NEWSLETTER 04/21

A year of the pandemic has changed our life together and our work at the university. After the initial uncertainty, the first tentative attempts to make study and work life possible during the pandemic began. The basic situation was one of improvisation, with many things working according to the principle of trial and error. Unspoken but noticeable every minute: we will master this situation.

With this in mind, we are starting a third semester under coronavirus conditions. The university has taken a special approach. The hygiene concepts developed follow the directive to realize as much as possible with maximum care. Practicing, artistic lessons, individual rehearsal phases and our concerts are a clear indication that we are doing the right thing.

This approach is necessary because culture is one of the most fragile areas within society. However, students' skills and abilities must be further developed so that they can help shape cultural life with a strong voice in the future.

Join us on this journey!

And then something like this: in the midst of the pandemic, a three-part opulent work that smells of the greatest possible distancing and a glittering premiere party from every pore. DON GIOVANNI
Maestro Ulrich Windfuhr sums it up as follows: "It is the opera of operas, the most dramatic and grandest, the core of operatic creation. It's about morality & commitment, will & desire, longing & inability. It's got everything in it." There is also a fantastic cast made up of singing students from the Hamburg and Lübeck universities.
One of them is Sophia Keiler in the role of Zerlina. For her, there is nothing more perfect than being on stage as a singer and devoting herself entirely to a role and its melodies. "Creating a character with individual nuances and growing as a personality and interpreter in the process. The development of a "Mozartian role", such as Zerlina, could not be more fascinating and challenging. Exploring this musical and emotional diversity and ultimately living and performing it is a particular pleasure."

We will broadcast the concert version live from our Forum on April 17 at 6 pm

"Why do we need art and culture when Corona is already bringing chaos to order?" ask the Claussen Simon Foundation and the Institute for Culture and Media Management, and engage prominent guests in conversation. In the next issue on April 21, we invite Senator for Culture Dr. Carsten Brosda to the podium.

Dr. Regina Back - Deputy Chairwoman of the Claussen Simon Foundation and lecturer at the Institute for Culture and Media Management - will provide an outlook on the evening:

"No other cultural authority in Germany has reacted as quickly and decisively to the plight of artists:innen and cultural institutions as the one in Hamburg. Since then, Carsten Brosda has repeatedly stood up for culture and its importance with clever analyses and a loud voice - in the media, with a podcast series, with books on the state of the nation. His lecture at the Hamburg Talks for Culture & Media will therefore focus on reflections on the role of art and culture in our society, as will the subsequent discussion with young artists, cultural managers and students. While, according to Adorno, it was still the task of art and culture to bring chaos into order, culture has currently been deprived of its right to have a say in public discourse. But how can culture continue to develop its power? Why should it? And what is the higher value of art, apart from leisure, relaxation and inspiration, that we are missing in the public debate? We will discuss these and other questions together.

Experience in recent months has shown that such a discourse works very well in the digital space and with broad audience participation. In this respect, I am looking forward to another exciting evening in the "Hamburg Talks for Culture & Media" series with the Claussen Simon Foundation scholarship holders from all over Germany and the students at the KMM Institute and the HfMT!"

Please register here for the event.

Undaunted, the editorial team of the university newspaper zwoelf is once again drawing on its full resources and has dedicated this issue to the topic of HEROES. We think that's particularly nice in view of all the gnawing hardships. Aren't they the heroes and heroines who always pursue their goals with unbroken will and despite all opposition, who see obstacles more as an incentive than a discouragement?
So let's take a closer look at heroism, get our bearings, take ourselves as a role model. Let us become enthusiastic and let them warm us up like a good toddy on a cold winter's day.

We will be happy to send you a freshly printed copy free of charge by post if you send us an e-mail to redaktion.zwoelf@hfmt-hamburg.de.

Yours sincerely,
Your HfMT