Registrations now possible.
Early bird discount until 15th April 2025
Bassoon
Marc Engelhardt works at the academy from 13/09 - 22/09/2025
He studied in Cologne and in Hanover with K. Thunemann. In 1986 he became 1st solo bassoonist of the RSO Saarbrücken and has also played in this position with the BR, NDR, WDR, SWR and HR, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Hamburg State Opera. He has close chamber music ties with the Stuttgart Academy, trumpeter Matthias Höfs, saxophonist Daniel Schnyder and Fagottissimo Stuttgart. Masterclasses and work as a juror at international competitions have taken him to France, Russia and Poland, Canada, Japan, China and Korea as well as Switzerland and the USA. His students hold leading positions in many European, Asian and South American orchestras.
Violin
Eberhard Feltz works at the academy from 04/09/ - 22/09/2025
He studied in Berlin with Werner Scholz and in St. Petersburg with Michael Waiman. Since 1963 he teaches chamber music at the University of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin. Additionally, he has an excellent reputation as a teacher for masterclasses in Europe and in the USA. He was longtime mentor of string quartets like Vogler, Kuss, Faust, Atrium, Calder, Ebène and soloists like the cellist Nicolas Altstaedt.
Cello
Konstantin Heidrich works at the academy from 04/09/ - 13/09/2025.
He is the cellist of the Faure Quartet and studied with M. Ostertag and F. Helmerson. As a soloist he played with renown orchestras. The Fauré Quartet, one of the leading chambermusic ensembles since 20 years with concerts all over the world, is one of his main musical activities. He is professor at the University of Arts in Berlin and since 2017 artistic director of the festival “crescendo”.
bassoon
Ulrich Hermann works at the academy from 04/09 - 13/09/2025.
He began his studies at the conservatory in his home town of Stuttgart in 1990 and was principal bassoon in the Stuttgart State Orchestra from 1995 to 2022. As a competition prizewinner, soloist and member of renowned chamber music ensembles, he has performed throughout Europe, the USA and Asia and has recorded several CDs and radio programmes. He is also a regular guest with internationally renowned opera, symphony and chamber orchestras. Ulrich Hermann enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide as a teacher; he has established a bassoon class whose members regularly win prizes at national and international music competitions. He gives masterclasses for bassoon and wind chamber music and acts as a juror at competitions in Europe and Japan. Many of his students are now members of leading orchestras and teach as professors at universities
piano
Thomas Hoppe works at the academy from 4/09/–13/09/2025
Thomas Hoppe studied with Lee Luvisi in the USA and completed his training at the Juilliard School in New York. As the pianist of the ATOS Trio, he has won prizes and awards such as the German Music Competition 2004, Melbourne 2007, BBC New Generation Artists 2009 and the Borletti-Buitoni Ensemble Award 2012. He has taught masterclasses in piano accompaniment and chamber music in Europe, Australia, China, South America and the USA. As a piano partner, he supervises competitions such as the Concours Reine Elisabeth (Brussels), Joseph Joachim (Hanover) and the Violin Competition (Indianapolis) and Singapore.
Clarinet
Norbert Kaiser works at the academy from 04/09/ - 22/09/2025. In 2025 he is the artistic director of the academy.
Norbert studied at the University of Music in Detmold with Jost Michaels and Hans Klaus. He was a clarinetist in the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Frankfurt and hereafter employed as solo clarinet for twelve years in the Staatsoper Stuttgart. There he worked with many of the renowned conductors. He studied conducting at the University of Music in Weimar and he has worked as assistant conductor at the Staatsoper Stuttgart and at the opera in Ulm and he was chief conductor of the youth orchestra in Thüringen. Since 2000 he is professor for clarinet and chamber music at the University of music in Stuttgart and guest-professor in Shenyang. He regularly teaches numerous masterclasses such as the “Oberstdorfer Musiksommer”. He works as a juror at international competitions such as the Marktneukirchen competition or at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb. Many of his students are in famous orchestras or are teachers or professors at Universities around the world.
