Education: Between coal cellar and cyberspace: music schools celebrate their 50th anniversary

Plus

The music school system in Bavaria has gained tremendous appreciation over the past 50 years. At the anniversary in Kaufbeuren the question arises: How (digitally) will it continue?

From the coal cellar to the classroom into cyberspace – is that the path that communal music lessons take? Looking back at the past, those responsible for the Association of Bavarian Singing and Music Schools (VBSM) largely agree that there have been significant improvements since the association was founded in 1970. Opinions differ on how the work of the music schools in the Free State should work in the future. This became clear at the Bavarian Music School Day in Kaufbeuren, where the VBSM celebrated its 50th anniversary.

If you look at the chronicle of the music school association and even more at that of the host Ludwig-Hahn-Sing- und Musikschule Kaufbeuren, which is already 100 years old this year, one encounters conditions that are hardly imaginable for today’s music students. Many music schools also had to fight hard for minimal financial support from the municipalities; suitable classrooms were in short supply. Josef Höß, former Lord Mayor of Kempten and Honorary President of the VBSM, reports that he can remember music lessons in an empty coal cellar. In the 1970s, when Reinhard Loechle pushed ahead with the construction of a district music school in Erding, the building erected for this purpose was not only reviled as a “prestige project” by some village mayors from the surrounding area, says this year’s winner of the VBSM’s Carl Orff Medal.

There are around 220 municipal music schools

The founding of the VBSM, promoted half a century ago by the Bavarian state government, was also intended to bring together the traditional singing schools that had been competing up to then and the music schools that were more oriented towards instrumental instruction. Above all, however, it was the result of a mood of optimism that was prevalent throughout the entire educational sector at the time. The music school system in
Bayern was given a reliable legal basis at that time and also such financial support, which led to numerous start-ups.

Bavaria now pays eleven percent of the costs for the operation of around 220 local music schools. According to Art Minister Bernd Sibler, the Free State is aiming for 15 percent in the future. The institutions are responsible for around 1,000 cities and municipalities and teach over 203,000 students. Despite a few “blank spots” in the area-wide supply, the goal of providing every child with an “affordable” and “accessible” public music school place is close, emphasizes VBSM President Martin Bayerstorfer.

The digital methods should be used pragmatically

Due to Corona, however, these lofty goals have given way to existential questions. Special grants worth millions from Munich are intended to ensure the continued existence of the municipal music schools during the pandemic. Bayerstorfer praised the facilities with a lot of creativity and commitment during the lockdown. But were the music lessons via the Internet, loudspeakers and screen just an emergency solution, “which was gratefully accepted by a great many”, as Birigt Adolf, director of the Essenbach Music School near Landshut, reports? Or could online teaching become a future model?

Matthias Pannes, Federal Managing Director of the Association of German Music Schools, advocates a pragmatic approach to the new mediation options without immediately talking about “the downfall of the West”. “You won’t reach the children if you don’t use it,” says Thomas Osterkamp from the Bavarian Ministry of Art. On the other hand, music lessons are not just about imparting knowledge, but especially about cultural and personal development. This is only possible to a limited extent online, says Thomas Goppel, President of the Bavarian Music Council.

VBSM chairman Markus Lentz is also very critical of the music lessons in front of the screen, but sees other challenges for the music schools in the future. For example, addressing students with increasingly different cultural backgrounds. In addition, there would be more and more problems in attracting the next generation of music teachers, who are known to be anything but overpaid. The corona-related cuts in public budgets will not leave the music schools unscathed – despite all the expressions of solidarity on the anniversary association day.

You might also be interested in:

Topics follow

– .