Jazz
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Study programs
The diverse range of jazz courses at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama (HfMT) prepares graduates comprehensively for an artistic career and provides them with the necessary practical skills to be successful in the professional music scene.
The course was founded in 1985 by Prof. Dieter Glawischnig and Prof. Hermann Rauhe with the aim of offering a professional education for jazz in Hamburg, making it one of the first jazz courses in Germany. Over the past 40 years, the department has developed into one of the top addresses for high-quality education with unique course concepts, a renowned, committed and highly qualified team of lecturers, modern facilities and a unique venue, mainly thanks to the support of the Dr. E.A. Langner Foundation.
The aim of all courses is to prepare students both comprehensively and individually for the demands of their future careers, including stylistic confidence in the various genres, improvisational versatility and soloistic expressiveness, openness to and inspiration from music from other cultures, mastery of music production technology and software and live equipment, self-management, the ability to pass on musical know-how pedagogically and nationwide and international networking with other artists. At the end of the training process, artists with an artistic vision and excellent technical expertise are able to carry their musical message into society with stylistic confidence and professionalism.
The lecturers in the jazz degree programs are established soloists in the international jazz scene and renowned teachers and professors who help students to develop an independent musical personality and acquire the necessary technical skills to do so. The jazz degree programs at the HfMT Hamburg cooperate closely with the NDR Big Band in Hamburg and offer students the opportunity to work musically and/or compositionally with the big band. Some soloists from the NDR Big Band are professors and teachers on the team of lecturers for the jazz courses and, in addition to providing support on the instrument, can also act as role models and mentors for the students through their practical experience.
In addition, jazz students at the HfMT receive a sound classical instrumental education in the Jazz Bachelor program through separate classical main subject lessons, which fundamentally strengthens their technical expressiveness and versatility on the instrument. In order to become familiar with the complex processes involved in music production, each student goes through the entire process of creating musical works, from composing and arranging to recording in the studio.
Since 2014, the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster has been the exclusive and extensively equipped study programme of the HfMT Hamburg, which offers talented and mature artists the opportunity to turn their artistic vision into reality through a highly customizable study programme concept.
Come North 2025 - Pre-study information seminar
Come North 2025
Preparatory seminar for the jazz degree programs at the HfMT Hamburg
The Jazz Department of the HfMT Hamburg cordially invites you to the preparatory seminar weekend "Come North" on Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2, 2025 in the Jazzhall of the University of Music and Drama. This informative seminar weekend serves to prepare for the entrance examination in terms of content and organization, to exchange ideas with lecturers and students about the jazz course at the HfMT Hamburg and to make new contacts in the world of jazz and Hamburg as a place to study. In addition to theoretical learning content such as an exemplary theory and aural examination, there is also plenty of practical experience. Bring your instrument!!!
All interested parties can register here via Eventbrite.
Seminar duration:
Saturday, February 1, 2024 - 10:00 a.m. - approx. 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 2, 2024 - 10:00 a.m. - approx. 4:00 p.m.
Venue:
Hamburg University of Music and Drama
Harvestehuder Weg 12 (entrance Milchstraße)
20148 Hamburg
Room: Jazzhall
Seminar leader: Michel Schroeder (https://www.michel-schroeder.com/)
Young students & Guest students
For exceptionally talented young musicians, it is possible to apply for a junior study program in jazz. The junior study program is an extraordinary funding opportunity for particularly talented and high-achieving students through the HfMT Hamburg. It offers the opportunity to begin a course of study parallel to school or vocational training. In order to be eligible for a junior study program, the applicant must be 19 years of age or older. Applicants must prove their exceptional qualifications and talent by passing the aptitude test (entrance examination).
Applicants for young student status can apply for a place at the HfMT Hamburg in the normal application procedure until April 1st. As with the Bachelor's degree program, the entrance examinations take place in 3 stages in which the young student must prove that he or she is exceptionally talented and is eligible for young student status.
The young student program includes one lesson per week in the jazz major. In addition, various seminars, lectures, ensembles, etc. can be taken by arrangement.
In order to get an idea of the jazz department, to better assess a study decision or to prepare for the entrance examination, you can take part in selected events as a guest student at the HfMT Hamburg. Those interested can register as guest students. Application forms can be found on this website or at the Student Secretariat).
You can take part in the following courses as a guest student/guest musician by arrangement with the respective lecturer and the department:
- Jazz theory, aural training, arrangement, history
- Sound engineering, film music, music technology
- Rhythm training
- workshops
- and many other seminars.
In general, it is not possible for guest students to receive individual lessons or to take part in the jazz ensembles or the HfMT Big Band rehearsals.
Projects & Cooperation
For years, the jazz studies program at the HfMT-Hamburg has maintained numerous collaborations with national and international partners. As a result, attractive projects and events can be realized on a regular basis, through which the university actively participates in the Hamburg jazz scene and sets its own impulses. Students are given unique opportunities to think outside the box and present their diverse musical projects, for example as part of various exchange programs.
The course is also actively involved in numerous projects within the university and is closely networked with the areas of school music and instrumental pedagogy.
Since 2011, the HfMT Hamburg has been working together with the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen to implement this partnership project, which is primarily aimed at cross-border networking between the participants (students) of the various institutes, who get to know each other on a very personal level through the musical work process.
Every year in this "experimental workshop", a band is put together from students from different European cities, who then present the pieces they have worked on during a project week in the JazzHall. The musicians come from Aarhus, Groningen, Birmingham, Siena, Barcelona and Hamburg. The rehearsals will take place at the HfMT Hamburg.
