DHL, the official logistics partner of the Gewandhausorchester since 2009, will be the presenting partner of the orchestra's next concert tour through 10 European cities. From February 8 to February 22, DHL will take care of the tour's logistics planning and the safe transportation of the valuable instruments. DHL will accompany the ensemble for the full duration of the tour, which includes 12 concerts in total. The tour kicked off on February 8 with the first concert in Brussels, followed by Luxemburg, Madrid, Freiburg, Turin, Milan, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart and Dortmund.

"We are very happy that DHL has been a reliable partner for ten years, managing the logistics planning and execution of our concert tours and enabling us to fully focus on our music. We look forward to the tour and cannot wait to bring Mendelssohn, Mahler, Rachmaninoff and Tschaikowski to the music lovers in Europe," said the orchestra's director Andreas Schulz. He added, "Social responsibility plays an important role for us and we are excited that we can leverage DPDHL's partnership with Teach First Deutschland to give back to the community we live in."

Partnership with the non-profit organization Teach First Deutschland

On February 19 in Cologne, the musicians have a special event planned. As part of Deutsche Post DHL's longstanding partnership with the non-profit organization Teach First Deutschland advocating greater educational equity, the artists will conduct an unconventional music class for over 20 fifth and seventh graders that are part of their school's brass ensembles. For the pupils, the afternoon will start with a guided tour through the philharmonic concert hall of Cologne, after which they will get some first-hand insight into the work and the beauty of being a member in an orchestra. The local schools "Dreikönigsgymnasium Köln" and "Joseph-Beuys-Gesamtschule Düsseldorf" are partner with Teach First Deutschland, an organization which supports pupils by providing Fellows, outstanding university graduates from all disciplines, who commit for two years to drive change and help children reach their future goals.

"A child's socio-economic background continues to be a major factor in determining whether he or she succeeds in school and has access to career opportunities. This applies not only to lesser developed countries but for any society worldwide," says Christof Ehrhart, Executive Vice President Corporate Communications and Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL. "We have been a main supporter of Teach First Deutschland from the very first moment, and I am now particularly pleased that we can combine both our social commitment as well as our logistics support for one of the best performing orchestras worldwide. The meeting of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and pupils from TFD partner schools in Cologne and Düsseldorf will add to our overall aim to support these kids in their personal development as well as in their schooling."

DHL has been the Official Partner of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester since 2009. The collaboration with the world-famous orchestra first began in 2005. Today the partnership includes the logistic planning of the orchestra's tours, transport of sensitive musical instruments and other essential equipment including music stands, stools, the conductor's rostrum and wardrobe on concert tours across Europe, Asia and North America. After last year's U.S. tour, this is the second occasion on which the symphony orchestra, DHL and a partner of the Teach For All network have collaborate to improve educational opportunity and employability of young people.

Teach First Deutschland is a non-profit organization launched in 2009. The idea behind the concept is to recruit and train young academics, called Fellows, from all disciplines to teach for two years at schools located in socially troubled areas throughout Germany. Within the partnership, DPDHL supports both Fellows and pupils with opportunities such as mentoring programs or trainings that help further their personal and professional development. In 2014, around 180 employees devoted their time to our partnership with Teach First Deutschland in more than 30 support activities.

February 8, Brussels, February 9, Luxemburg, February 11-12, Madrid, February 14, Freiburg, February 15, Turin, February 16, Milan, February 17, Munich, February 19, Cologne, February 20, Stuttgart, February 21-22, Dortmund.

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