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Daimler 360 GRAD - FAKTEN zur Nachhaltigkeit 2008
Daimler Nachhaltigkeitsbericht 2008 / Customers and society / Social commitment / Social and cultural projects*
Internationale Bachakademie — Supporting the musical arts
Music plays a key role in Daimler’s cultural support activities. Among other things, we provide funding to the
International Bachakademie Stuttgart, a foundation established in 1981 by Helmuth Rilling, who also continues
to serve as its artistic director. The Bachakademie holds concerts both in Germany and abroad, conducts
workshops for young musicians around the world, and offers seminars and symposiums on music theory and
practice. It also operates a research and education center, which is primarily dedicated to the work of Johann
Sebastian Bach.
Deutscher Musikrat — Daimler promotes highly talented young musicians
The Deutsche Musikrat is an association that promotes all different types of music in Germany and seeks to
elevate the status of music in society as much as possible. With more than eight million members, the Deutsche
Musikrat is the largest cultural association in Germany. A key focus of the organization is to discover young
talented musicians and support their further development. Daimler assists Deutsche Musikrat financially by
sponsoring its Bundesjugendorchester (national youth orchestra), which brings together Germany’s youngest
high quality musicians three times each year for a period of ten to 14 days, during which time they work with
famous conductors and experienced music teachers. Both singers and players of musical instruments can apply
for membership in the Bundesjugendorchester, and those who pass its audition can further develop their skills
under the direction of famous jazz artists for a period of two years, whereby the maximum age for membership is
24. The orchestra plays concerts, goes on tours abroad, and records CDs. Daimler also supports the
Bundesjazzorchester, which since its inception has helped more than 400 young musical talents establish
themselves on the German music scene. Till Brönner and Roger Cicero are just two of today’s artists who got
their start with the Bundesjazzorchester. The Bundesjazzorchester, which was honored with the Deutscher
Musikpreis award in 1997, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Award for South African Culture
In 1999, Daimler established what is now known as the Mercedes Benz Award for South African Culture, which
remains the most important cultural prize in South Africa today. The award gives young culturally creative people
their first international exposure and enables them to stage major presentations of their work in South Africa as
well. The award is presented in a different category each year; since 2000, prizes have been given for
Contemporary Art, Jazz, Sculpture, Choreography, Photography, Poetry, and Architecture. The 2008 award will be
presented in the category of Art in Public Spaces, to be followed in later years by Fashion Design and Rhythm
and Blues/Young Urban Music. The award aims to honor and promote South African culture as a reflection of the
country’s social and political development and maturity. The plan for 2010, when the World Soccer
Championship will take place in South Africa, is to stage a retrospective in Pretoria and Berlin of the works of all
the nominees ever selected, which by that time will number around 100.
SWR3 New Pop Festival: “Dance of the Robots” at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt
What do Joe Cocker, Udo Lindenberg, Maroon 5, Katie Melua, Wir sind Helden, Sasha, and Zucherro have in
common? They’ve all performed at one time or another in front of dancing robots. For more than ten years now,
the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt has hosted the SWR3 New Pop Festival presented by the SWR broadcasting
network. When the show comes to town for three evenings, some 6,500 enthusiastic spectators can be found at
a location where the Mercedes-Benz A- and B-Class normally roll off the line. Given this industrial backdrop, it’s
not surprising that most concertgoers first look to the assembly line rather than the stage when they enter the
hall. As a result, they’re treated to the sight of various automobile parts, which are put together here to form
Mercedes-Benz A-Class vehicles. Naturally, the body-in-white comes to a halt when the show begins, as the
flexible production system in the assembly hall adjusts to the changed conditions during the three days of the
festival. Creating this spectacular concert venue requires 200 tons of material to be moved in order to free up
space for the stage, the audience, and backstage areas. The result of this process is the creation of a completely
new world covering an area of nearly 7,000 square meters in just a few days.