From percussion rooms around the world vol.28｜Germany, Thuringia, Weimar, Ayumi Hoshi

Hello everyone, nice to meet you! My name is Ayumi Hoshi. Currently, I am a graduate student in Germany and an orchestral academy student. I would like to introduce you to everything about living and studying abroad in Germany, including the various differences between the three cities where I have lived so far: Hannover, Göttingen, and Weimar!

Start studying abroad in music: Hannover

I began my first music graduate studies in Germany in the city of Hannover in Lower Saxony. It's the 13th largest city in Germany, so I think it's relatively urban. There are a lot of fairly new buildings in front of the station, but if you go a little further you'll find the old town with a wonderful cityscape.

At the Hannover University of Music and Performing Arts, where I attend, percussion classes are divided into the Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Education, and the Faculty of Music does not have classes for aspiring soloists, only classes for aspiring orchestral players. At university, I was able to take lessons in my major, timpani, Latin percussion, and drums, as many as four days a week, from professors such as Andreas Boettger and Erich Trog (former principal timpanist of the German Philharmonic Berlin). In addition to lessons, I also participated in many ensembles such as university orchestra, brass, and opera, and I was particularly moved when there was an orchestra in the hall and I was able to perform in a full opera. Graduate students at Hannover, especially Suga percussion students, can basically earn enough credits just by taking lessons and ensemble classes, so I'm very grateful that they can concentrate solely on performance-related matters.

First orchestra membership: Göttingen

About eight months after entering university, I had my first audition for an internship with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra (GSO), and luckily I was able to pass.

Here, I will explain a little about German orchestra auditions. Auditions in Germany are basically invitation-only, and only those who receive an invitation after applying can participate. In order to receive this invitation, there are various conditions; for example, in most cases, auditions for full-time members require experience in joining an orchestra. Therefore, you will start by gaining experience by joining an orchestra as an academy student or intern. For academy students, in addition to performing in orchestras, the curriculum includes lessons from orchestra members, concerts just for academy students, and mock auditions, but for interns, I think there are many schools that do not offer concerts or mock auditions. I am very grateful for this system as I am able to receive a salary for both.

Now, let's get back to the main point. Although Göttingen is a small city, it is a university town with a very long history and is home to the University of Göttingen, where many students live. Perhaps that's why there are so many new and cute cafes, and the city center is all old, so it has a really cute streetscape.

GSO belongs to the B orchestras (classified from A to D depending on the size of the orchestra) among orchestras in Germany, and even among them, the number of members is a little smaller, with less than 70 members. In addition to concerts at the city hall and theater in Göttingen, we often traveled together in one bus to concerts in surrounding cities. All the members were really kind and like family, and I was able to gain a lot of wonderful experiences and learning along with fun and warm memories.

World Heritage City: Weimar

I successfully passed the academy audition and started my new life in Weimar last September. Little by little, I got used to the orchestra and the new environment. Weimar is a city that flourished as a center of classicism, with Goethe and Schiller as representatives. Weimar, the city of classicism, has a total of 11 sites registered as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Goethe's former home, churches, parks, and libraries. The opera house where I work as an academy student is also a world heritage site and has a history of over 200 years, and the orchestra (Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar (DNT)) is said to be the oldest in the world and has a history of over 500 years.

DNT currently has over 100 members and is classified as an A orchestra. DNT is an orchestra exclusively for opera houses, so opera performances are its main focus. Opera has a very long performance period, and is performed regularly for many months, several times a month. In addition to this, we also hold orchestra-only concerts, such as symphonies and film music, about once or twice a month. As someone who aims to become a professional, I am truly grateful for the current environment where I can learn something different every time by performing songs from various genres in a professional orchestra.

Finally

It's quite long, but what do you think? I would be happy if I could convey the charm of Germany to everyone. Germany is a highly recommended country for nurturing young people who want to become orchestral players, so if you are thinking about studying abroad, please come! I'm also posting pictures of my life in Germany on YouTube, little by little, so if anyone is interested, I'd be happy if you could take a look. Thank you very much for reading this far. Auf Wiedersehen!