Applications for the summer semester 2027: Faculty of Music, selected study programmes, 1–30 November 2026; Master's programme Integrated Design (Faculty of Art & Design), 1 December 2026 – 11 January 2027.
Between online & presence Interviews, graphics, lectures, exhibitions, concerts, photography, experimental projects, film, and much more.
Lecture series Fine Arts
Mai Ling Collective
The Mai Ling collective will introduce itself and its work as part of the Fine Arts lecture series. In their presentation, the artist group will introduce one of their earlier projects "Who is Mai Ling?" – a series of video/sound installations, performances and interventions in public space. In addition, their latest work "NOT FUNNY!" will illustrate how art can be used as a means of protest in times of escalating anti-Asian xenophobia.
The Nooscope Manifested AI as Instrument of Knowledge Extractivism
The Nooscope Manifested AI as Instrument of Knowledge Extractivism Talk by Matteo Pasquinelli and Vladan Joler
In their talk, Matteo Pasquinelli and Vladan Joler question the ideological status of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an "intelligent machine" and trace how it works and how it fails. The talk addresses crucial issues such as algorithmic bias, machine learning and knowledge extractivism at a crucial moment when more and more domains and activities are becoming accessible to algorithmic control and automation. The Nooscope is a visual manifesto of AI as an instrument of knowledge extractivism.
This year's graduation exhibitions took place from 21 January to 8 February 2021. Graduates of the Fine Arts study programme exhibited their final works on different days and in different locations: in Speicher XI in Überseestadt, in the Dechanatstraße gallery, in Galerie Mitte and in Tor 40. The works ranged from painting and drawing to installation and sculpture to film and performance.
The exhibitions were photographed by Ana Rodríguez.
Rang Lee "Missing Paris"
Rang Lee's exhibition "missing Paris – how to build the most iconic city in the world" was exhibited at Nebenflut in Speicher XI. The images shown in the exhibition were taken in everyday life in Bremen, Korea and during a trip to Italy and were selected from the artist's perspective due to their similarity to Paris, the most iconic city in the world.
Jiwoo Parks "Things about cut off"
Jiwoo Park's exhibition "Things about cut off" was shown at Galerie Flut in Speicher XI and comprised a series of photographs and inkjet prints as well as a video.
Joschua Braun & Yohan Koo "Double Trouble"
The exhibition "Double Trouble" by diploma students Joschua Braun and Yohan Koo (class of Prof. Heike Kati Barath) was presented as part of the 2021 diploma exhibitions at Galerie Dechanatstraße. Joschua Braun's works were shown from 4 to 7 February and included paintings, drawings, sculptures and sculptural works. The works of Yohan Koo were presented from 21 to 24 January.
The exhibition "5w1h" by diploma student Francisco Valenca Vaz (class Prof. Stephan Baumkötter, guest student class Prof. Dr. Rosa Barba) was presented at Galerie Mitte from 4 to 7 February 2021 as part of the 2021 diploma exhibitions. Francisco Valenca Vaz works with the stretching of surfaces by performing actions with the objects. For the diploma examination, he presented works from the series "Skyscrapers". The works are a transfer of previous exhibitions. They look handmade and in some cases industrially produced. In some cases they are autonomous or refer to a model. One of the most important aspects of Francisco Valenca Vaz's artistic language lies in the value relationships between different artificial materials.
Eszter Dora Forgács, Konstanze Spät & Florian Witt "ver-aus,zu;hin:vor."
Eszter Dora Forgács (class of Prof. Julia Rudelius), Konstanze Spät and Florian Witt (class of Prof. Kathrin von Maltzahn, class of Prof. Stephan Baumkötter) presented their diploma works from 5 to 8 February 2021 in the exhibition "ver-aus,zu;hin:vor.". Eszter Dora Forgács showed her work "Schlauch-Tube" at Tor 40, Konstanze Späts work "Scenes of Oscillation" was presented at Galerie K' and Florian Witt also exhibited his work at Tor 40 from 5 to 8 February 2021.
The exhibitions of the masterstudents, which have been held annually at the Weserburg since 2011, provide a multifaceted insight into the quality and diversity of current art production in Bremen. A special highlight is the awarding of the Karin Hollweg Prize, which is linked to the presentation. Endowed with a total of 15,000 euros, it is one of the most important art promotion prizes at German art academies. Half of the prize money is reserved for an institutional solo exhibition in Bremen. In 2020/21, 21 artists will be involved in the presentation, which will exclusively show new, partly site-specific works.
The exhibition is curated by Alejandro Perdomo Daniels.
Exhibitors: Esther Adam, Jessica Ammann, Kate Andrews, Alex Beriault, Hannes Deters, Alexandser Esch van Dettum, Zainab Haidary, Alexander Hecht, Maria (Masha) Karpushina, Thomas Keiser, Vincent Kück, Ariane Litmeyer, Felix Luczak, Lisa Sinan Mrozinski, Ghaku Okazaki, Julija Paskeviciute, Daniela Reina Téllez, Virgil B/G Taylor, Anna-Lena Völker, Song Zhenhong
This was the motto of the traditional first-semester tour of the Integrated Design study programme – held online this year due to the pandemic. Developed under the direction of Harm Coordes, the virtual tour offers insights into ways of working and into what a first semester looks like during a pandemic.
