In this interview, Matthias Leuschner tells us how he got into music and finally took off with VoiceNet a capella:
 
 

Matthias, how did you start singing?
It started early, when I was about 9 years old. My mother always emphasised a musical education. She was always enthusiastic about choir music and wanted to encourage me. We had a piano at home - which was used a lot. 

When did you start performing?
At that time I was accepted into the Augsburg Cathedral Boys' Choir. That was an exciting time. For me as a child, the performances at Christmas, for example, were a great experience. I had a lot of friends in the choir, so the fun factor was there. Once I was allowed to perform in Mozart's Magic Flute at the Augsburg City Theatre - and I got paid for it. I used it to buy my first bicycle.

Did you ever have any ambitions to turn your hobby into a career?
Not really. The musician's profession goes hand in hand with an unstable life. Being on the road and playing somewhere else every few nights. I also never wanted to commit myself to a particular direction musically. So today I listen to everything from Genesis to jazz.

How did you find out about VoiceNet a capella?
A friend of mine founded an acapella band in 1998. From the beginning I was fascinated by the combination of bass, baritone, countertenor and tenor. They complement each other perfectly in a good line-up. No one can 'hide'.

Did you have a common highlight?
We did. We were asked to perform for Fujitsu at an event in Florence. We wanted to minimise the travel costs and Lufthansa was too expensive for us. So someone had the idea of hiring a pilot and a Cessna at Augsburg airport. It didn't feel like flying over the Alps, it felt like flying through the Alps. The swing was adventurous.

Many thanks for the interview.


If you would like to listen, you can find information about the band and great videos at https://www.voicenet-acapella.de.