MHH spring concert with the Rocking Vets

The university's two major funding bodies, the Förderstiftung MHH plus and the Gesellschaft der Freunde der MHH, thanked their donors and members with music.

Nahaufnahme von Professor Piepenbrock mit Mikro — Professor Siegfried Piepenbrock, Vorsitzender der MHH-Freundesgesellschaft, begrüßte das Publikum. © Nico Herzog, Hannover

On 20 April 2023, the stage in lecture hall F was filled to the last square meter: 19 musicians from the Rocking Vets, as the big band of the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover is called, played here for over 370 guests as part of this year's MHH spring concert. "When selecting musicians, we always try to establish a certain connection to the MHH wherever possible," says Professor Siegfried Piepenbrock, Chairman of the MHH Society of Friends. "We are therefore particularly pleased that not only students and staff from the University of Veterinary Medicine perform at the Rocking Vets, but also some of our Human medicine students."

Big Band in der Totalen — Die Big Band machte ihrem Namen alle Ehre und füllte die Bühne gut aus. © Nico Herzog, Hannover

After Professor Piepenbrock's welcome, the Rocking Vets opened the concert with the Rocky theme song "Gonny Fly Now" by Bill Conti, giving an idea of what this Thursday evening had in store for the audience: an emotional big band feeling paired with the greatest melodies from jazz, swing, rock and pop. The formation around bandleader Noah Limpert and Jonas Matthes played further classics such as "Pick up the Pieces", "Morocco" and "On Broadway" under the direction of Bernd Rams. The Rocking Vets not only had their instruments with them, but also two strong voices: percussionist and singer Lina Seifert interpreted the Bond hit "Licence to Kill", while her colleague Eluiesa Sina demonstrated not only her vocal but also her acting talent with two Aretha Franklin songs.

Dr. Schenke vor der Bühne — Die Verabschiedung übernahm MHHplus-Vorstand Dr. Eckhard Schenke © Nico Herzog, Hannover

At the end of an entertaining and lively concert, which was legally not without an encore, Dr. Eckhard Schenke, member of the Board of the MHH plus Foundation, put it in a nutshell: "This musical thank you to our members and donors once a year is always something special. Music often says more than a thousand words." With this in mind, it is only natural for the Förderstiftung MHH plus team to get straight back into preparations for the next concert - because after the spring concert is before the spring concert...