Nothing is so touching as the sound of children singing. And when their bright voices are singing Christmas songs, they touch our heart and soul the more deeply. The Shchedrick Children's Choir is one of the best world-wide. Christmas songs from Germany as well as their homeland, the Ukraine, make up the programme of their Bonn concert. It will be exciting to experience how they bridge the musical difference between these two countries. The choir, which has won many prizes, was founded in 1971 by Iryna Sablina and is now directed by her daughter. The choir has a great deal of experience in demonstrating this musical difference. Their repertoire comprises Russian and Ukrainian songs as well as religious works from the baroque period such as Bach's St. Matthew's Passion. The award of the Golden Diploma at the renowned Musica-Sacra choir competition in Rome and the subsequent audience with Pope Benedikt XVI are without doubt among the most memorable highlights in the artistically rich work of this choir.