Visitors could get to know the fundamentals of the study programme in subjects such as fashion and product design, illustration and moving images, and gain first impressions of the directions in which students can specialise.
The first-semester students talk about positive experiences as well as personal difficulties when starting at the HfK, and draw a first conclusion about the opportunities offered by the diverse Integrated Design study programme.
This year's diploma exhibitions took place from 3 to 20 September. Graduates of the Fine Arts study programme exhibited their final works on different days and in different locations: on the Überseewiese in the open air, in Speicher XI in Überseestadt in the Dechanatstraße gallery and in the Spedition. The works ranged from painting and drawing to installation and sculpture to film and performance.
Exhibitions from 3 to 6 September
This year's diploma exhibitions kicked off on 3 September with the diploma students Lucas Kalmus Jaspar, Patrick Peljhan, Shirin Mohammad, Ul Seo, Sabine Peter and Sebastian Moske. Their works were presented until 6 September.
Lucas Kalmus Jaspar presented his diploma thesis "where" (2020) at the Überseewiese. The work revolves around the functions of public space, how it contributes to world perception and community building. The three pavilions reflect and counteract the homogeneous distribution of a 'European city' and the associated reproduction of a materialism that has its roots in post-colonial relations and patriarchal structures. The representation of exclusive wealth is just as important a reference point in the work as the inclusivity of the 'original hut'. Shelter, support and openness are both structural characteristics of a primal hut and abstract values of a feeling of home.
Patrick Peljhan presented his graduation film "VIVA VOCE" (2020) in the auditorium of Speicher XI. Viva Voce (Latin for "oral tradition", viva "alive" and voce "voice") is still used today as a technical term in the fields of politics, law and academia, where it refers to oral votes, evidence or examinations. In his short film, Peljhan tells the story of his family's migration and renegotiates the "collective contemporary history" interwoven with it. The starting point is the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and his first visit to his father's Croatian hometown shortly afterwards. Using archive material from the news programme, old VHS family footage and more recent footage from his research, Peljhan speaks off-screen, alternating between free narrator and critical observer.
Shirin Mohammad also presented her multimedia installation "A house then, a museum now: chapter one, wind of 120 days" (2020) at Speicher XI in Überseestadt. About Shirin Mohammad's work: "Shirin Mohammad presents a multi-media installation that immerses the viewer into a factory town that she investigated while researching areas of exile in Iran. This display was a preface to a research on the history of internal exile in Iran; a former Asbestos Industrial Complex was taken as a model of a city of exile. Different parts of the complex included accommodation for the workers and their families, accommodation for the managers, engineers and their families, a mosque, the main factory building and the asbestos mine at the foot of the mountain. It is located in a desert climate exposed to the Wind of 120 Days; today all factory grounds are deserted."
About the work of Ul Seo: „'What to think' and 'What to do' are common pressures in Korean society. Most of these forces are focused on being worthy economically or established in society. And they are being kept under control through media, education and lifestyle. Also, being exposed to this pressure for a long period of time, people are thinking they are leading their life under the illusion of living a valuable life. Through these repeated pressures, at some point people live like a machine or a component for the purpose and value desired in Korean society. Life in Germany is not much different. It continues unconsciously to be subjected to this compulsion. And I am forced to repeat the question, "Am I a valuable person in this society?" The framework of pressure remains. In the repetition of being under pressure I came to ask myself at one point, whether the values that are communicated to me are really my own values. At the same time, I discovered the value of repetitive actions and materials, not the value given by society, by repeating invaluable, useless acts that are commonly used in Korean society and completing the repeated actions at some point through my own regulations. What I realised by repeating the same behaviour is that there are countless processes of change in the small areas of everyday life. I looked back on my work differently and discovered unexpected things that I could not find at any moment before. The lines all seemed the same for example, but if I change my attitude and look at them slowly, they are all different sizes and different shapes. Through this, I found that if the seemingly unworthy acts, time and materials are accumulated and stacked, it has some different values as itself, which is not given by society.
Sabine Peter (class of Prof Wendelien van Oldenborgh) exhibited her final project in the Nebenflut in Speicher XI. Her work consists of various ceramic objects that describe the attempt to disperse a voice. The objects also deal with all the detours that the material clay leads us on.
