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 (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

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

Werden Abbey Werden Abbey (german: Kloster Werden) 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 w ...

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') 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 D ...

in the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , 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 2,800/km ...

area, with additional facilities in

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

, and

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

, 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 activit ...

, a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

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 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, the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is 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 of Scandinavia and t ...

name of a mythical meadow where the dead gather who are chosen by Freyja, 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 art director of stage and film productions. Heckroth began his career working with the German national ballet. Later, he moved to Great Britain and, after designing ...

and choreographer Kurt Jooss, 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 Ruhr.2010 – Kulturhauptstadt Europas was the name of the campaign in Germany's Ruhr region that earned it recognition as a European Capital of Culture in 2010. This was the first time a region was considered, as Essen represented all 53 towns ...

, the festival in which the

district was designated the European Capital of Culture 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.''academics''
The Institution – Courses – Activities 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 (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-We ...

, Musiktheater im Revier, the

Duisburg Philharmonic The Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (in German: Duisburger Philharmoniker) is a German orchestra based in Duisburg. The orchestra was founded in 1877. Conductors include: * Walter Josephson (1899 to 1920) * Paul Scheinpflug (1920 to 1928) * Eug ...

, 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 1 ...

. 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 Hermann Baumann may refer to: * Hermann Baumann (social anthropologist) (1902–1972), German Africa expert * Hermann Baumann (musician) Hermann Baumann (born 1 August 1934) is a German horn player. Biography After starting his musical career ...

, hornist *

Young-Chang Cho Young-Chang Cho (born 1958 in Seoul) is a Korean classical cellist teaching at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany's Ruhr Area. Career Young-Chang Cho was born in Seoul in 1958. He began cello lessons at the age of eight. From 1971, ...

, cellist * Anna Erler-Schnaudt, 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 violinist, musicologist, music educator, 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 Pi ...

, theatre director *

Chris Houlding Chris Houlding was appointed Principal Trombone of the Orchestra of Opera North, England, when he was 21 and has played as Guest Principal with the best of UK ensembles and recently represented the UK in the World Orchestra of Peace in Russia. He ...

Nicolaus A. Huber Nicolaus A. Huber (born 15 December 1939) is a German composer. Education Huber was born in Passau. From 1958 to 1962 he studied music education at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and subsequently composition with Franz Xaver Lehn ...

Ifor James Professor Ifor James (30 August 1931 – 23 December 2004) was a French horn, horn player and teacher, numbering among his pupils many future Principal Horns and horn professors at British music schools. James was born in Carlisle, Cumbria, Ca ...

Peter Janssens Peter Janssens (17 June 1934 – 24 December 1998) was a German musician and composer who wrote and performed incidental music for several theatres, and songs and musicals of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, a pioneer of . He worked at a German t ...

* Kurt Jooss * Nicola Jürgensen (b. 1975), clarinet *

Uwe Köller Uwe Köller (born 1964 in Neuss, West Germany) is a German trumpeter. His career began as a solo trumpeter in the Berlin Symphony Orchestra; after 1991 he was at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.Dreissig Jahre Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1961-1991: Spielzei ...

* 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, 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 literatur ...

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 Walter Nicks (July 26, 1925 – April 3, 2007) was an African-American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher of jazz and modern dance. He was a certified master teacher of Katherine Dunham technique. He was professionally active for nearly 60 ...

Ralf Otto Ralf Otto (born 1956) is a German conductor, especially known as a choral conductor and academic teacher. He founded the Vokalensemble Frankfurt, focused on contemporary music and winning competitions including Let the Peoples Sing. Since 1986, h ...

(born 1956), choral conducting * Krzysztof Penderecki (1966 to 1968), composer *

Reinhard Peters Reinhard Peters (2 April 1926 – 4 June 2008) was a German operatic conductor, violinist and an academic teacher at the Folkwangschule Essen. He was the ''Generalmusikdirektor'' for the opera companies Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Theater Münster and ...

(1926–2008), conductor *

Gudrun Schröfel Gudrun Schröfel (born 1 February 1943) is a German choral conductor, conductor and academic teacher. She led choirs, namely the Mädchenchor Hannover, to competition successes and awards for recordings. Life Schröfel studied music pedagogy, c ...

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, operatic soprano * Paul Tortelier * Adolf Wamper (1901–1977), sculptor

Alumni

Alumni 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 stylized blend of dance mov ...

(1940–2009), choreographer * Anne Bierwirth, contralto *

Max Burchartz Max Hubert Innocenz Maria Burchartz (1887–1961) was a German photographer. Life Max Burchartz was the son of a fabric manufacturer, Otto Burchartz and his wife Maria. After his basic schooling he received training in his father's weaving m ...

Andreas Deja Andreas Deja 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, including the Disney ...

Vladimir Djambazov Vladimir Djambazov ( bg, Владимир Джамбазов) (born Sevlievo, Bulgaria, 28 October 1954) is a Bulgarian composer and horn player. Education He first studied at the Music academy in Sofia under Professor Karel Stari (1976–78). ...

(born 1954), composer, french horn, sound designer *

Stefan Dohr Stefan Dohr (born September 3, 1965 in Münster) is a German horn player and currently the principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Berliner Philharmoniker). Apart from being a sought-after masterclass teacher, he teaches the horn at t ...

