🇨🇦 YODEL CLUB HEIMATTREU FOUNDED IN 1976
🇨🇭JODLERKLUB HEIMATTREU, CALGARY KANADA GEGRÜNDET 1976
Seven enthusiastic Swiss immigrants - Arnold Rutzer, Arthur Bachmann, Ruedi Peterer, Klaus Zahnd, Fritz Wagner, Hans Bossert and Peter Stapfer - founded the Yodel Club Heimattreu in the kitchen of Arnold Rutzer in Calgary, Canada back in the fall of 1976.
Love of singing, fuelled by a small dose of home sickness, and the need to create a bit of Switzerland in the Canadian West, were, I am sure, powerful motivators.
None of the founders, ranging in age from 25 to 50 years old, even thought about the profound impact this simple gathering would have on them and toso many others that would join over the years.
Only two of the founders had a good knowledge of music and could read music, not that we had song sheets to read. So, we learned by listening to tapes and records, which presented some challenges in getting the second tenor and first and second bass voices isolated. But it was fun, and we started with songs we knew from the military service as none of us had sung in a choir before!
Sadly, both Arnold Rutzer and Arthur Bachmann are no longer with us.
The aim then, as it is now, was to: “Preserve, practice and perform authentic and traditional Swiss Traditions, like Yodeling, Alphorn and Flag throwing and uphold Swiss culture and language and encourage other like-minded groups to do so as well.”
The club is a member of the Swiss Yodel Federation (www.jodlerverband.ch) and the North American Swiss Singing Alliance (NASSA).
The Swiss Yodel Federation consists of hundreds of choirs in Switzerland and about 30 groups of expatriate Swiss around the world. Every three years, a national festival and competition takes place. Swiss-based groups must qualify to participate. Groups from abroad may get invited to compete and will be judged by the same standards as the local groups.
NASSA's judged competitions also take place every 3 years and are held at member locations in Canada and the USA.
Auf Deutsch – In German
1976 wurde der Jodlerklub Heimattreu in Calgary gegründet. Die Gründer definierten den Zweck des Jodlerklubs wie folgt: “Unser Ziel ist, die schönen Traditionen des Schweizer Brauchtums wie Singen, Jodeln, Alphornblasen und Fahnenschwingen auch in unserer Wahl-Heimat aufrecht zu erhalten und Gleichgesinnte zu ermutigen und zu fördern. “
Diesen Grundsätzen sind wir bis heute treu geblieben, auch wenn die aktuelle Umsetzung in der Praxis im 21. Jahrhundert doch hin und wieder eine Herausforderung ist. Unser Beitritt zum Eidg. Joderverband erfolgte im Jahr
1978. Die Vorbereitungen an einem Eidg. Jodlerfest teilzunehmen, begannen im Jahr 1994 und wurde 1996 in Thun zur Realität.
Die Mitglieder des JK Heimattreu treten jährlich an verschiedenen Anlässen auf und erfreuen auch die eigenen Fans beim “Jodlerabig” in Calgary. Dazu nimmt der Klub im 3-jährigen Rhythmus am Sängerfest der NASSA (North American Swiss Singing Alliance) Organisation teil. The Klub ist Mitglied des Eidg. Jodlerverbands.
(www.jodlerverband.ch) und von NASSA (Nordamerikanischend Singing Verbands)