Sebastian Moske presented his video installation "One Night in Klein Mexiko / Dear" (2020) at the Spedition near the freight station. "For his diploma thesis about the Westphalensiedlung in Bremen, Hastedt, Sebastian Moske worked with five performers on site and via telephone/internet during the lockdown, whereby the unofficial name of the settlement "Klein Mexiko" is the starting point of the work. Billy the Kid, ballroom culture, male fantasies and the social housing of the 1920s in Bremen are the narrative building blocks of the joint improvisations. Sebastian Moske studied acting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg from 2006-2010, worked as a permanent theatre actor and has been part of Rosa Barba's class "Expanded Ideas of Cinematic Spaces and Conceptual Photography" (HfK Bremen) since 2014. In his works, he explores the possibilities of literature and storytelling in dialogue with performers, visual artists and musicians, between touch, flirtation, seduction and the violence of translation.
Exhibitions from 10 to 13 September
From 10 to 13 September, the diploma students Armin Wischkony, Laura Pientka and Tomma Köhler exhibited their final projects under the title "Combined Conclusions" in the Dechanatstraße of the University of the Arts Bremen.
Armin Wischkony – Room installation, various materials, audio loop approx. 12 min.
Laura Pientka presented her graduation project "UBPCS_Ultimate Beneficial Pipeline System", which is both a sound installation and a performance. In the gallery in Dechanatstraße and in its outdoor area, she set up a pipe system that spread parasitically on the floor and disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared. The pipe system consisted of ceramic pipes up to one metre long, with a total installation length of over fourteen metres. Something was being transported in the system that was invisible to the naked eye. Only sounds echoed through the pipes. These made people smile, because they sounded like intestinal winds. Where they came from and where they went remained open.
The artist was an active part of the work through her performance. She meticulously sealed the pipe connections with a sticky, flowing mass. The procedure of "plugging" was repeated throughout the day without rhythm. There was a tension between the rather masculine connotation of the blue overalls worn by the artist and the fragile ceramics, which are often subject to a connotation of "beautiful" and "feminine" craftsmanship.
About Tomma Köhler's work: "I have been studying in the class for artistic space and body concepts with Markus Löffler and André Korpys since 2014. My work combines my interest in performance, scenography and sculpture. One focus lies in my preoccupation with definitions. Sculpture, object, stage, space. Here the play with definitions is translated into a play with material. He works sculpturally with paper and metal. Video works are also part of spatial installations in which I sketch scenes which, in addition to the examination of space, also contain my examination of society and its outsiders. The objects shown in the diploma exhibition function partly as characters, partly they open up a play space in the mind of the viewer, which is transported into the exhibition space by other objects in the installation."
Exhibitions from 17 to 20 September
From 17 to 20 September, Chris Ghitulescu, Charline Zongos, Paul Ole Janns and Ji Yoon Chung from Prof. Heike Kati Barath's class presented their final works in Dechanatstraße at University of the Arts Bremen. Ji Yoon Chung showed her new video works, all of which were created in 2020. Chris Ghitulescu was represented with a wall installation made of paper works and steel, as well as a room installation consisting of a large number of glass sculptures. Paul Ole Janns exhibited recent paintings. Charline Zongos showed a three-dimensional painting consisting of steel, wood, foam, foil and fabric.
About Chris Ghitulescu's work: "Pressing the coloured blood of various petals into paper using fingernails has been at the centre of my artistic practice for about seven years. With the wall installation and individual paintings, I endeavour to develop this further by expanding my work beyond the pure performance of drawing and finished drawing. The aim is to exploit the potential of the underlying concept and its implicit, symbolic materiality as an installative work, as an installation. The spatial installation (fabric / glass / mattress) aims to combine concept and material on a deeper level and to connect them atmospherically accordingly. The aim is to emphasise the momentary through the lighting and to balance it with the static yet light structure of the heavy glass objects and heavy mattress without breaking the ambiguity and ambivalence of the material and level of meaning."
About Charline Zongos' work: "In my work, I transfer painting onto materials such as wood, steel, foam, foil or even cotton wool, as well as onto floors and walls by working with fabrics and varnish. This creates a three-dimensional painting in space that is accessible and offers the viewer the opportunity to experience it from all sides. My sources of inspiration usually have an unexpected origin and allow for free associations. These result in individual static or fragile works that relate to the space and to each other. I also see my work as a living organism that wants to be nurtured and develop. There is therefore no finished, limited state or a dissolved composition. The work can change during an exhibition. The organism should grow, repeat itself, take possession of the space, make it its own, overlay itself, envelop itself, condense itself and become a space itself."
About the work of Paul Ole Janns: "Influences of old master painting are interwoven with comics and graffiti. I use spray paint, acrylic and oil paint on canvas. The motifs are my everyday experiences. The play of perspectives, exaggerated depiction and intense colours create grotesque and humorous pictorial worlds."
About the work of Ji Yoon Chung: „I believe we are living in a world where our identities can shift around at any time. It is not fixed, it is fluid. My works talk about these identities. Whether be it gender or any other attributes, I am aware of the power and the gaze that stick to me as I 'wear' certain identities. I use my body as a tool, as a starting point to subvert the notions that are embedded inside cultures."
