Institutions that shaped me.
Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK) /
Berlin University of the Arts
The Berlin University of the Arts, abbreviated as UdK for „Universität der Künste“, is considered one of the largest and most diverse art schools in Europe with almost all of the study courses being part of a centuries-old tradition. Esteemed professors and outstanding students from all around the world have publicly defined the university as a high level of artistic and art-theoretical education.
The music faculty has a rich history that dates back to its beginnings in 1869 when violinist Joseph Joachim founded the Royal Academy of Musical Performing Arts in Berlin. Since then, the music institution attracted many of the most important musicians and has made an unique and omnipresent impact on the music world.
Pianists like Artur Rubinstein, Artur Schnabel, Wilhelm Kempff, Leopold Godowsky, Heinrich Neuhaus, Karl Heinrich Barth, Ernst von Dohnányi were part of the highly acclaimed piano faculty as professors or students.
Among the professors from other music faculties were composers like Max Bruch, Paul Hindemith, Engelbert Humperdinck, Isang Yun and interpreters like Sergiu Celibidache, Carl Flesch, Emanuel Feuermann, Wanda Landowska and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Being situated in the metropolitan city Berlin which is known for being a world city of different cultures and creative industries with a very vivid music and art scene and several world-famous venues, the students have an uniquely creative and productive environment around them.
The Julius-Stern-Institute is an internationally renowned pre-college at the Berlin University of the Arts that enables a few selected young musicians of exceptional talent to receive regular lessons from esteemed professors and to regularly have concert opportunities. Founded in 1850 as "Stern'sches Konservatorium" as the first independent music institution in Berlin, it quickly established itself with alumni like Claudio Arrau, Edwin Fischer, Moritz Moszkowski, Otto Klemperer, Bruno Walter and professors like Hans von Bülow, Martin Krause, Rudolf Maria Breithaupt, Émile Sauret, Engelbert Humperdinck and Arnold Schönberg. Due to the Nazi regime, the institute lost most of its members and never really recovered afterwards. In 1966 it became part of the Berlin University of the Arts and only since 1999 managed to flourish again with its new purpose of developing talented young musicians.
Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is a revue theatre in the centre of Berlin, described as the biggest theatre stage in Europe. Even though I'm not entirely sure on what this is based on (I believe it refers to the squaremeters of the stage), the shows are widely known through marketing campaigns in Berlin and enjoy a high reputation with high profile directors and sponsorship. The venue specializes in complex shows with advanced lighting and stage technology, over a hundred performers and acrobatic spectacles. The theatre tries to hit all the superlatives of show business and is an important establishment in Berlin's cultural scene with the Girls Kickline being the trademark of the shows.
Besides their main shows for adults, they also have the Youth Ensemble, "Children play for children" with 250 Berlin members ranging from ages 6–16. Most of them are dancers, their are only a few all-in-one roles which I got casted as which includes being an actor, singer and dancer. I took part in two shows where I had solo roles before I decided to concentrate on my own music development. The training was quite intense, I often had to travel multiple times a week after school from Potsdam to Berlin and came home late at night. The environment - even though superficial - was warm and professional. Besides demanding coaches I was also surrounded by very artistic friends who became quite famous like the established Swing Jazz musician David Hermlin, Voice of Kids Germany winner Egon Werler and artistic social media personality Oskar Artem aka Ossi Glossy.
Hermann-von-Helmholtz Gymnasium Europaschule Potsdam
The Helmholtz-Gymnasium is known as one of the top schools in Potsdam. Founded in 1738 with a long history, many distinguished alumni like one of my favorite pianists Wilhelm Kempff, mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi and polymath Hermann von Helmholtz himself have been educated here. It is located in the centre of Potsdam and out of all schools in Potsdam it is the most music oriented even though it is still minimal in comparison to Berlin though I enjoyed the annual Christmas Concert where I got to perform at the Nikolaisaal Potsdam - the biggest concert hall in Potsdam. There was an unusually high amount of 5 music pre-college students in my class which was an interesting coincidence.