Celebrated opening gala

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A completely sold-out house and an audience packed with celebrities from the worlds of culture, business and politics: "OpenEars", the grand HfMT gala to mark the reopening of the Forum, was a success for all the artists involved and a successful start to a new era at the university following the completion of the two-and-a-half-year renovation work.

The program began with an artistic bang of virtuosity and grace: the group choreography to Igor Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks", performed by the Bundesjugendballett under its artistic director Kevin Haigen. Yu Sugimoto, a master's student from Prof. Ulrich Windfuhr's conducting class, was the musical director of the soloist ensemble made up of HfMT students. Among the enthusiastic audience was Hamburg's ballet icon John Neumeier, founder and director of the Bundesjugendballett.
After the speech by University President Prof. Elmar Lampson, in which he thanked in particular the University's long-standing patrons, above all Prof. Dr. h. c. Hannelore Greve, Andreas Franke, Hermann and Milena Ebel and Horst Dörner, Prof. Niklas Schmidt set another musical highlight of the evening with Bach's 2nd Cello Suite before the interval.
The second half of the opening gala was characterized by a varied and challenging program between classical and modern music, performed by lecturers and students of the university, including star guest jazz singer Ken Norris and the twelve-year-old young student of the Andreas Franke Academy, Louisa Sophia Jefferson. The new Steinway D concert grand piano, donated by the Thörl Foundation, was also heard for the first time.
The opening gala will be followed by an almost daily program of events until 29 October - as a gift to the music city of Hamburg with free admission! Details can be found at www.hfmt-hamburg.de.
Photo: Christina Körte