In times like these – especially with a pandemic of unusual proportions – dealing with illnesses of any kind is a particular challenge for all people, be they carers or relatives, that goes to the limits of what is possible. Our project shows the other side, namely those who, as patients, although supported by carers and doctors, defend themselves against their illness and use their resources to fight it emotionally and intellectually. In literary terms, Ernst Herbeck (a schizophrenic Austrian poet of the twentieth century) is our starting point; musically, we begin with Robert Schumann, who experienced being admitted to a psychiatric ward and being at its mercy first-hand, and end with Michael Nyman's opera "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". Cat-eating mice, the worst horror trips, poems and finally – using the means of musical theatre - a medically diagnosed case of incipient dementia of a former opera singer illuminate the general struggle for dignity and survival of patients of all kinds and in all places.
Director: Gregor Horres, musical rehearsal and direction: Ulrich Sprenger.
Opera Project 2021 – Patients Part 1: Lieder recital
Concert performance for 4 rafts and 10 musicians on the Kleine Weser from 8 September 2021.
Four rafts, equipped with harpsichord, flute, lute, vocals and synthesiser, set sail from the banks of the Kleine Weser below the Wilhelm Kaisen Bridge in Bremen's Neustadt district. This is the start of a concert performance developed by HfK students as an interdisciplinary project of the Integrated Design, Fine Arts, Digital Media and Music programmes together with Raphael Sbrzesny, Professor of Creation and Interpretation (Sound, Performance, Concept).
Under the title "Reopening intimate space", rafts designed by students from the Integrated Design programme glide silently across the water as the sun sets. Sounds, melodies and songs sung and played by students from the Faculty of Music float across the Weser, mingle, fade away and meet again. A dense atmosphere is created, based on the performance idea of using sound to create a second, intimate space in the public area. Under the protection of the Wilhelm Kaisen Bridge, this works and the sounds of traffic and the calls of wild ducks reach the ears of the audience, who have gathered on both banks of the river, as if from another world.
The project was developed following the teaching format "Madrigal – Reopening the public space" in the summer semester 2021, in which students and teachers from the Music and Art/Design faculties explored performance and music in public spaces.
Soprano Johanna Bookmeyer is in demand as a soloist and ensemble singer, particularly for music from the 16th-18th centuries. She has already sung numerous programmes of sacred and secular Renaissance and Baroque music with the Ensemble Weser Renaissance and other ensembles.
She initially trained as an ensemble leader at the vocational school for music in Bad Königshofen and then studied vocal pedagogy and singing with children at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Since then, she has worked as a singing teacher, children's choir director and lecturer for singing with children.
In 2015, the singer began studying early music at the University of the Arts in Bremen, initially in Peter Kooij's class and since 2017 in Bettina Pahn's class. Her musical work has been enriched by courses with Margreet Honig, Emma Kirkby, Julian Pregardien, Dorothee Mields, Benno Schachtner and Gerd Türk, among others.
This summer, she won the La Risonanza EMSA Ensemble Prize 2021 with two other musicians at the Entroterre Music Festival in Italy. This prize includes several days of ensemble coaching by the La Risonanza ensemble and a concert at the Entroterre Music Festival 2022.
Atelier Neue Musik takes part in the ZKM's young talent festival "ne(x)t_generation 8.5"
With ne(x)t_generation 8.5, the Centre for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM) has put on a special edition of its festival for young talent at the university studios.
The Atelier für Neue Musik at the HfK Bremen can also be heard and seen with compositions by students and, in addition to purely musical works, also includes short videos, several of which were created as part of the ABK project One Minute Here … project.
Gambist Hille Perl and percussionist Murat Coşkun are well-travelled specialists in baroque music and improvisation. In the Deutschlandfunk chamber music hall, they present their duo programme "Hier und Jetzt" (Here and Now), which they both smilingly refer to as a "ghost concert", as it took place without an audience and takes into account the special conditions in pandemic times.
Video presentation of the young students of the Faculty of Music
Piano duo Elina Schumacher and Alina Kober Bernado Pasquini: Sonata for two keyboard instruments, I. Allegro, III. Vivace Manuel Infante: Danses Andalouses, II. Sentiemento
Borislava Mihailova Nikolava, violin Charles-Auguste de Bériot: Violin Concerto No. 9, op. 104, II. Adagio, III. Rondo: Allegretto moderato
Sophia Lewerenz, piano Frédéric Chopin: Etude in G-flat major, op. 10 No. 5 Robert Schumann: ABEGG Variations, op. 1
Sophie Brandes, piano Robert Schumann: Intermezzo op. 4, I. Allegro quasi maestoso, II. Presto a capriccio
As part of the WinterAkademie, a concert with HfK teachers will take place on 27 February at 8 p.m., which will be broadcast as a live stream on the HfK Vimeo channel.
Listen to works by Johann Schop, Francesco Geminiani, Heinrich Schütz and others.