Piano
Angelika Merkle works at the academy from 15/09 - 22/09/2025
She studied with Klaus Schilde, Leonard Hokanson (Indiana University) and lied interpretation with Helmut Deutsch and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. She has won many first prizes in international and national competitions and is a much demanded chamber music pianist and teacher. Her CD recordings have received top honours from both Fanfare and Fono Forum. Angelika Merkle has been Professor of Piano Chamber Music at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts since 2003. She is also the artistic director of numerous projects such as the renowned chamber music series "Festeburgkonzerte", the International Schumann Chamber Music Prize and the music education format "COMM!T". Her students have won prizes in international and national competitions.
violin
Ulf Schneider works at the academy from 14/09 - 22/09/2025
He has been a professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media since 2001. Many of his students are prizewinners at national and international competitions, members of leading European orchestras, lecturers at music academies and chamber musicians in well-known ensembles. He is a lecturer at numerous masterclasses and a juror at national and international competitions. He performs regularly with the Trio Jean Paul, the Bartholdy Quintet and with the pianists Stephan Imorde and Jan Philip Schulze. His CD productions have been released by Rubicon Classics, Ars Musici, CAvi, Membran and ECM.
violin
Johanna Staemmler works at the academy from 13/09 - 22/09/2025
She studied with Stephan Picard in Berlin and completed additional studies in chamber music (Berlin/Basel) and historical performance practice (Salzburg). She is a founding member of the Armida Quartett - since winning first prize and numerous special prizes at the ARD competition in Munich in 2012, the quartet has performed internationally at renowned festivals worldwide. Johanna Staemmler has been teaching regularly since 2012, gives international masterclasses and is a jury member at various music competitions. She leads a self-designed chamber music seminar, was appointed as a visiting professor at the University of the Arts and has been teaching chamber music at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin since October 2022. Johanna Staemmler has been artistic advisor to the Rostock Bach Festival since 2022.
Violine
Oliver Wille works at the academy from 05/09 - 13/09/2025
He studied at the conservatories in Berlin and Cologne, Indiana University Bloomington and the NEC Boston, among others. Together with Jana Kuss, the then 14-year-old was one of the founding members of the Kuss Quartet. Since 2002, the ensemble has performed on all major concert stages and festivals worldwide. Since 2011, he has been a professor of chamber music at the Hanover University of Music, where he teaches an internationally successful quartet class. In 2021, he took over the position of Artistic Vice President there. Since 2015, he has been International Chair at the Royal Conservatory Birmingham, Visiting Professor at the Accademia Perosi in Italy and Director of the ‘Sommerliche Musiktage’ Hitzacker. Since 2019, he has co-directed the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hanover with Antje Weithaas.
The International Summer Academy for Chamber Music in Lower Saxony sets an antipole in the diverse, rather fast-moving masterclass landscape. The focus is on a well-founded and detailed examination of chamber music works. At Frenswegen Monastery, students and teachers can take the time to develop a work intensively and in detail and then to present it.
The modernised monastery offers an optimal infrastructure under one roof: sufficient rooms for lessons, rehearsals and practice, a modern cafeteria with full catering and modernised rooms in a historical ambience. A unique feature of the academy is the international team of lecturers, who cover the fields of strings, wind instruments and piano chamber music and can therefore provide optimum input for every chamber music ensemble - from piano trio to string quartet to mixed ensembles. Each ensemble receives daily lessons from several teachers. Situated in an idyllic rural setting, without the distractions of everyday life, Frenswegen Monastery offers ideal conditions for intensive dialogue, inspiration, exchange with students from all over the world and the experience of a lively musical community.
The academy is particularly suitable for preparing for competitions, offers the best conditions for working on new repertoire and is ideal for growing together as an ensemble or forming a new ensemble. For students from abroad, it offers an excellent insight into music study opportunities in Germany. Applications for the academy are possible starting from an ensemble size of 3 musicians or more (then also for half of the academy period) or as an individual participant for the entire academy period.
Application to the International Summer Academy for Chamber Music is open to ensembles of 3 members or more. Ensembles can apply for the entire academy period as well as for one half of the academy (4 - 13 September or 13 - 22 September 2025). It is also possible to apply as an individual participant for the entire academy period.
Each ensemble, each participant can specify a desired repertoire (2-3 pieces should be worked on in the academy). The repertoire to be worked on will be determined in consultation with the artistic advisory board 8 weeks before the start of the academy. It is assumed that the pieces will be prepared in such a way that they can be worked on directly as chamber music. There will be 1-3 lessons per day. The schedule will be agreed daily with the teachers so that lessons can be flexibly adapted to the individual needs.
The academy organises numerous concerts in which participants can present themselves: Workshop concerts, welcome concert in the monastery's own chapel, sponsor concert in Oldenburg theatre, various concerts within the academy festival at the end of the academy.