"Jazz Hall" as the new flagship of the HfMT

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Dr. E. A. Langner Foundation and Senate expand the university with an attractive presentation and concert space

The new Jazz Hall is a performance and concert venue for approximately 200 people. It is being built on the HfMT campus, right next to the Alster. The new venue is intended to highlight the importance of jazz for the university and for Hamburg as a city of music. HfMT jazz students will find an excellent venue here to showcase their talents to Hamburg audiences and develop new concert formats. The total project cost for the Jazz Hall is approximately 5.7 million euros. Of this amount, the Dr. E. A. Langner Foundation will contribute 5 million euros and the City of Hamburg up to 700,000 euros. Construction will begin in spring 2019, and operations are scheduled to start in the winter semester of 2020.

Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor: “Thanks to the support of the Dr. E. A. Langner Foundation, Hamburg is gaining a new, attractive music venue. The new Jazz Hall will be a flagship for the University of Music and Drama and its jazz department. This will allow the university to engage even more deeply with the city, provide a stage for young jazz musicians, and attract new fans of jazz music.”

Dr. Ernst A. Langner, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dr. E. A. Langner Foundation: “I am very happy, thrilled, and grateful that, after many years of preparatory work, the Hamburg Senate will now implement the project idea to expand the HfMT’s jazz department. My vision of increasing the number of student spots, improving the range of programs, and building a Jazz Hall is now becoming a reality. May the university, with its Jazz Department, live up to Hamburg’s reputation as a world music city in the coming years—both in the eyes of the public and among experts!”

The Jazz Hall is a performance and concert space located at the front of the HfMT and largely sunk into the ground. The hall will be built in front of the striking Budge-Palais and the Trautwein buildings, beneath the garden area in a section of the existing underground parking garage, and will rise from the lawn only by the amount of additional headroom required. What makes the architecture special is that the Jazz Hall can be used both indoors and outdoors. Seating steps will be installed in front of the fully retractable glass facade, allowing audiences to watch the musicians from outside as well.
In addition to the construction of the performance and concert hall, the overall concept for promoting jazz also calls for the creation of additional spaces for training at the HfMT. The building is being constructed by the municipal company Sprinkenhof GmbH, and the design is by the architectural firm MPP – Meding Plan + Projekt. The Jazz Hall is the first component of a comprehensive package aimed at strengthening jazz education in Hamburg. In addition, the master’s program in jazz is to be significantly expanded in cooperation with the Dr. E.A. Langner Foundation.

Katharina Fegebank, Senator for Science, Research, and Equality: “The HfMT’s Jazz Department already enjoys an excellent reputation. With the Jazz Hall and additional rehearsal spaces currently planned, the HfMT can further sharpen its jazz profile and create even better educational conditions. The expansion of the master’s program rounds out the package perfectly. It will be a magnet for the most talented musicians. It’s wonderful to see the city and private patrons working together so well and successfully for the common good—I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the donor for his extraordinary commitment.”

Prof. Elmar Lampson, President of the University of Music and Drama: “Dr. Langner has a grand vision for the future of jazz in Hamburg. With the construction of the Jazz Hall and the accompanying expansion of the jazz program, he is making history at our university and, moreover, making a substantial contribution to Hamburg as a city of music. In recent years, he had already driven the development of the jazz program at our university with great intensity through the financial support of the Dr. Langner Jazz Master’s program, the establishment of endowed professorships, and the funding of prize money, events, and student grants. The construction of the Jazz Hall is the crowning achievement of his long history of generous support for our jazz program. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Langner for this! I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the First Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and to the Hamburg Parliament. They generously embraced Dr. Langner’s vision and, through the city’s contributions, made it possible for this visionary project to now become a reality.”