HfK alumnus Jinwook Jung continues to be very successful internationally
Jinwook Jung, an Hfk student in the composition class of Prof Jörg Birkenkötter from 2012 to 2016, was selected from over 90 applicants from all over the world for the "Residència de Composició Musical Rodamúsic" 2021 and was chosen as the only prizewinner. His commissioned work for clarinet and saxophone will be premiered at three different music festivals in Spain in summer 2021.
He also received an important commission from the French radio programme "Radio France – Création Mondiale" in 2020. The piece consists of five movements. Each movement was broadcast and presented every day for a week with his other works for different instrumentations. His work " Au Magasin de Nouveautés " and the interview he recently gave to radio editor Anne Montaron can be listened to in the France Musique radio library.
The individual movements were recently broadcast on the radio programme " France Musique - Création Mondiale " and can be heard online:
Tabea consists of the four HfK students Christopher Olesch (vibraphone), Felix Kantelberg (electric guitar), Magnus Bodzin (double bass) and Alex Petratos (drums), who have been playing in their current constellation since October 2019. The band's music is located somewhere between space jazz, avant-garde and groove jazz. Concerts, a tour and a studio were already planned for 2020. Then came corona and the plans were cancelled for the time being.
Tabea describe their music as a healthy mix of the influences of all band members. These range from Miles Davis to the Beatles, Radiohead, Brian Blade, Shai Maestro, Pat Metheny, Robert Glasper, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many more. The music is composed, recorded and mixed by Tabea herself.
Tabea can be heard on Soundcloud, and the band has also published its first contributions on YouTube. More videos will follow soon – stay tuned!
A lunchtime concert programme to celebrate Beethoven's 250th anniversary: one piece each by Beethoven and his teacher Haydn in the same key of F minor. In contrast, a second video with a classic of the 20th century avant-garde: the cycle "Musica ricercata" by the Hungarian composer György Ligeti. Both concerts will be accompanied by a programme introduction to classify and reflect on the pieces.
Musica Ricercata, a piano cycle composed by the Hungarian composer György Ligeti, born in 1923, is a work in which the exploration of the elementary origin of musical material and the reflection of the same was composed.
Although the entire cycle is systematically structured, it also proves that theoretically based compositions do not necessarily have to sound inexpressive - thinking and feeling do not contradict each other here, but complement each other.
Bach had already demonstrated this magnificently in his Goldberg Variations, among others. Although the individual pieces are related to each other in their tonal material, all eleven miniatures are self-contained, expressive compositions. The second piece was even used in Stanley Kubrick's last film "Eyes wide shut".
"Art is great and artistic at the moment when you bring together parameters that at first glance seem incompatible and allow them to resound at the same moment." - Hwa-Kyung Yim -
Lisa Schmäling wins 2nd prize at international piano competition
Lisa Schmäling, HfK student in the Almut Cordes class, won 2nd prize at the "International Online Piano Competition Gloria Artis". Over 200 pianists from all over the world took part in the competition. Lisa Schmäling presented works by Haydn, Scriabin and Rautavaara to the jury. The award is linked to a prizewinners' concert in Vienna.
Insights into the competition programme on YouTube.
Chamber orchestra of the HfK with works by Mendelssohn and Hindemith in the Glocke
The chamber orchestra of the HfK under the musical direction of Thomas Klug performed in the concert hall of the Glocke on 27 November 2020. After a long break, it was a relief for the students involved to be able to make music together again, albeit without an audience.
Listen to excerpts from this concert with works by
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 for strings in C minor
Paul Hindemith: Trauermusik for strings and solo viola, soloist Esther van Stralen
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 for strings in E minor
Jorge Caro and Lisa Schmäling win first prize in international competition
Jorge Caro and Lisa Schmäling, HfK students in the Patrick O'Byrne and Almut Cordes classes, won first prize as a piano duo in the chamber music category at the VI North International Music Competition in fall 2020 (based in Stockholm, Sweden). The North International Music Competition is an online music competition for musicians from all over the world. With a programme for two pianos consisting of works by Soler, Schumann and Guastavino, they competed against participants from 35 countries. Jorge Caro and Lisa Schmäling were selected by an international jury of eleven. As soloists, both have already won prizes at national and international piano competitions (including "Jugend musiziert" and the "F. Chopin" International Piano Competition in South America). They founded their duo in 2020 and have been giving concerts in South America and Europe ever since. Both pianists are currently studying at the HfK Bremen and receive chamber music lessons from Prof. O'Byrne.
Insights into the competition programme on YouTube
HfK professor of voice and singer Thomas Mohr (tenor) and Eva Vogel (alto) performed Mahler's "Lied von der Erde" together with the NDR Radiophilharmonie. The work in the arrangement by Arnold Schönberg and Rainer Riehn was broadcast live on Thursday 26 November 2020 from the Great Broadcasting Hall of the NDR in Hanover.
