Culture

The ‘Hofer Modell’: a different kind of music school

As the only professional orchestra in Germany, the Hof Symphony Orchestra has been running its own music school since 1978, where students are taught at the highest level by active orchestra musicians and other highly qualified instrumental educators.

Europe

Germany

Hof

Funding period: 2012, 2014-2015, 2018-2019

The Hof Symphony Orchestra is the only orchestra in Germany that runs a music school in which, alongside the regular teaching staff, the orchestra’s own musicians teach young students and thus pass on their enthusiasm for music first-hand. Since 1978, this harmonious symbiosis has attracted attention and recognition far beyond the city limits of Hof.

Since 2012, the Wilo-Foundation has been involved as part of its regional responsibility at the Wilo site in Hof and has supported the Hof Symphony Orchestra in enabling children to gain good access to cultural education.

New instruments for the “Wind Class”

The “Wind Class” cooperation between the music school of the Hof Symphony Orchestra and the Schiller Gymnasium in Hof has developed into a success story in youth music promotion in Hof since its inception in 2002. In 2019, the first set of wind instruments at the Schiller Gymnasium, which had been in use for many years, urgently needed to be replaced; the purchase costs were funded by the Wilo-Foundation together with the Oberfrankenstiftung. In the Wind Class, students systematically learn to play a wind instrument, with each year’s group making music together as an ensemble.

The wind class at the Schiller-Gymnasium in Hof was delighted to receive a new set of instruments, the purchase of which was made possible thanks to a financial donation from the Wilo-Foundation. Photo: Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH, Credit: Harald Dietz

After the two-year music course, the wind class at the Schiller-Gymnasium in Hof continues in the youth wind orchestra and later in the symphonic wind orchestra – no prior musical training is required for the children. By now, around 550 students from the 5th and 6th grades have taken their first steps into active music-making, and, pleasingly, more than 95% of them continue in the subsequent programmes of the youth wind orchestra and the symphonic wind orchestra.

Learning to play the piano from the age of four

As an outstanding programme, the music school of the Hof Symphony Orchestra enables children as young as four to learn to play the piano using the Suzuki method. The special feature of the Suzuki method is that learning an instrument does not rely on reading music but works like a mother tongue – through careful listening and imitation.

Following the Suzuki method, children from the age of four learn to play the piano. Photo: Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH

The purchase of pianos for teaching was made possible with the support of the Wilo-Foundation. Photo: Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH

This means that even very young children can learn to play an instrument. In the lessons, several high-quality pianos are used at the same time, and four of these instruments have already been purchased with financial support from the Wilo-Foundation.

Photo Header: Hofer Symphoniker gGmbH, Hof

Our funding partner

The Hof Music School is part of the Hof Symphony Orchestra gGmbH and offers a wide range of music education programmes for children, young people and adults. It provides high-quality instruction in numerous instruments, voice and music theory, supporting both beginners and advanced students. Thanks to its close connection with the Hof Symphony Orchestra, students benefit from an inspiring musical environment and a variety of performance opportunities. The aim of the music school is to foster a love of music and to support individual talents.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) forms the global framework for action for socially, economically and ecologically sustainable development. Our funding commitment also supports these sustainability goals. With this project, we are making a contribution to achieving the following SDGs:

What are the SDGs?