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Orchestra academy
THE ORCHESTRA ACADEMY – CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANS
By Albrecht Thiemann, OPERNWELT
Many can professionally draw a bow, blow a horn or to hit a kettledrum. At present there are twenty-three music academies and conservatories in Germany. Half of the approximately seventeen thousand students enrolled there study an orchestra instrument. More than enough to cover the need for new blood by the country’s one hundred and fifty officially supported orchestras. At least so one could presume.
Not only philharmonic powerhouses playing in the Champions League have begun recruiting potential novices for their own ranks not from the school benches directly, but to initially subject them to a practical experience test in the Orchesterakademie where highly talented young musicians undergo a postgraduate course of sorts under tightened real life conditions. The academy’s numerously accredited concept can be summed up quite simply: “Learning by doing”. Whoever passes auditions for one of the academy’s coveted places naturally receives private lessons by experienced instrumentalists, yet the main objective is to be inaugurated into the delicate, fragile and complex nature of playing as an ensemble – be it at a concert or in daily orchestra life, as part of chamber or a full strength Mahler or Strauss instrumentation.
The academy was founded in 1997 by general music director Daniel Barenboim and other members of the Staatskapelle Berlin to offer suitable students a two year scholarship and the chance to get familiar with the daily life and work of a renowned orchestra and to become accustomed to the perspective from behind the rostrum. The academy is supported by a non-profit association which is chaired by Berlin’s House of Representatives chairwoman of cultural affairs Alice Ströver. Approximately one hundred students have since come through the academy’s ranks.
Today the academy is probably the most important asset when it comes to filling vacancies: Berlin’s State Orchestra has employed over twenty alumni, tendency rising. Fabian Schäfer for example. The young oboist (born in 1978) took his chance from 2003 to 2005 as one of twenty-two students at the time to get to know the inner life of the orchestra. His dream came true when he was offered the soloist role in his ensemble. “During that time I was able to slowly familiarize myself with the state orchestra’s unique sound”, Schäfer reminisces. “My tone has become darker, smoother and more colorful, it blends into the state orchestra’s full, organic tone which defines and distinguishes it from other ensembles.”
For Felix Schwartz conveying this sound-ideal is the pivotal aspect of all efforts. “Through the academy we basically raise the next generation of young musicians ourselves”, explains the experienced viola soloist. This takes place on equal terms. In the end both sides profit: The young musicians can experience the unique atmosphere and individual flair of a structure like the Lindenoper opera house, while the Staatskapelle and chief conductor foster the development of the up-and-coming students – instrumentalists who soon might become regulars on the rostrum, acquainted with the orchestra’s technical process and distinctive tonal characteristics, which have blossomed in the past and continue to be cultivated.
Orchestra manager Thomas Küchler sees the academy as a down-to-earth Wunderkammer – not just for pragmatical reasons. Should someone be impeded due to illness, Küchler quickly needs to find a replacement. Yet: “The range of temporary personnel suited to the Staatskapelle isn’t very large.” He rather reverts to homemade talents who have a grasp of the Staatskapelle’s musical ideals which have been established over generations. However one would describe these ideals, the stipendiaries definitely profit from them: He who passes the practical test at Unter den Linden needs not earnestly worry about his professional future.
Nearly all former students have joined renowned orchestras. Their trails can be found at the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden State Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig as well as at the Bavarian Broadcasting Orchestra and the State Opera House in Munich. Quality simply prevails.
MUSICIANS 2009/2010
1. violins:
Irène Chatzisavas
Paige Kearl
Claudia Schmidt
2. violins:
Andreea Chiriac
Katja Kravets
Birgit Seifart
Yunna Shevchenko
violas:
Raphael Grunau
Cristina Blanco
Peter Pal Lukacs
David Schreiber
violoncello:
Noa Chorin
Lillia Keyes
contrabass:
Sergij Konyakhyn
Yasuyuki Se
flute:
Anna Kiefer
oboe:
Janine Goulbier
clarinet:
Agneta Sieweke
bassoon:
Berker Sen
horn:
Patricia Gerstenberger
trumpet:
Jonathan Bucka
trombone:
Chih-Sheng Tien
drums:
Frank Babe
timpani:
Manuel Westermann
harp:
Alma Klemm
THE ORCHESTRA ACADEMY – CULTIVATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANS
By Albrecht Thiemann, OPERNWELT
Many can professionally draw a bow, blow a horn or to hit a kettledrum. At present there are twenty-three music academies and conservatories in Germany. Half of the approximately seventeen thousand students enrolled there study an orchestra instrument. More than enough to cover the need for new blood by the country’s one hundred and fifty officially supported orchestras. At least so one could presume.
