A summer festival as a musical journey of discovery

 
On 21 June 2026, the start of the calendar summer, the “Fête de la Musique” will be celebrated around the world. This year, the University of the Arts (HfK) Bremen is once again taking this as an opportunity to organise an open day in the lively atmosphere of the Music Department at Dechanatstraße 13–15 – as an invitation to the whole city. 

Together, 140 students, 30 lecturers and our guests from the German-Polish Festival for Young Musicians are putting on a huge musical summer celebration – indeed, a festival! It will take place on 21 June 2026, from 12 noon to 8 pm, with a diverse programme stretching from the organ tower through the halls, corridors, stairwells and courtyards to the university’s music cellar, showcasing all the musical styles taught there. Ensembles and soloists will present classical, jazz, pop, salsa, early and contemporary music, performances, experimental sound art, and improvised, interactive and multidisciplinary performance formats. 

For example, the new piano professor Mario Häring will perform Moritz Moszkowski’s Five Spanish Dances four-handed with students, and the Ribörs ensemble will interpret Stravinsky’s ‘L’Histoire du soldat’. The Gamben Consort and the university’s brass and bassoon ensembles will also be performing. The HfK Flutes will perform works by Handel, Grieg and from the Latin repertoire. Some students are exploring a three-dimensional score by Cornelius Cardew, others are engaging in dialogue with machines, staging DJ sets, studying female composers, singing their favourite arias, or coming together for a “Hommage à Claude Debussy”. 
To round off the day – at 7 pm in the gallery – the concert featuring the 2026 university prize winners will take place: Nora Brandenburg (organ, harpsichord) accompanies Rebecca Bottari (soprano).  
Great emphasis is also placed on educational activities, such as guided concerts, a taster harp course and a visualisation workshop for beginners. Visitors can experience just how inspiringly open the musical education at the HfK Bremen is. In this regard, Dean of Studies Prof. Dr Barbara Stiller is also offering a consultation service for prospective students. The Klaus Kuhnke Institute will also be selling recordings and music literature throughout the day. Refreshments will be provided by the canteen kitchen. 
The basic principle remains the same in 2026: all concerts are free of charge and open to everyone. In this way, the HfK Bremen invites you not only to celebrate, listen and marvel, but also to get involved, discover and learn – a musical experience in the heart of the city that brings students, teachers and guests together in a special way. 
The current programme for the “Fête de la Musique” can be found here: www.hfk-bremen.de/fdlm-2026