The working phase of the band is accompanied by a renowned and experienced jazz musician. Over the last 10 years, these have included Miguel Martinez, Anders Mogensen, Gabriel Coburger, Jasper Blom, David Boato and Percy Pursglove.
During the working phase, which takes place annually in March, a full-length concert program is developed together, which then celebrates its premiere in the JazzHall.
Following the working phase and the concert premiere, the actual journey begins. The band has the opportunity to perform the concert program on the festival stages of the partner cities or to further develop the band independently. Bands such as "The collective abroad"(https://www.thecollectiveabroad.com/) have formed at the European Jazz Laboratory and continued their work together.
The jazz departments of the HfMT Hamburg (Germany) and the UNPHU Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) are linked by a long-standing friendship that began almost a decade ago.
Since 2018, this partnership has been supported by the DAAD's ISAP (International Study and Education Partnerships) funding program. The aim of the exchange project is to strengthen the connection between the two faculties, to exchange groups of highly qualified students to the other institute to complete part of their studies there and to create attractive study opportunities for students through the expertise of the partner institute.
The student exchange involves three students per institute for the winter semester of each year, starting in September in Santo Domingo and ending in February in Hamburg with a concluding project week, which is organized differently each year. In addition, two lecturers are sent to the partner institute each year. In Hamburg, the HfMT welcomes the guest lecturers each year during the concluding project week. These "Latin Weeks", in addition to the content-related development of Latin American music contexts, also have a communal unifying element in the entire faculty and form one of the concluding moments of each winter semester.
The current project is supported by the DAAD until 2026.
Since 2010, the HfMT Hamburg has had its own stage at the largest jazz festival in northern Germany, the Hamburg ELBJAZZ Festival, where the crème de la crème of Hamburg's up-and-coming jazz talent from the university environment is presented. The "HfMT Young Talents" stage was originally initiated by a project group from the Culture and Media Management course. It enables Hamburg's up-and-coming artists to present themselves to an international audience at ELBJAZZ. The young musicians' love of experimentation is particularly noticeable on this stage, which turns it into a "premiere stage". Every year, projects specially conceived for this evening are presented here.
The many different lecturers and guest artists selected by the students in the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster create an international network throughout the world, which extends far beyond the already very active internationalization work of the jazz courses. Master's students regularly have the opportunity to further develop their own relationships and create sustainable networks.
The jazz courses at the HfMT Hamburg also cooperate regularly with a large number of institutes worldwide in various concrete projects, including with the institutes in:
Oslo (Norway) / Groningen (Netherlands) / Amsterdam (Netherlands) / Glasgow (UK) / Birmingham (UK) / Sienna (Italy) / Talinn (Estonia) / Parma (Italy) / Aarhus (Denmark) / Copenhagen (Denmark) / Boston (Berklee / USA) / Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) / and others.
International lecturers and guests at the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster have included
Teemu Viinikainen / Richie Beirach / Billy Hart / Thomas Morgan / Maria João / Scott Robinson / Alex Sipiagin / Arve Henriksen / Dan Weiss / Ben van Gelder / Nils Wogram / Howard Levy / Vadim Neselovsky / Hayden Chisholm / Ben Street / Ben Wendel / Seamus Blake / Kiko Freitas / Adrian Cox / J.D. Walter / Jim Black / Arve Henriksen / Greg Cohen / and many more.
Students gain an insight into the Elbphilharmonie's sphere of activity as an example of a concert hall with an internationally recognized brand image. A cooperative course teaches practical and professionally relevant music mediation and networking skills as students develop their own mediation, communication or networking concepts.
This partner also enables us to hold further workshops and concerts in the Elbphilharmonie's Great and Small Halls.
Video "HfMT Jazz Masters @ Elbphilharmonie 2018"
Jazz ensembles at the HfMT Hamburg
Jazzhall
The JazzHall is the new concert hall of the University of Music and Drama in Hamburg. The JazzHall was opened on the banks of the Outer Alster in summer 2021. The modern event space offers room for around 200 people and will be the new venue for concerts by the jazz degree programs as well as national and international artists. Thanks to many years of support and the initiative of the Dr. E. A. Langner Foundation, the vision of this magnificent new concert hall has become a reality. In addition to the JazzHall, the JazzLabor has created new, innovative seminar and practice rooms for the HfMT's jazz department. The aim is to increase the importance of jazz with all its facets for the university and the music city of Hamburg.
In the Alster foreland, the JazzHall peeps out of the garden in front of the Budge-Palais. Thanks to the possibility of opening the glass façade and an amphitheater in the outdoor area, the JazzHall can also be used outside in the direction of the Alster meadows and can thus offer a stage for open-air concerts in the summer months. The JazzHall bar also offers the audience drinks and culinary delights of the highest standard.
The JazzHall sees itself as a stage for art forms that go far beyond the pure jazz format. In addition to jazz, the hall also offers the opportunity to present classical concerts, pop bands, musical experiments, art and theater, as well as conferences and seminars. The JazzHall team works together with a network of various players in the local cultural scene to establish it as a permanent venue in Hamburg.
We cordially invite you to visit us at the JazzHall!
Contact us
Michael Langkamp
Koordination Jazz+49 40 209494261michael.langkamp@hfmt-hamburg.de
Hannah Wellner
Koordination Jazzmaster+49 1525 9189 061jazzmaster@hfmt-hamburg.de
Sabine Sieg-Greitsch
Fachbüro Jazz+49 40 209494224sabine.sieg-greitsch@hfmt.hamburg.de