"Room for spinning"

The content on this page was translated automatically.

Gordon Kampe describes his first experiences as Professor of Composition at the HfMT. On May 13, the lateral thinker introduces himself with an inaugural concert at the Forum.

I am still the "new kid on the block" who is happy to find the rooms of Hamburg's labyrinthine university largely unscathed. Everything that exists in the field of composition, music theory and related subjects so far - I have therefore not invented it and it is a pleasure on the one hand to look for my place in the structure and on the other to find out where I can contribute with my background and my experience "in a new and different way", as my own teacher Hespos always likes to put it. In fact, I would like to learn something from him, as he once taught me for hours at the lofty heights of a Ferris wheel or walking along the beach in all weathers. However, if there is no Ferris wheel available, it must always be mentally present in the "107blau" room as a reminder for the main subject lessons - because that's what it's all about: movement, overview and space.
And to stay in the perhaps skewed picture: I don't own a Ferris wheel, I just sit in the gondola for a certain amount of time and then we look down together, up, to the left and right and everywhere. And then quickly get out of the gondola. Occasionally, Hespos would grab a musician who was careless enough to walk past our seminar room: "Show us how to play the trumpet now!" he would say and suddenly we had a short concert in the stairwell of the university. I suspect that I will be a little less surprised - but I would like to find opportunities together where you wouldn't expect them.
I've heard that the weather in Hamburg is sometimes a bit gray. However, the students I am allowed to teach in my main subject are the exact opposite: the gender ratio is currently exactly 50 percent and three continents are represented. More interesting than such statistics, however, is the huge range of interests. From performances with unicorns found by chance along the way, to the most delicate one-note pieces, liturgical music, orchestral pieces and events for which there is not yet a genre name, everything is represented.
Very practical: A great advantage of an undergraduate course in Hamburg is the opportunity to be undecided in the first semesters: Whether it should be more in the direction of music theory or composition - these do not have to be contradictory at all. In the third phase of study in particular, it is once again a matter of alternating between subjects and interests: the "Dr. scientiae musicae" enables artistic research and academic reflection. Our colloquium, in which we invite not only composers and musicians but also people from the world of music who do not primarily talk about the poor response of the 17th overtone on a scordated baryton, which is undoubtedly also important, is also a very practical part of everyday study life. Reports from opera dramaturgy or about the challenges and opportunities of the independent scene, information about current publishing and the workings of GEMA are also part of the reality of life for budding composers. However, I have something completely impractical planned for the winter semester: A utopia seminar will attempt - initially on a trial basis - to abolish gravity. Sometimes I get the impression that "new music" is already understood as a style that demands certain characteristics (such as duration etc. pp.). Noticing the increase in gravity, I like to talk about my favorite dream. I dream of an opera house. One that can be installed on flat roofs or integrated into empty buildings. There are only mobile boxes that float freely in space. In addition, so much energy is generated that everything around them glitters and flashes. Studying must be the space for such crazy things, because not everything has to succeed here - but it can.

Sunday, May 13
Forum of the HfMT
"Getting started"
In his inaugural concert, Prof. Gordon Kampe presents a program of lectures and music put together by him.
The "Ensemble S201" and Hui-Ping Lan (piano) will perform.
Begins at 8 pm, admission is free