One Minute Here
Under the title One Minute Here…, the Arbeitskreis Bremer Komponisten und Komponistinnen has been publishing audiovisual miniatures since May 2020 that deal with the state of emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated deceleration. As part of a competition, composition students at Bremen University of the Arts were given the opportunity to create soundtracks for Alexander Derben's one-minute videos. In episodes 14-16 of the series, the selected works can be experienced with music by Qi Chu, Yejun You and Maria Pelekanou.
Early music: although its heyday was a long time ago, it still has a great appeal, especially for younger people. In the past, people from all over the world have come to northern Germany for several work phases to devote themselves to music from the 16th century in the European Hanseatic Ensemble.
Promoting talent, bringing Hanseatic music to the stage and bringing together young people from Europe - these were the three main aims of the European Hanseatic Ensemble, which was initiated and directed by Manfred Cordes, a specialist in 16th and early 17th century music and Professor of Early Music at the HfK until 2019, in 2019. It all began with an elaborate selection process. Prominent representatives of the early music scene tested the talents in master classes and ensemble rehearsals. The best were allowed to come back, work on a programme under professional conditions and go on a concert tour.
On their debut tour, 22 young musicians performed a programme of Hanseatic music and dedicated themselves to the music of famous composers such as Hieronymus Praetorius, Matthias Weckmann (Hamburg), Paul Siefert and Christoph Werner (Gdansk).
NDR Kultur broadcast the recording of the Hamburg concert "Es erhub sich ein Streit im Himmel" by the European Hanse Ensemble in the main church of St. Nikolai in Welt der Musik on 19 October 2020. The concert recording and a report by Ulrike Henningsen about the project between the pieces are available in the NDR media library.
Yu Mita's interpretation of the work by Eugène Ysaye
Corona has forced our students to work and spend a lot of time on their own. Direct contact with fellow students was suddenly no longer possible. In order to still be able to play for an audience under these conditions, Master's student Yu Mita from Prof. Katrin Scholz's class recorded two works for violin solo by Biber and Ysaye in the Dechanatstraße concert hall. Yu Mita's interpretation of Ysaye's work is now available online.
Eugène Ysaye (1858–1931): Sonata for violin solo op. 27 No. 5, from which: Danse rustique
Yu Mita was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996. He began his music studies in 2011 with Prof. Toshiro Yokoyama at the Tokyo College of Music High School. He then completed his bachelor's degree at the College of Music in Tokyo, where he was awarded several scholarships. Since October 2019, he has been studying violin with Prof. Katrin Scholz at the University of the Arts in Bremen. He received further impulses in master classes with Prof. Koh Gabriel Kameda, Yukiko Kamei and Akiko Tatsumi.
As a member of the "Quartet KAIRI", taught by Saiko Azuma, he was awarded second prize (the first prize was not awarded) at the 27th Classical Music Competition Japan.
In 2016–17 he was concertmaster of the Tokyo College of Music Symphony Orchestra. He also gained orchestral experience as a substitute with outstanding professional orchestras, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the New Philharmonic Japan, under conductors such as Parvo Järvi, Hannu Lintu, Jun Märkl, Petr Altrichter and Tadaaki Otaka.
Jazzchor – Virtual Choir Videos
An unforeseen and unusual semester lies behind us. The HfK Bremen Jazz Choir also had to come to terms with the circumstances of a digital semester: no personal meetings with the new singers, only virtual rehearsals and no joint concerts.
Nevertheless, the jazz choir had a lot of fun organising a "consolation semester finale" at the end of the semester and recorded two songs together in the form of virtual choir videos. The singers recorded their voices at home and choir director Charlène Thomas edited the entire composition together from sound and video recordings.
HfK Professor Hille Perl at the WDR Kulturambulanz
HfK professor of viola da gamba Hille Perl plays the viola da gamba on her farm in Lower Saxony. She combines the Prelude from the 2nd Cello Suite by J. S. Bach, an Adagio by C. Fr. Abel and a Macquam by the American composer M. Bishop.
John Dowland: Flow my Tears
The students of Early Music at the HfK Bremen have recorded the Elizabethan piece Flow my Tears by John Dowland online due to Covid-19.
Online-Video: "An Early Musician's guide to home office and quarantine"
"An Early Musician's guide to home office and quarantine" – this online video by students and teachers of the Early Music Department of the HfK Bremen shows us what making music together can look like in times of Corona – despite the difficulty of not being able to practice in one room.
Piece: "God the Father dwell with us" Michael Praetorius Creutzburgensis (1571–1621) "Musae Sioniae" Part 1 (1605) Participants: Students and teachers of the Early Music Department of the University of the Arts Bremen
11 December 2020 – tele-cast #6: In conversation with Hille Perl
HfK professor of viola da gamba Hille Perl is a guest on the tele-cast at the Gesellschaftshaus Magdeburg. In the sixth episode of the podcast, she talks to David Boos about her wide-ranging interests and digital consorts after her appearance on Sonntagsmusik and also makes a plea for an unconditional basic income.