Not only philharmonic powerhouses playing in the Champions League have begun recruiting potential novices for their own ranks not from the school benches directly, but to initially subject them to a practical experience test in the Orchesterakademie where highly talented young musicians undergo a postgraduate course of sorts under tightened real life conditions. The academy’s numerously accredited concept can be summed up quite simply: “Learning by doing”. Whoever passes auditions for one of the academy’s coveted places naturally receives private lessons by experienced instrumentalists, yet the main objective is to be inaugurated into the delicate, fragile and complex nature of playing as an ensemble – be it at a concert or in daily orchestra life, as part of chamber or a full strength Mahler or Strauss instrumentation.
The academy was founded in 1997 by general music director Daniel Barenboim and other members of the Staatskapelle Berlin to offer suitable students a two year scholarship and the chance to get familiar with the daily life and work of a renowned orchestra and to become accustomed to the perspective from behind the rostrum. The academy is supported by a non-profit association which is chaired by Berlin’s House of Representatives chairwoman of cultural affairs Alice Ströver. Approximately one hundred students have since come through the academy’s ranks.
Today the academy is probably the most important asset when it comes to filling vacancies: Berlin’s State Orchestra has employed over twenty alumni, tendency rising. Fabian Schäfer for example. The young oboist (born in 1978) took his chance from 2003 to 2005 as one of twenty-two students at the time to get to know the inner life of the orchestra. His dream came true when he was offered the soloist role in his ensemble. “During that time I was able to slowly familiarize myself with the state orchestra’s unique sound”, Schäfer reminisces. “My tone has become darker, smoother and more colorful, it blends into the state orchestra’s full, organic tone which defines and distinguishes it from other ensembles.”
For Felix Schwartz conveying this sound-ideal is the pivotal aspect of all efforts. “Through the academy we basically raise the next generation of young musicians ourselves”, explains the experienced viola soloist. This takes place on equal terms. In the end both sides profit: The young musicians can experience the unique atmosphere and individual flair of a structure like the Lindenoper opera house, while the Staatskapelle and chief conductor foster the development of the up-and-coming students – instrumentalists who soon might become regulars on the rostrum, acquainted with the orchestra’s technical process and distinctive tonal characteristics, which have blossomed in the past and continue to be cultivated.
Orchestra manager Thomas Küchler sees the academy as a down-to-earth Wunderkammer – not just for pragmatical reasons. Should someone be impeded due to illness, Küchler quickly needs to find a replacement. Yet: “The range of temporary personnel suited to the Staatskapelle isn’t very large.” He rather reverts to homemade talents who have a grasp of the Staatskapelle’s musical ideals which have been established over generations. However one would describe these ideals, the stipendiaries definitely profit from them: He who passes the practical test at Unter den Linden needs not earnestly worry about his professional future.
Nearly all former students have joined renowned orchestras. Their trails can be found at the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Dresden State Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig as well as at the Bavarian Broadcasting Orchestra and the State Opera House in Munich. Quality simply prevails.
MUSICIANS 2009/2010
1. violins:
Irène Chatzisavas
Paige Kearl
Claudia Schmidt
2. violins:
Andreea Chiriac
Katja Kravets
Birgit Seifart
Yunna Shevchenko
violas:
Raphael Grunau
Cristina Blanco
Peter Pal Lukacs
David Schreiber
violoncello:
Noa Chorin
Lillia Keyes
contrabass:
Sergij Konyakhyn
Yasuyuki Se
flute:
Anna Kiefer
oboe:
Janine Goulbier
clarinet:
Agneta Sieweke
bassoon:
Berker Sen
horn:
Patricia Gerstenberger
trumpet:
Jonathan Bucka
trombone:
Chih-Sheng Tien
drums:
Frank Babe
timpani:
Manuel Westermann
harp:
Alma Klemm