Carmen Hein: From the turn to funeral music - a life for music!

Carmen Hein: From the turn to funeral music - a life for music!

When you talk to Carmen Hein, you immediately feel the passion that swings in your voice. The 69-year-old musician looks back on a life full of music and creativity, which was often characterized by challenges. Born in the GDR and grew up in various children's homes, she had to overcome many hurdles. Her mother was "torn out of her hands", but despite these difficult circumstances, her childhood remained happy. The music, especially the harmonica, played a central role in her life.

Inspirational encounters contributed to Carmen Hein started her musical journey. A cleaner in the children's home that was able to play perfectly piano aroused her the desire to learn an instrument himself. So she taught herself to play the piano and started her career in a fanfare train, where she appeared in rhythms despite winter cold.

a way through the turn

After the founding of the "Group Medicus" dance chapel, an interesting combination of medical profession and music career emerged for Carmen. The group appeared on Saturday night while working in the laboratory during the day. After training as a dance and entertainment musician in 1982, she finally became a professional musician and began working in the concert and guest performance directorate (KGD).

However, the turn and new challenges came with it. After the reunification, she initially only received cancellations of what she fell into a professional crisis. In the meantime, Carmen worked as a cleaner until a friend gave her the opportunity to play funeral music, which she initially found it "terrible". Nevertheless, she developed in this subject and now plays with passion for "Mecklenburg-Brandenburg burials". One of her first funerals in Woldegk was characterized by great excitement, but today she brings comfort and accompaniment with her music.

music as an elixir of life

The 1980s were a time of upheaval in the GDR, shaped by the attempt by the SED state to keep control of popular music, while the youth found creative ways to enjoy and spread western and non-state-compliant music reports the GDR-Museum . Carmen Hein has experienced these upheavals up close. Despite the repression, many young people, including them, found access to music that did not meet the strict requirements of the state.

music was a central part of its identity and connection to society, even if identification with the state became less and less. Many young people felt alienated by the system at the end of the 1980s. Carmen shaped this atmosphere and influenced her musical career, so that she is still active in the music scene, almost 70 years old, and sees her talent as a diverse enrichment for the community.

gratefully, Carmen looks back on her life and appreciates the support she was able to learn from people and institutions. Your musical journey is an excellent example of how you can follow your dreams even in difficult times with courage and passion.