24 April 2020 – Interview with Digital Media Bachelor student Yunda Suh
HfK Bachelor of Digital Media student Yunda Suh is currently stuck in Seoul, South Korea. In this interview, she describes her current situation: being trapped in self-quarantine, not knowing when she will be able to return to Bremen and what the situation is like on the ground in Seoul.
Which subject are you studying at the University of the Arts Bremen? Digital Media, Bachelor
Since when do you study in Bremen? 2017/18 WS
Why did you choose to study in Bremen and at the University of the Arts? I wanted to study Digital Media specifically and not Fine Arts. The university´s curriculum fits to me, that´s why I chose to study in Bremen.
When did you want to return to Bremen? I came to South Korea at the end of March. At that time, the university was already closed and the summer semester was also delayed. Because I could do nothing in Germany, and I had to stay alone in a tiny room, I decided to go to my parents´place in South Korea. When I left Germany, I planned to return as soon as the ‘face to face semester’ would start. When I bought the flight ticket, I had to decide for a return date. But I had no idea when the summer semester would actually begin. So I had to choose a temporary return date. I picked the end of June, because a friend informed me that if I leave Germany over 3 months, my visa will be cancelled. Most of the South Korean students studying at the University of the Arts Bremen, who at the beginning of vacation came to South Korea, wanted to return by the end of March.
In which city are you 'stuck' at the moment? Seoul
Are there still flights to Europe/ Germany? Yes, but they are very very rare. Almost all flights to Europe are cancelled. In my case, my flight to South Korea was also cancelled many times. At that time, Bremen Airport was also chaos.
What is the situation like on site? – Are most shops closed? No, most shops are open. However, most museums are closed. And most events, concerts, performances.. etc are cancelled as well. But most restaurant and shops are still open. Actually, there is no problem to live daily life in South Korea.
Do people have to stay in their apartments? Many people try to stay in their apartments. And government requests, ‘please stay home’. But that is not obligatory.
Are the schools closed? Yes, some Kindergartens are open, because Kindergartens are not huge. But universities and schools are closed. Almost all of them are progressing with online lectures.
How is your and your family´s health? Do you feel well informed and taken care of by the South Korean government? Definitely YES. The South Korean government takes care really well. The whole system regarding Corona in South Korea is very well organised and very fast and safe. Currently, in South Korea, 80% of newly infected persons are from abroad. When I arrived at Seoul Airport, there was a pick-up system that brought me home. I could take the bus, which is only for people, who came from abroad and directly took a Corona test. And I received the results two days later. It is obligatory for people from abroad to go into quarantine for two weeks. If you violate self-quarantine, there are penalties. During these two weeks of self-quarantine period, the South Korean government provided me with some food, sanitisers and masks. And in South Korea, there are many masks and sanitiser available. Next to the government providing us with it, we can also buy it on the street. There is no shortage. Lastly we can inform ourselves about the routes that newly infected people passed. Places that infected people passed are disinfected. Due to these precautionary measures, I am relieved to be in South Korea at the moment.
How could the university help you in this situation? I would really appreciate it if the university could support me with my visa issues. I heard a few days ago, if I leave Germany over 6 months, my student visa will be cancelled. But I want to return to Germany after the Corona situation calms down. If the situation doesn't get better within the next six months, I have to enter Germany for my visa, even if it's dangerous. I think it would be good to have trouble-free support for entry into Germany. I heard that people from South Korea now refuse to enter Germany. Of course, long-term visa holders are allowed to enter the country. But students are worried about not being able to enter Germany again.
Are you in contact with your lecturers/professors and fellow students? Yes.
Do you receive teaching material for the upcoming semester? Yes. I am steadily receiving information regarding the upcoming semester.
Do you have exams scheduled for this semester? If so, are you afraid that you will not be able to take them? I don’t have exams. But I had a final presentation for one of my lectures in order to receive the CP. But we couldn’t hold the presentation. For that reason, we needed to find a different solution. We suggested to submit a video document instead of a presentation. Above all, the most important issue is to postpone the deadline. We will require much more time than estimated, because all Werkstätten are closed and shops in Germany are closed as well, we can’t work outside of the university. In my case also, I came to South Korea and I had to go into self-quarantine. Therefore I had to throw away 3 weeks.
I hope, we can meet again safely. Stay healthy!
9 April 2020 – Masks for Bremen
HfK fashion design students sew thousands of mouth and nose masks
Mouth and nose masks are in short supply worldwide during the coronavirus crisis – even in Bremen. However, fashion design students at Bremen University of the Arts (HfK) refused to accept this and tackled the issue: The students produced 5,000 masks and handed them over to Bremen's professional fire department. They then distributed the masks to places that urgently need them, such as the police or social welfare organisations.
Jiyoon Hyun and Hyejin Jung have made a documentary based on the extraordinary everyday life of an ordinary musician.
This is the story of an ordinary musician. It is the story of a person who constantly thinks about why she plays music, what she wants to say through music, and how it can be connected to her life.
