Stuttgart Brass Academy

When you google the term "academy," in addition to the explanation that is certainly relevant for us, "institutions for fostering scientific and artistic studies," you will also find the explanation "incompletely developed universities." Apart from the fact that our university can be considered one of the most modern nationwide: the Stuttgart Brass Academy is precisely an instrument to complement the university's offerings.

It focuses on the crucial interface between teacher and student and examines the question of to what extent the pedagogical challenge should be shifted to practice, how the knowledge imparted in lessons is applied in ensemble playing, and ultimately how the teacher presents themselves in a concert situation in front of the students' eyes and ears. This is by no means a matter of course, neither in Germany nor abroad. I have often experienced that solo performances in lessons were perceived as something special but that ensemble chamber music was almost revolutionary.

We are fortunate at our university to have a faculty that willingly and competently takes on this task and continues to breathe life into the tradition of the Brass Academy initiated by Ingo Goritzki in the 1980s. This also includes the corresponding literature, which undoubtedly finds its center in the great works of Mozart. However, the desire to involve all brass classes and percussion, the entire institute, led us to explore new paths. With the support of the university leadership, we have been able to commission arrangements from the renowned arranger Andreas Tarkmann multiple times. The performance of Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel" (without a conductor!) marked the first artistic highlight, followed by a program of "Russian Magic" in spring 2011.

Throughout, we have consistently experienced that the collaborative creation of music not only has an artistic but also a social aspect. This is of immeasurable value in terms of our practical education goals, as integrating into an ensemble requires careful leadership and significantly facilitates entry into a professional orchestra later on. The Stuttgart Brass Academy is highly regarded among professors and students and will continue to be an integral part of our education.