The mission statement and profile

The University of Protestant Church Music in Bayreuth is the only university in Bavaria that is run by the church and recognised by the state, training Protestant church musicians for Bavaria, the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) and beyond. Through networking with the cultural and church life of our region in the heart of Europe, our students experience culture as an open field of artistic, educational, religious and scientific activities. We train young people with the aim of guiding them towards outstanding professional competence, a broad educational horizon and a high degree of individuality and creativity for their future church ministry and their musical and music education tasks. In doing so, we strive to combine forces and promote holistic thinking and action through interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary work and the implementation of joint projects.

We address changing artistic, media, community and social requirements. We therefore develop high-calibre artistic and educational courses and further training programmes that respond to changing job profiles. Our graduates should be able to prove themselves in the field of tension between their own artistic and educational aspirations and the diverse expectations of professional practice, while finding and pursuing their own individual paths.

Respect and mutual tolerance, openness and artistic curiosity are our standards for our own work and the learning objectives of the programme. The shared commitment and responsibility of all members of the university to achieve these goals reflects the future viability of the University of Protestant Church Music as a versatile artistic and ecclesiastical educational institution in the German-speaking world.

While preserving traditional educational values, the university's training programme is geared towards the changing conditions of the church music profession and is characterised by a particular focus on the community and practical experience, as well as a special educational component. Only at Bayreuth University is there a professorship in music education/musicology with a focus on "music in the church", held by Prof. Dr. Timm Siering. The training programme places particular emphasis on meeting this requirement.

One of the main areas of focus is children's choir work. Under the direction of lecturer Magdalena Simon, children aged 4 to 14 sing in the choirs, offering students the opportunity to experience and learn about children's choir conducting and early music education and basic training in a practical setting. In addition to traditional Advent singing, the choirs are known for their large-scale musical productions in the summer.

Another focus is popular musicunder the direction of Prof. Dr. Victor Alcántara and Prof. Jochen Roth. In 1995, Bayreuth was the first church music institution to establish this subject. In addition to a possible specialisation in the Bachelor's programme in Church Music, it can now be studied postgraduate as a field of study in the Master's programme in Music Conducting. Furthermore, the elective area offers a wide range of popular music subjects.

A third focus with a practical orientation can be found in the subject of choral conducting. The studio/chamber choir, which performs in public under the direction of Prof. Steven Heelein in church services, concerts and concert tours, is available to students for rehearsals, as is a voluntary practice choir under the direction of KMD Ingeborg Schilffarth. During choir days and orchestra seminars with the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hof Symphony Orchestra, students have the opportunity to gain important inspiration beyond their own studies and gain valuable insights into musical practice.