Brass music in danger: Who will be the next chapel master?

Brass music in danger: Who will be the next chapel master?

In Lower Austria, brass music is becoming increasingly popular, but a serious problem is becoming ahead: there are fewer and fewer people who want to take over the office of Kapellmeister. The Lower Austrian wind music association (NÖBV), one of the largest clubs in the country with proud 25,000 members, reports alarming figures: Every year around 12,000 appearances take place in the entire state, and yet the demand for new conductors is extremely low. Bernhard Thain, the state chairman of the NÖBV, comments and explains that the requirements profiles for conductors are very extensive and time -consuming. The work often begins a year in advance to plan the repertoire and the place of performance.

training in the crisis

The tradition of brass music that has existed for many years could be at risk if new conductors are not quickly trained. "We need around 1,000 chapel masters, including representations, for our 500 chapels," says Gerhard Formann, state bandmaster. From autumn, new conductor training should also be established at the music schools in order to increase the quality and quantity of training. So far, 30 interested parties have already registered for the conductor training in Zeillern Castle (Amstetten district). "We have to adjust the training and increase the number of trained people to 100 per year," emphasizes Formmann to master the challenges of the future.

An example of the commitment in the field of brass music is the tulbing brass music, which was founded in 1955 and has had numerous successes since then. The chapel has developed an excellent reputation for decades, takes part in marching and concert ratings annually and has implemented significant appearances and recordings for radio and television over the years. Just like the NÖBV, the tulbing brass music is faced with the challenge of gaining new talents and continuing the tradition in order to maintain the cultural treasure of brass music for the coming generations, as reported on Noebv.at