their own country fosters self-confidence.
Tanja Münch is certain that the approach of singing has played a key role in this. “When you sing together, you’re one body.” This lays a different foundation for encounters and exchange, and promotes understanding – even if you don’t speak the language at all. “It’s challenging and great fun at the same time,” says the passionate choir singer. And it fosters a spontaneity and willingness to compromise that can also be valuable in work processes. The project leader is convinced: “What we’re doing here isn’t just needed in EUT+; we need it across Europe.” She would therefore like to build on this and continue to bring cooperation partners together through song.
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Exploring cultural idiosyncrasies is also part of the programme. After the group has rehearsed five songs and then recorded them together with students from the ‘Sound, Music and Production BA’ study programme – which runs alongside the project – at the h_da Media Campus, they take a closer look at the songs on the final day, focusing on clichés. ‘Clichés’ is the heading on the whiteboard in a seminar room in the Studierendenhaus. Beneath it, they have jotted down their impressions. According to these, the Italian sing-along anthem ‘Volare’ conveys a feeling of love and freedom, whilst the traditional German song ‘Hejo, spann den Wagen an’ brings to mind working people because of its rhythm.