Intersection 1: Infrastructure and Space

(picture Kammerphilharmonie_schulze page 57)

The Orchestra has an own state-of-the-art concert auditorium built within the former school library of Osterholz-Tenever. The main concerts of the orchestra take place in the big concert halls across Europe, Asia and the USA. However, all rehearsals of the orchestra are held in Osterholz-Tenever, conductors and soloists travel to the school to prepare for the tours. In case of an event, it seats up to 350 people. The hall is acoustically disjoined from the rest of the building to guarantee that there is no noise coming in or out. However, there is the possibility to open the roof of the hall – in that case, the surrounding facilities can listen to the rehearsals. On two sides, the hall has several doors that open directly into the school building. The main entrance of the school and the orchestra are right next to each other and can be joined in the case of an event. The school cantina also caters the musicians. The school has separate music facilities, a theatre space and a performing area. Students are invited to attend rehearsals together with their class and with their teacher. They sit within the orchestra on extra chairs right next to the musicians. During joint projects, students inhabit the space of the orchestra and vice versa. There are several shows throughout the year where students perform together with the orchestra. In that case, there is a certain amount of tickets which is reserved for the district for a symbolic charge. The advantage of walking distance between the concert hall and social institutions like the food bank, the employment’s office or the refugee camp cannot be underestimated. Special events are organized together with already known and trusted social institutions to get people interested to come and listen. However, the goal is not to primarily promote classical music, but to provide the opportunity to actively participate in the programme of the «Future Laboratory». The participation consequently is not limited to creative activities, but includes the technical field as well as handcraft and entrepreneurship. The importance of the accessibility of common space becomes especially explicit in the fact that there is no doubt to invest in a «flexible opera house» that hosts more than 1000 spectators and a stage for 300-400. For the performances of the community-opera, there is a tent built on an empty building area right in the heart of the district where nobody can pass by without catching a glimpse.

 

Intersection 2: Encounters

Once the physical space and the possibility of meeting each other is at hand, the quality of the encounters is crucial. As mentioned, there is a great clarity and emphasise that the orchestra does not reduce itself to a cultural institution. They do not want to «bring» or «teach» anything – since they are the ones who joined the place later, they listen first. Although all the musicians are classically trained, they involve themselves in jazz, pop- and world music to find common ground with their environment. The show «Melodie des Lebens» was established by musicians and singer- songwriter Mark Scheibe, who works with the students on their own songs in various styles. Texts and melodies are written by the students, later professionally arranged to be performed by their young creators and The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen together. During the show, the orchestra plays one classical piece on their own as a present for the students. The rest of the evening, they perform the students’ songs together. Encounters with the students are easier to plan than those with residents of the district. To raise the chance of interaction with those who do not attend the school, the format of the community-opera was established. It is a tool of interaction in form of a permanent programme that has a performance-project linked to it. Every 1,5 years, there is a public continuation of the same experiment that started with «Faust II» in 2009. Everyone from the district is invited to participate. There are suggestions to participate in different fields (non-artistic: technical support, logistics, marketing, catering and artistic: instrumental, vocal, acting, dancing), all of whom are supervised by professionals. The professionals are expected to be highly qualified and share the attitude of the orchestra and the «Future Laboratory». The preparation work as well as the performances happens entirely in the district. Facilities of other institutions are used as well as the own facilities. Often, people trust their familiar institutions and it is essential for them, that they know that their institution is supporting the project. Thus, collaboration between institutions in the district is essential and encounters on the level of management as important as on the level of the participants.