(born 1965), principal horn player of the Berlin Philharmonic * Tommy Finke *

Thomas Gabriel (composer) Thomas Gabriel (born 25 August 1957) is a German church musician, composer and arranger. Career Born in Essen, Gabriel studied Catholic church music at the , organ with Sieglinde Ahrens and Josef Bucher. From 1983 to 1986 he served as cantor ...

(born 1957) *

Agnes Giebel Agnes Giebel (10 August 1921 – 24 April 2017) was a German classical soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen and made her first public appe ...

(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 *

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 (München), Residenztheater in Munich a ...

(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 Fr ...

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

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

Reinhild Hoffmann Reinhild Hoffmann (born 1 November 1943 in Sorau) is a German choreographer and dancer who is an important innovator in Tanztheater, along with Pina Bausch and Susanne Linke.Walther, Suzanne. ''Dance of Death: Kurt Jooss and the Weimar Years''. Har ...

(born 1943), choreographer *

Siegfried Jerusalem Siegfried Jerusalem (born 17 April 1940) is a German operatic tenor. Closely identified with the heldentenor roles of Richard Wagner, he has performed Siegfried, Siegmund, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan to wide acclaim. Since the 1990s, he has ...

(born 1940), tenor *

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

(born 1959), cellist, vocalist *

David Kamp David Kamp (born 1982, Hamburg, Germany) is a composer, sound designer and sound artist living and working in Berlin. He studied Electronic Composition at ICEM Folkwang University of the Arts and has worked with visual artists, animation director ...

Heinz Kiwitz Heinz Kiwitz (September 4, 1910 – 1938) was a German artist. His woodcuts were in the German Expressionism, German Expressionist style. An anti-fascist, he was arrested following the Nazis' seizure of power. He survived imprisonment in Kemna con ...

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 Susanne Linke (born 19 June 1944) is an internationally renowned German dancer and choreographer who is one of the major innovators of German Tanztheater, along with Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffmann. Family Susanne Linke was born in Lüneburg, G ...

Christof Loy Christof Loy (born 5 December 1962) is a German stage director especially for opera, whose work received several awards. A freelance director, he has staged operas from Baroque to premieres of new works at major European opera houses and festivals. ...

(born 1962), opera director * Gerd Ludwig *

Ann Mandrella Ann Mandrella is a French actress, born in Besançon, France on the 3rd of August. She has performed in theatre productions throughout Europe and in New York City. Biography Ann's family moved to the town of Koblenz in Germany when Ann was a y ...

* John McGuire (composer) *

Carlos Orta Carlos Orta (1944–2004) was a dancer, choreographer and teacher with the José Limón Dance Company in New York since 1979. Mr. Orta was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and trained at the Scola Cantorum in Paris. He also later studied with Pina Ba ...

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

(born 1941), actor *

Andreas Pruys Andreas Pruys (born in Kleve) is a German classical bass singer. Professional career Andreas Pruys studied singing and church music at the Folkwanghochschule in Essen. He worked as a church musician for several years, also as director of the ...

, bass *

Karl Ridderbusch Karl Ridderbusch (29 May 1932 – 21 June 1997) was a German operatic bass (vocal range), bass, associated in particular with the music of Richard Wagner, Wagner. He was recognised as a notable exponent of the role of Die Meistersinger von Nürnber ...

(1932–1997), bass * Armin Rohde (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 ...

Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú is a Nigerians, Nigerian visual artist working with photography, video, sound and installations. Early life and education Adéọlá Ọlágúnjú grew up in Nigeria during the Military dictatorship in Nigeria, era of m ...

* 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 be ...

(born 1942), sculptor *

Harald Siepermann Harald Siepermann (10 June 1962 – 16 February 2013) was a German animator and character designer. His feature film credits included ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', ''Tarzan'', and '' Enchanted''. He lectured extensively on character design and ani ...

, animator and character designer *

Ruth Siewert Ruth Siewert (also Rut, Sievert-Schnaudt, Sievert; 1915 – July 2002) was a German contralto and voice teacher. She performed roles by Richard Wagner at major opera houses in Europe and at the Bayreuth Festival, and was known as a singer of ora ...

(1915–2002), contralto * Anton Stankowski *

Günther Strupp Günther Strupp (March 6, 1912 – 1996) was a German artist, illustrator, and art director. He was a survivor of Kemna concentration camp and of Gestapo imprisonment in Stadelheim Prison. Life and work Strupp was born in Johannisburg in Masur ...

Raphael Thoene Raphael Dominique Thoene (born 17 March 1980) is a German composer and musicologist. Biography Raphael D. Thoene obtained a degree in Composition (Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany) and Music Theory (Folkwang Hochschule in Essen ...

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 string ...

(born 1962), composer and cellist *

Dirk Weiler Dirk Weiler is a Germans, German actor and singer. Biography Dirk Weiler is a German-born actor/singer. He showed an interest in the performing arts from a very early age on. He participated in school and community theatre productions. Dir ...

Greta Wrage von Pustau Greta Wrage von Pustau (2 August 1902 – 20 March 1989) was a Chinese-born German dancer and dance teacher. Biography Von Pustau was born on 2 August 1902 in Guangzhou. Her parents, Antonia and Alfred Julius Engelbrecht von Pustau, were merc ...

, dancer and dance teacher

References

External links

Folkwang UniversityICEM Institute For Computer Music and Electronic Media
(in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

) {{authority control Dance education in Germany Music schools in Germany Performing arts education in Germany Educational institutions established in 1927 1927 establishments in Germany Universities and colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia