The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former

Werden Abbey Werden Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery in Essen-Werden (Germany), situated on the Ruhr. The foundation of the abbey Near Essen Saint Ludger founded a monastery in 799 and became its first abbot. The little church which Saint Ludger b ...

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

area, with additional facilities in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

, and

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, and, since 2010, at the

Zeche Zollverein The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex (German Zeche Zollverein) is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The first Coal mining, coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, and mining activ ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

also in Essen. The Folkwang University is home to the international dance company ''Folkwang Tanz Studio'' (FTS). Founded as , its name was Folkwang Hochschule (Folkwang Academy) from 1963 until 2009. Essen Kloster Werden Innenhof 2 2005

History

Essen Werden - Folkwang-Hochschule 08 ies

The university shares its unusual name with the

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

founded in 1902 by arts patron

Karl Ernst Osthaus Karl Ernst Osthaus (15 April 1874, in Hagen – 25 March 1921, in Merano) was an important German patron of avant-garde art and architecture. Life Osthaus was born to a wealthy banking family, who also owned several businesses in the textile a ...

. The term ''Folkwang'' derives from

Fólkvangr In Norse mythology, Fólkvangr (Old Norse "field of the host"Orchard (1997:45). or "people-field" or "army-field"Lindow (2001:118).) is a meadow or Field (agriculture), field ruled over by the goddess Freyja where half of those that die in comba ...

, the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

name of a mythical meadow where the dead gather who are chosen by

Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

, the Norse goddess of love and beauty, to spend the afterlife with her. The school's founders, opera director , stage designer

Hein Heckroth Hein Heckroth (14 April 1901 in Gießen - 7 July 1970 in Amsterdam) was a German painter and art director of stage and film productions. Heckroth was born in 1901 in Giessen, Germany. As a young man, he moved to Frankfurt, where he studied as a p ...

and choreographer

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Arch ...

, regarded this ''Folkwang'' as a symbol for the arts as a unified whole, rather than divided into separate classes. The ''Folkwangschule für Musik, Tanz und Sprechen'' (Folkwang School for Music, Dance, and Speech) opened in 1927 in Essen, and in 1928 a previously established school of design merged with the institution. In 1963 the Folkwang school was renamed ''Folkwang-Hochschule'' (Folkwang Academy). In 2010 the institution began offering graduate studies and was renamed Folkwang University of the Arts. This coincided with Ruhr.2010, the festival in which the

district was designated the

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

for the year 2010.

Activities

Zollverein School of Management and Design 3116754

The Folkwang University unites training in music, theatre, dance, design, and scholarship, in order to encourage collaboration among the arts. Public events take place at the Folkwang University on its six in-house stages and in collaboration with cultural institutions of the region, such as the , the

Schauspiel Bochum The Schauspielhaus Bochum is one of the notable drama theatres in Germany. It is located on Königsallee in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, ...

Musiktheater im Revier Musiktheater im Revier (MiR) (Music Theatre in the Ruhr) is the venue for performing opera, operetta, musical theatre and ballet in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It opened on 15 December 1959; it is listed since 1997 as a protected cultural monument. T ...

, the

Duisburg Philharmonic The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Duisburger Philharmoniker) is a German orchestra based in Duisburg. The orchestra is resident at the ''Philharmonie Mercatorhalle Duisberg''. The ''Duisburger Philharmoniker'' is the accompanying o ...

, the

Wuppertaler Bühnen Wuppertaler Bühnen is the municipal theatre company in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It serves opera and plays. The opera house Opernhaus Wuppertal has served from 1956 as a venue for opera and performances of the separate dance ...

and the

Ruhrfestspiele Ruhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival) in Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in Europe. Founded after World War II, the festival is a major annual cultural event for the Ruhr area. It always starts on ...

. Folkwang University of the Arts is structured into four distinct faculties, each specializing in various artistic and academic disciplines: * Faculty 1: Focuses on practical artistic and musical courses, including instrumental training, jazz, composition, professional performance, orchestral playing, and popular music. * Faculty 2: Offers artistic, artistic-academic, artistic-pedagogical, and academic courses such as music teaching, music pedagogy, musicology, integrative music theory, vocal ensemble direction, and music of the Middle Ages. * Faculty 3: Dedicated to performing arts, this faculty encompasses programs in voice and music theatre, musical, physical theatre, acting, directing, dance, dance composition, and dance pedagogy. * Faculty 4: Centers on design disciplines, providing courses in photography, industrial design, communication design, and art and design science. Undergraduate courses: * Instrumental training for different musical instruments (accordion, bassoon, cello, clarinet, double bass, flute, guitar, harp, harpsichord, horn, oboe, organ, percussion, piano, recorder, saxophone, trombone, trumpet, tuba, viola, violin) * Jazz / Performing Artist * Integrative composition (instrumental composition, electronic composition, jazz composition, pop composition, composition and visualisation) * Church music * Voice (concert performance, Lieder, oratorio and music theatre) * School Music * Music pedagogy * Musicology in combination with an artistic subject * Musicals * Acting * Physical Theatre * Directing * Dance * Industrial Design * Communication Design * Photography Advanced programs: * Orchestral playing * Conducting (orchestral/choir) * Vocal Ensemble Direction * Musicology in combination with an artistic discipline * Chamber music * Composition (electronic composition, instrumental composition, instrumental/electronic composition) * Concert Performance * Solo Dance * Choreography * Labanotation * Dance Pedagogy

Faculty

Faculty have included: * Hermann Baumann, hornist *

Young-Chang Cho Young-Chang Cho (born 1958) is a South Korean classical cellist teaching at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany's Ruhr Area. Career Young-Chang Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1958. He began cello lessons at the age of eight. Fr ...

