Academies

The Stirling Phil Academy is a joint project between the HMDK, the Stuttgart Philharmonic and the Reinhold Otto Mayer Foundation. Launched in 2018, the academy offers students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the day-to-day work of a professional orchestra over the course of two semesters alongside their studies and to take part in some of the Stuttgart Philharmonic's regular productions as part of the orchestra. What it really means to work on a demanding symphonic programme with a large orchestra within a few days, to present it at different venues under changing circumstances and to be integrated into the social structure of an orchestra: this is what is learned and taught here. The academy students are supported by experienced mentors from the orchestra. The Stirling-Phil-Academy's programme is rounded off by audition and performance training for academy students, both by the mentors and by alternating external lecturers.

In addition to places for instrumentalists, the Stirling-Phil-Academy also offers an academy position in dramaturgy each season. Students from non-instrumental subjects can take part in the editing of programmes, the development of concert introductions and education formats as well as press and public relations work and thus get to know possible future careers. The academy student is supported by a mentor from the orchestra's management.

The work in the Stirling-Phil-Academy is crowned by the annual summer academy concert at the Gustav Siegle House in Stuttgart, for which the academy members work with their mentors on a chamber music programme. Compositions that are specially commissioned from HMDK students and which - using a singing or speaking voice – deal with a given text in German are always premiered here. One of the Reinhold Otto Mayer Foundation's main aims is to promote and initiate new German-language musical works.

We would like to thank the Reinhold Otto Mayer Foundation for its generous support of the Academy!

Contact persons:

Prof. Marc Engelhardt (HMDK, Dean Faculty II, Head of Stirling-Phil-Akademy)
Frank Behrendt (HMDK, Orchestra and Ensemble Organisation)
Akiko Hirataka (Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy representative)

Each year, five students from the HMDK Stuttgart have the opportunity to get to know professional practice as orchestral musicians as academy students in the Stuttgart State Orchestra. The students are supported by experienced tutors from the State Orchestra.

The selection of instruments is adjusted in the annual auditions so that as many instruments as possible are included over the years. The young musicians take part in rehearsals and performances of large-scale operas, ballets and symphony concerts under various conductors and thus not only gain an insight into the work of a professional orchestra, but also become a real part of it themselves. In this way, not least the ability to call up one's own performance precisely to the point is trained.

The Orchestra Academy with the Stuttgart State Orchestra is made possible by the support of the Sparda-Bank Baden-Württemberg Foundation for Art and Culture, which we would like to thank for its support.

Contact persons:

Prof. Marc Engelhardt (HMDK, Dean of Faculty II, Head of the Stirling-Phil-Academy)
Frank Behrendt (HMDK, Orchestra and Ensemble Organisation)
Laurens Groll (Stuttgart State Orchestra, Orchestra Board)

Together with the SWR Vokalensemble, the university organizes an academy for up to six students of different subjects each year.

• Choral conducting students take part in selected rehearsals of the SWR Vokalensemble. In individual cases, students have the opportunity to conduct the choir themselves for approx. 30 minutes.
• Composition students take part in selected rehearsals of the SWR Vokalensemble and are supervised by a mentor on practical performance issues. If the disposition allows, composers have the opportunity to try out compositional sketches with the singers of the vocal ensemble in a workshop on one or two dates per season.
• Vocal students take part in selected projects of the SWR Vokalensemble and are supervised and taught by a mentor from the ensemble in the sense of "coaching on the job". - Applications for singing are currently suspended.

The prerequisite is that the academy students have already passed a subject-related intermediate examination; the application procedures are individual for each subject.

We would like to thank the Stiftung Kunst und Kultur der Sparda-Bank Baden-Württemberg for supporting this academy.

Contact persons:

Prof. Denis Rouger (HMDK, Dean Faculty III, Professor of Choral Conducting)
Prof. Marco Stroppa (HMDK, Professor of Composition)
Birgit Huber-Klein (SWR Vokalensemble, Special Projects)

Since the winter semester 2022/23, HMDK students can regularly apply for internships lasting several months with the Baden-Württemberg State Police Orchestra. The academy places offer participants the opportunity to develop professionally during regular orchestral work with the State Police Orchestra and to prepare for their future career as a professional musician. They learn challenging wind orchestra literature of all genres in a professional orchestra. During the internship, the scholarship holders receive musical and professional support from the principal conductor, Prof. Stefan R. Halder.

We would like to thank the Society of Friends of the HMDK Stuttgart and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Baden-Württemberg for their support in organizing this academy.

Contact persons:

Prof. Marc Engelhardt (HMDK, Dean Faculty II)
Carsten Binder (BW State Police Orchestra, specialist service provider)