General Information

Masterclasses

Locations
European Hansemuseum Lübeck,
An der Untertrave 1 | 23552 Lübeck

University of Music Lübeck,
Große Petersgrube 21 | 23552 Lübeck

further locations will be announced

Dates
15 – 18 September 2025
Start on Monday, 15 September, 3.30 p.m.
End on Thursday, 18 September, 8.30 p.m.

Costs
The course fee is € 150.
Costs for travel, accommodation (youth hostel, hotel, etc.) and meals are to be covered by the participants.

Accommodation
We have booked accommodation for you in 2 – 4-bed-rooms (no single rooms) incl. breakfast at the youth hostel DJH Lübeck-Altstadt from 15 September (arrival) to 19 September (departure). The total cost for the 4 nights and breakfast is € 144. Please plan lunch and dinner individually.

If you would like to register for the youth hostel, please do so in the application form. Should you be invited to the course, this registration will be considered binding. Subsequent registrations for the hostel may not be accepted due to the limited spaces.

Travel
Environmental sustainability is important to us, and we therefore request for travel to and from Lübeck to be planned in an environmentally friendly way. Should this make an additional overnight stay necessary for you, please contact us so we can discuss if we can support you in this matter.

Ensemble scores
Ensembles will be organised according to the invited participants. Sheet music for ensemble sessions will be made available online to participants in advance.

Other
The course simultaneously functions as a selection procedure for participation in the concerts of the European Hanseatic Ensemble the following year.

Application

Application deadline
Complete the online application form and send the audio material until 15 April 2025 (via WeTransfer or Dropbox to our office: sarah.hodgson@hansemuseum.eu).

Number of participants
The number of participants in the masterclasses will be limited to 7 per class.

Age restriction
The course is aimed at young musicians who will be under the age of 32 in September 2025 (born on 1 October 1993 or later).

Selection
The selection of participants will be made by the teachers upon evaluation of the provided audio material submitted as part of the application. The results of all apllication will be communicated by email by 31 May 2025. For those selected, the course fee of € 150 should be paid no later than 30 June 2025. Upon receipt of the fee, your registration will be considered finalised and binding. Should your course fee not be received by 30 June 2025, we reserve the right to offer your place to another applicant.

Pieces for the masterclasses and audio/video files
Please state in your application which two pieces of European music from the 16^th or 17^th century you will be preparing for your two individual lessons. The pieces submitted as audio/video files in the application and the pieces for the masterclasses do not need to be identical, and do not need to have a connection to the Hanseatic cities, however they should be from the Renaissance and/or the early Baroque period (no Händel, Bach, Vivaldi, etc.).

Please note that at the masterclasses the keyboard instruments will be tuned in meantone temperament (¼-comma), so some keys cannot be played. Keys such as A sharp or D flat are not available.

You can find more important information about the audio/video files here.

European Hanseatic Ensemble

The teachers will select around 15 participants from the masterclasses 2025 who will form the European Hanseatic Ensemble for the following year. They will rehearse and perform in multiple Hanseatic cities in the summer and autumn of 2026 under the artistic direction of Manfred Cordes. The exact dates will be announced in late 2025.

Should you be selected to be a part of the European Hanseatic Ensemble 2026, your course fee will be refunded. Rehearsal time and concert days will be remunerated at a daily rate. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered.

The specific concert programme for 2026 will be adapted to the structure of the ensemble and thus will be developed after the selection of the ensemble members. The goal is a balanced distribution of singers, string, wind, and continuo players which will allow for a varied programme and the performance of multi-choir works.