, cellist *

Anna Erler-Schnaudt Anna Erler-Schnaudt (11 March 1878 – 30 April 1963) was a German contralto and voice teacher. She performed in the premiere of Mahler's Eighth Symphony and taught at the Folkwangschule. Career Anna Schnaudt was born in Moers. She studied ...

, contralto *

Catherine Gayer Catherine Gayer (born 11 February 1937) is an American coloratura soprano, violinist, musicologist, and academic voice teacher. She made a career in Germany. A member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for more than four decades, she is known for her p ...

, coloratura soprano *

Wilfried Gruhn Wilfried Gruhn (born 15 October 1939) is a German music educator, musicologist, violinist, and professor emeritus at universities in Germany and abroad. His focus is the music education of small children. He founded and directed the Gordon Instit ...

(music pedagogy) *

Hansgünther Heyme Hansgünther Heyme (born 22 August 1935) is a German theatre director and prominent figure in the Regietheater movement of the 1960s and 70s. Born in Bad Mergentheim, he studied at Heidelberg University and then under the German director Erwin Pis ...

, theatre director * Chris Houlding * Nicolaus A. Huber * Ifor James * Peter Janssens *

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Arch ...

Nicola Jürgensen Nicola Jürgensen (born 1975) is a German clarinetist and academic teacher. She played principal clarinet with the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne from 2001 to 2018, and has been professor of clarinet at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen fr ...

(b. 1975), clarinet * Uwe Köller * Scott Lawton, conductor *

Fritz Lehmann Fritz Lehmann (17 May 190430 March 1956) was a noted German conductor, whose career was cut short by his early death at the age of 51. His repertoire ranged from the Baroque through to contemporary works, in both the concert hall and the opera ...

, conductor *

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a Scottish-American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president from ...

, hornist *

Lore Lorentz Lore Lorentz (12 September 1920 – 22 February 1994) was a German Kabarett artist and standup comedian. She was born in Mährisch-Ostrau, Czechoslovakia (today Ostrava in the Czech Republic), as Lore Schirmer. She studied history, German literatu ...

Lauren Newton Lauren Amber Newton (born 16 November 1952) is an avant-garde jazz and Contemporary classical music, contemporary classical singer and founding member of the Vienna Art Orchestra. Biography Newton earned a degree in music at the University of O ...

* Walter Nicks * Ralf Otto (born 1956), choral conducting *

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

(1966 to 1968), composer * Reinhard Peters (1926–2008), conductor * Gudrun Schröfel choral conducting *

Gerhard Stäbler Gerhard Stäbler (born 1949) is a German composer born in Wilhelmsdorf near Ravensburg. He studied with Klaus Huber and came to prominence with the chamber orchestra "acronym" ''Den Müllfahrern von San Francisco'' (The Garbage Truck Drivers o ...

Rita Streich Rita Streich (18 December 192020 March 1987) was a German opera singer, regarded as one of the most admired and recorded lyric coloratura sopranos of the post-war period. Biography Rita Streich was born in Barnaul, southern Siberia, in the Rus ...

, operatic soprano *

Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he bec ...

Adolf Wamper Adolf Wamper (23 June 1901 – 22 May 1977) was a German sculptor. Most of his works were figural, with some in an abstract realist style. During the 1930s he produced monumental sculptures for the Nazi régime; after World War II he taught a ...

(1901–1977), sculptor

Alumni

Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

include: *

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylised blend of dance move ...

(1940–2009), choreographer *

Anne Bierwirth Anne Bierwirth is a German contralto, focused on concerts and recordings of sacred music, appearing internationally. Besides the standard repertoire such as Bach's ''Christmas Oratorio'', she has explored rarely performed Baroque music such as B ...

, contralto * Max Burchartz *

Andreas Deja Andreas Deja (born 1 April 1957) is a Polish-born German-American character animator most noted for his work at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Deja's work includes serving as supervising animator on characters in several Disney animated films, in ...

* Vladimir Djambazov (born 1954), composer, French horn, sound designer *

Stefan Dohr Stefan Dohr (born 3 September 1965) is a German horn player and principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. Biography Born in Münster, Dohr obtained the Solo Horn position of the Frankfurt Opera House at the age of 19. He held the same posit ...

(born 1965), principal horn player of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

Tommy Finke Tommy Finke (born as Thomas David Finke February 4, 1981), sometimes using the pseudonym T.D. Finck von Finckenstein, is a German singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his work in indie, alternative, and pop music, as well ...

