Music is more than just an ordered sequence of sounds, it is always a complete experience. An example from everyday life in Karlshorst: Sit down on a bench in Theatergasse, right next to the S-Bahn station and the Shostakovich Music School, and close your eyes.
You can hear the flute sounds of the music students, a little awkward at first, maybe even croaking, but then, after a few repetitions, smoother. The flute sounds mix with the sounds of the approaching S-Bahn trains and the constant hum of the cars on Treskower Allee.
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This is exactly what Till Schwabenbauer’s lessons are about – the overall experience of music. The conductor leads five ensembles at the Lichtenberg Music School, including the Shostakovich Symphony Orchestra with around 50 players and the youth orchestra.
In exactly two weeks you will have the opportunity to hear it: on Monday, September 23rd, the Shostakovich Music School will celebrate its 70th birthday, and not just anywhere, but in the Great Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. It starts at 7 p.m.
Ensemble leader Schwabenbauer is happy for his protégés: “The Great Hall of the Philharmonie is something special. Very few have ever performed on such a stage,” he says. The opportunity came by chance: Schwabenbauer had initially requested the hall for another of his music projects, but the funding for this project then stopped after he had already been given permission to use the hall. “And it would have been stupid to leave it unused,” he says.
Concerts with images, smells and VR glasses
The music teacher, who lives in Karlshorst, is always busy with several projects. For example, he is currently doing his doctorate in musicology at Humboldt University on the subject of “multimodal sensory science”. Simply put, this means music as a total experience: “There is so much potential in music that otherwise passes you by. Classical music in particular should therefore be experienced through all the senses,” says Schwabenbauer.
During live performances by the ensembles, they therefore play with images, smells and even virtual reality glasses to make the hidden potential of the music accessible, even to laypeople.
Working with amateurs is something I just enjoy.
Till Schwabenbauerleads five ensembles at the Lichtenberg Music School.
Schwabenbauer could easily have ended up at university or as a conductor in a large orchestra. “I’ve given university courses and even conducted a professional orchestra. That was all very nice. But working with amateurs is something I just enjoy,” he says. You can grow together through the pieces. And unlike professionals – where even the most complex pieces become routine at some point – beginners discover each piece anew – and so do their teachers.
Read more in the Tagesspiegel:
Quacking like Donald Duck “If you do something that no one else can do, you have carte blanche” Planets on the Orankesee A cosmic festival is taking place in East Berlin With a skate park, teaching kitchen and garden Classes have started in Berlin’s largest new school building
The current location of the Shostakovich Music School in Karlshorst was previously a Russian theater. Howoge has now leased the historic building to the music school and local restaurateurs. In addition to numerous rehearsal rooms for the music students, there is also a mysterious place in the heart of the building that has been unused for years: a huge, ancient theater hall.
So far, you can only see it on special days, for example on Monument Day last weekend. But that could soon change: “Renovation work is due to begin here in winter,” reveals Schwabenbauer. In the next few years, the room is to be restored by the Howoge Foundation for Urban Culture. “That would also be brilliant for us as a music school,” he says.
To be there?
On the website www.schostakowitsch-musikschule.de you can buy tickets for the music school anniversary.
However, the expansion of the old theater hall is still a long way off. Preparations for the anniversary concert are currently underway. One of Schwabenbauer’s students, Kolja Roterberg, has even composed his own piece for the event. Schwabenbauer plays a MIDI file, a kind of digital test version of the piece: Even in this demo version, the piece sounds powerful, and is reminiscent of pieces by the film music composer Hans Zimmer.
This “hymn” will be performed for the first time in front of a large audience at the anniversary concert in the Philharmonie. “It will be brilliant,” promises Schwabenbauer.
This text comes from the District newsletter for Lichtenbergwhich from now on belongs to our digital offering Tagesspiegel Plus (T+) – as well as the newsletter editions from the other eleven Berlin districts. Can be ordered under this link here.