Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke honored Olaf Joksch with the bronze citizens' medal

The Offenbach pianists have been delighting audiences with their "New Year's Concert" for 25 years now. Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke, who is also the city's Head of Cultural Affairs, was proud of the successful concert series: "Even the most respected music experts in my circle can't name any other place where such a format is a permanent fixture in the annual cultural calendar. In a charming, diverse, exciting and high-quality way, the 'Concert for the New Year' presents us with a cross-section of Offenbach's musical life." Schwenke took the anniversary event last Sunday (January 28) as an opportunity to present a special award. He presented Olaf Joksch with the bronze citizen's medal for his services to the Offenbach music world.

"Olaf Joksch is not only a skillful and highly eloquent pianist, he also provides music for two important inner-city parishes as an organist. He composes, organizes and is described by everyone who works with him as a truly fantastic colleague and at the same time an absolutely top-class musician," said Schwenke about the person to be honoured. Joksch also conducts the "Petite Choeur" at the French Reformed Church. He is the orchestral pianist of the Capitol Symphony Orchestra and regularly plays with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Olaf Joksch has represented the Federal Republic of Germany six times on concert tours in Spain via the Goethe Institute. He holds the Medal of Honor of the Philharmonic Orchestra in Lublin and has given concerts in France, Italy and the twin city of Orjol.

"All this reflects your artistic quality. Even from a distance, I can see your humanity in the fact that you are always enthusiastic about joint projects, good ideas and original concepts - or even initiate them yourself. This also gets through to me as Head of Cultural Affairs," Schwenke summed up, emphasizing that Olaf Joksch is enthusiastic about Offenbach on stage. "Not least as one of the initiators, composers and, above all, conductor of the epochal 'Offenbach Mass', which was jointly composed by seven Offenbach musicians and for which you brought together the tonal threads."