* Thomas Gabriel (composer) (born 1957) * Agnes Giebel (born 1920), soprano *

Ulrike Grossarth Ulrike Grossarth (born 1952) is a German artist, dancer, and academic. Since 1998 she has been professor of mixed media art at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. She was awarded the 2009 Käthe Kollwitz Prize by the Academy of Arts, Berlin for her colle ...

(born 1952), dancer and visual artist * Anna Handler (born 1996), pianist and conductor *

Klara Höfels Klara Höfels (; 5 April 1949 – 15 May 2022) was a German actress, director and theatre producer. She was first a stage actress, who played leading roles on stage at Schauspiel Frankfurt, Residenztheater in Munich and Staatstheater Stuttgart ...

(1949–2022), actress and producer *

Hilmar Hoffmann Hilmar Hoffmann (25 August 1925 – 1 June 2018) was a German stage and film director, cultural politician and academic lecturer. He founded the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. He was for decades an influential city councillor in F ...

(1925–2018), founder of Oberhausen film festival, cultural politician in Frankfurt, director of

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

* Reinhild Hoffmann (born 1943), choreographer * Siegfried Jerusalem (born 1940), tenor *

Salome Kammer Salome Kammer (born 17 January 1959) is a German actress, singer and cellist. Professional career Born in Nidda, Hesse, Nidda, Hesse, Kammer was the fourth of six children. Her father was a Protestant pastor. Although born in Nidda, she grew up ...

(born 1959), cellist, vocalist * David Kamp * Heinz Kiwitz *

Helmut Koch (conductor) Helmut Koch (5 April 190826 January 1975) was a German conductor, choir leader, composer, and academic teacher. He was recording manager for the Berliner Rundfunk from 1945, where he founded the Rundfunkchor Berlin#Vorgeschichte, Solistenvereinig ...

(1908–1975), conductor, choir leader, broadcasting manager, composer * Susanne Linke * Christof Loy (born 1962), opera director *

Gerd Ludwig Gerd Ludwig (birth name Gerhard Erich Ludwig, born March 17, 1947, in Alsfeld, Hesse, Germany) is a German-American documentary photographer and photojournalist. Biography Gerd Ludwig initially studied German literature, political science, and ...

* Ann Mandrella *

John McGuire (composer) John McGuire (born June 27, 1942 in Artesia, California) is an American composer, pianist, organist, and music editor. Biography John McGuire initially studied composition with Robert Arthur Gross at Occidental College, where he earned a BA i ...

* Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú * Carlos Orta *

Jürgen Prochnow Jürgen Prochnow (; born 10 June 1941) is a German actor. His international breakthrough was his portrayal of the good-hearted and sympathetic U-boat Commander "Der Alte" ("Old Man") in the 1981 war film ''Das Boot''. He is also known for his r ...

(born 1941), actor * Andreas Pruys, bass *

Karl Ridderbusch Karl Ridderbusch (29 May 1932 – 21 June 1997) was a German operatic bass, associated in particular with the music of Wagner. He was recognised as a notable exponent of the role of Hans Sachs. Barry Millington "Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Die", ...

(1932–1997), bass *

Armin Rohde Armin Rohde (born 4 April 1955) is a German actor and voice actor. He was born in Gladbeck. Filmography Audiobooks * 1999: Roger Graf: Philip Maloney – ''Auf der Flucht'', ''Die Armbanduhr'' and ''Der Mörderhai'', publisher: Tandem Ver ...

(born 1955), actor *

Thomas Ruff Thomas Ruff (born 10 February 1958) is a German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany. He has been described as "a master of edited and reimagined images". Ruff shares a studio on Düsseldorf's Hansaallee, with fellow German ...

Magdalene Schauss-Flake Magdalene Schauss-Flake (25 July 1921 – 24 September 2008) was a German composer and organist who gave recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Biography Schauss-Flake was born in Essen, where she studied church music at the Folkwang Sc ...

(1921–2008), composer and organist * Stefanie Schneider *

Peter Schwickerath Peter Schwickerath (born 1942 in Düsseldorf) is a German sculptor. Biography Born in 1942 in Düsseldorf, Peter Schwickerath studied from 1964 in the sculptor class of Adolf Wamper at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. 1965 he ...

(born 1942), sculptor * Harald Siepermann, animator and character designer * Ruth Siewert (1915–2002), contralto * Anton Stankowski * Günther Strupp * Raphael Thoene *

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, '' Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and '' Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and str ...

(born 1962), composer and cellist * Dirk Weiler * Greta Wrage von Pustau, dancer and dance teacher

References

External links

Folkwang UniversityICEM Institute For Computer Music and Electronic Media
(in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

)
Background information on the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen-Werden on Baldeneysee
{{authority control Dance education in Germany Music schools in Germany Performing arts education in Germany Universities and colleges established in 1927 1927 establishments in Germany Universities and colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia

History

Activities

Faculty

Alumni

See also

References

Further reading

External links