A unique person who makes music is part of society and the life we all live in our own places is a song of its own. Because of Corona, we had a difficult time, but the song of our lives has never stopped.
Jiyoon Hyun University of the Arts(HfK), Bremen, M.Mus.
Hyejin Jung Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK, Dutch: Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten)
HfK students Sarah Frede and Falk Helmbold, together with Marcel Becker-Neu, are one of the four new CLOSEUP Bremen scholarship holder teams. The group is creating artistic short films with THE TANK, incorporating their expertise in fashion design, photography, video art and directing into the project. In terms of content, they approach problems such as isolation or anxiety disorders in a completely new way - by interweaving digital and analog aspects in such a way that a world with a new aesthetic is created. The CLOSEUP Bremen 2021 scholarship holders were announced and interviewed at this year's SPOT LIGHT nordmedia talk&night at Theater Bremen.
Animated film from home … at a distance in the summer semester 2020
In an unusual semester, Prof. Heike Kati Barath and Armando Ducellari's animated film course took place online. This course was more of an experiment than ever for the students and teachers! Animated film alone at home .... What happens? How do I feel? How do I spend my days? What keeps me busy?
This very special situation was captured in short sequences. A half-hour journey through diary-like episodes, distant worlds or even one's own kitchen was realised on film.
Animated film is always a way of communicating and a unique means of expression to capture this very special time. Despite the physical distance, we got in touch and shared our experiences and thoughts.
With Bissan Badran, Iskra Bolte, Raphael Brückner, Valerie Buchholz, Miyeon Chung, Alina Denzin, Dorino-Manolo Förster, Anastasiia Guzenkova, Kira Ronja Häring, Bahareh Hejrankeshrad, Manana Kobakhidze, Yohan Koo, Mi-El Kwak, Chaekyoung Lee, Klara Linde, Maria Camila Mejia Murillo, Rajesh Naik, Ellie Rauh, Mathilda Schmidt, Sophie Seidlitz, Gregor Steinmetz, Chiara Trojke and Michael Weis under the direction of Prof. Heike Kati Barath, Ulrike Isenberg, Luan Lamberty and Alexandra Lea Portele.
Master's thesis as fashion film "GHOST STORIES" by Sarah Frede
Sarah Frede completed a Master's degree in 'Integrated Design' in the 'Fashion, People and Society' Master's studio. There she worked and researched at the interfaces of nature and technology. In her interdisciplinary way of working, she enjoys collaborating with creative people from other disciplines. In doing so, she tests the possibilities of new technologies for contemporary fashion design. For the Ghost Stories collection, she used new tools such as 3D scanners in a playful and intuitive way that allows her to find inspiration at the edges of reality and virtuality. A strong focus lies on the development of new surfaces and the manipulation of materials.
Instead of a fashion show, a short film showing the artist's final collection was shot at Villa Ichon. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the planned date with her graduating class in April 2020 at Villa Ichon with models and an audience could not take place as planned. Instead, the film was shot with a small number of protagonists in the evenings and at night at Villa Ichon in the fall.
HfK alumnus Mattia Bonafini and Simone Zoppellaro took part in a competition for experimental literature and radio art organised by the art radio station Ö1 with their composition "Siamese Whispers". Under the title "Entfernt verbunden", artists from all fields were invited to take part with radio art works lasting a maximum of five minutes.
Based on a reflection on proxemics applied to our on-life experiences (both connected and unconnected) in the context of a pandemic, Bonafini and Zoppellaro, with the collaboration of thirteen friends (writers, composers, musicians and scientists), created a multilingual text and music texture working exclusively with WhatsApp and social media.
In addition to the audience winner, ten pieces from around 100 submitted works were selected for the Ö1 Kunstradio broadcast at the end of August, including the composition by Bonafini and Zoppellaro.
The project aims to make works and processes that are created in (corona) isolation commentable and linkable to each other. Conceived as an experiment, it is not so much a technical platform as a cookbook of possibilities: Everyone can participate in everything, every user is also an administrator.
The presence platform connects the study programmes among and with each other.... enables a field of experimentation, a kind of laboratory. Practice, technical implementation, method development and research and teaching are deliberately intertwined. The aim is to test how a functional communication area and tool, a platform, can be turned into a virtual interaction space that offers alternative sensory and non-verbal communication experiences.
Faculty of Art and Design Asli Serbest, Professorship for Temporary Buildings, Beat Bogle, Professorship for Moving Image, Samuel Nyholm, Professorship for Illustration and Markus Walthert, Workshop Interaction Lab
Due to the current situation, the course in the Fundamentals of Design in Integrated Design "Elementary Fundamentals of Color, Material, Structure" by Prof. Ursula Zillig and Joachim Baldauf will not be held in the rooms of the University of the Arts Bremen. Instead, the course "The muddy eye of the mummy" is being held from home this semester with the help of the Teams app, emails and phone calls. The students photograph and design in their homes and then upload their work to Instagram.
