The Hochschule für Künste in Bremen refers to the art department and the music conservatory affiliated with the University of Bremen. Bremen is a lovely small city-state about a half hour south of Hamburg and supports two orchestras (the Bremer Philharmoniker and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.), many theaters and art museums. The conservatory has its own beautiful, recently renovated building in the center of Bremen, minutes away from the cathedral and the market place.

The conservatory offers Bachelor of Music and Master of Music programs in Performance and Music Education. The school also offers a Master in Early Music and a Master in Orchestral Performance through the members of the Bremer Philharmoniker. We are also hoping to offer a Master in Contemporary Music in the future.

Harrie Starreveld and I team teach a studio of six to eight performance majors. Each student receives individual lessons from us, plus group lessons in repertoire, technique, contemporary music and orchestral excerpts. We have at least one studio recital per semester. In addition to the Hochschule Orchestra, students from our studio also play one concert per year with the Bremer Philharmoniker as part of their orchestral training. There is also an active contemporary music ensemble.

Tuition is free, the school only requires a semester fee of 196.92 Euros per semester . According to a 2009 study Bremen is the 24th most expensive city in German to live in. Not bad. For detailed information (pdf format) in English about study and life in Bremen (including living costs), click here.

For the 2012/2013 school year we have a few places available for Bachelor's study. Enrollment in the flute studio is down at the moment due to the higher level of German language requirements for foreigners. We want to encourage young talented players who speak German or are willing to learn to come and audition for us! Information about application can be found here. It's in German, I hope they get an English page up soon. Deadline is April 15th, 2012 and the application fee is 30 Euros.