Orchestra directors desperately sought
The German Orchestra Association is concerned about finding qualified new orchestra managers. Currently, for example, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin has not been able to find a suitable orchestra director within a year.
According to Gerald Mertens, Managing Director of the German Orchestra Association, the range of courses on offer in orchestra management is becoming ever thinner. There is only one master's degree course in theater and orchestra management in Germany, in Frankfurt am Main.
According to the DOV press release, the corresponding course in cultural management at the FU Berlin was discontinued years ago. The Master's degree course in cultural and tourism management at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) with a corresponding seminar program has now even been completely discontinued.
New training programs for future orchestra managers need to be created at universities. Otherwise, a highly complex management task between music and management will increasingly be left to lateral entrants from other professional fields, continued Mertens.
