Composition Study at HMTMH
Degree Programmes
Our composition programme is distinctive for its flexibility. We offer one of the few composition degrees in Germany in which ‘instrumental’ and ‘electronic’ music are entirely integrated, rather than requiring students to choose between these paths. Our approach reflects the current state of contemporary music-making, in which composers are likely to move freely across different materials, approaches, and technologies, incorporating instruments, electronics, video and multimedia, and potentially shifting between concert settings, sonic arts installations, and/or theatre and dance. The flexibility of our composition programme also enables students to move between teachers during the course of their study, providing exposure to different approaches to musical material, compositional techniques, and aesthetic priorities.
Incontri supports students at all levels of study, from the pre-university Frühstudium and Jungstudium programmes through to the Soloklasse programme for advanced students already holding a Masters degree in composition (sometimes known in other institutions as the Concert Exam degree).
We also regularly participate in Erasmus exchanges at both Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, both encouraging our students to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad and hosting applicants from external institutions.
Teaching and Seminars
Our Bachelor’s and Master’s students receive a generous 2.5 hours per week of individual lessons. In addition to a 90-minute weekly composition lesson, students also receive an hour per week of individual supervision in electronic music. This individual study is supported through the weekly two-hour Composition Seminar, which focuses on cutting-edge issues of contemporary music techniques, methods, materials, and aesthetics, and through a weekly two-hour Electronic Music Seminar, which helps develop skills in music technology through the facilities of the fmsbw Electronic Music Studios. These two seminars also provide numerous opportunities for students to present and discuss their own work with their colleagues. Additional Incontri teaching includes classes on instrumentation, acoustics, contemporary music performance practice, and conducting for composers.
Teaching takes place in both German and English.
Concerts, Festivals, and Guests
Each semester we host at least 4–6 guest composers, who typically present their work for the Composition Seminar as well as offering individual composition lessons. Guests in recent years have included, for example, Mark André, Annesley Black, Francesco Filidei, Adriana Hölsky, Martón Illés, Johannes Kreidler, Klaus Lang, Fabien Lévy, George Lewis, Sarah Nemtsov, Sergej Newski, Samir Odeh-Tamimi, Helmut Oehring, Stefan Prins, Marc Sabat, Charlotte Seither, and Chiyoko Szlavnics.
Collaborations with guest performers are central to the activities of Incontri. Each semester, all students are given the opportunity to write new works for some of the world’s leading performers of contemporary music, who deliver collaborative workshops leading to concert performances, typically in professional settings in concert venues across Hanover. Guest performers in recent years have included Ensemble Musikfabrik, Ensemble Mosaik, asamisimasa, Neue Vocalsolisten, Ensemble Ascolta, Ensemble Handwerk, Quasar Saxophone Quartet, Trio SurPlus, Ensemble Schwerpunkt, Wet Ink, and soloists such as Peter Veale, Sarah Saviet, Christine Chapman, Olaf Tzschoppe, Séverine Ballon, and Seth Josel. Frequently, these guests also deliver workshops and masterclasses in contemporary performance techniques for student performers in the broader HMTMH community.
In addition to bringing leading figures of the new music world to Hanover, we also organize regular excursions to major festivals in Germany, including Donaueschingen, Witten, Acht Brücken in Cologne, and Ultraschall in Berlin. These trips include generous financial support to help offset the cost of travel, accommodation, concert tickets, and daily expenses.
Within the HMTMH community, concerts of new music are frequent, providing further opportunities for the performance of student compositions both on and off campus. Incontri regularly participates in collaborations with various instrumental studios in the university, as well as presenting our own annual ‘Klassenabend’, and Forum Neue Kammermusik and Ensemble Incontri offer additional platforms for the creation and performance of new student compositions. Incontri is also a regular participant in the Klangbrücken and Musik 21 festivals, so newly written student works are presented alongside important works from the repertoire and world premieres by internationally renowned composers. One of our guiding principles is that student works shouldn’t be limited to workshop concerts of student pieces inside of the confines of the university, but instead should be presented proudly and publicly alongside other works in the contemporary repertoire.
Apply
Information about applying to HMTMH can be found here. Information for international applicants can be found here.
Last modified: 2024-03-01
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