In singing lessons, the focus is usually on technique, vocal development, and musicality. Increasingly, however, many students and teachers are also reflecting on the content of the standard vocal repertoire.

From various perspectives, we will consider how to engage with material that romanticises or trivialises discrimination, boundary violations, sexualised violence or the abuse of power. How far does our responsibility towards future audiences extend? Do we wish to reproduce outdated stereotypes indefinitely – or is it time to dare new role models? And how much political correctness is appropriate?

Key guiding questions include:

• What role does “performative stance” play in song, and what forms can it take?
• How can I internally distance myself from the content I sing?
• May I signal a critical position outwardly? When is this appropriate, and how can it be expressed?

Students will perform songs that preoccupy them and will share their reflections on the ambivalences they perceive. The observations and feelings of the audience are equally valuable and welcome. The aim is to collect possible courses of action for working with song repertoire (e.g. performance style, costuming, alternative artistic means, trigger warnings, or historical contextualisation in the programme booklet). Helpful aspects of this discussion may be carried forward into everyday practice beyond the Action Day itself.

Members of teaching staff, students, and administrative staff will discuss these issues in a fishbowl format, with one open chair for contributions from the audience. All present are invited to offer further perspectives and questions.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Drees, Musicology HfM
Prof. Dr. Ute Henseler, Musicology HfM
Prof. Mara Kurotschka, Professor of Scenic Studies HfM
Prof. Dr. Maria Behrendt, Director of the Research Centre for Music and Gender (fmg), HMTM
Hans-Joachim V?lz, Chancellor HfM
Daniel Prinz, Konzertexamen Chamber Music (Lied Duo) HfM
Lars Conrad, Konzertexamen Chamber Music (Lied Duo) HfM
Johanna Brüll, Student, Choral Conducting HfM 

10:30 – 12:30, Kr?nungskutschen-Saal / KKS
 

Interested visitors are invited to take a behind-the-scenes look at a setting that is usually reserved for just four eyes and four ears.?

One-to-one tuition is a distinctive feature of music universities, and: it often takes place behind closed doors. It can sometimes feel like a “black box” in which questions of power dynamics or dependency cannot be addressed easily. For this reason, student unions at 30 music universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have called for systematic evaluation of one-to-one teaching.

At the Hanns Eisler School of Music, a survey on the atmosphere within lessons was conducted during the summer semester of 2025. Overall, the results paint a positive picture: two thirds of participating students at the HfM experience their teacher as highly committed, approachable, supportive and respectful. They report receiving artistically meaningful impulses and feeling very well guided overall.

In this spirit, Professor Sibylle Mahni and her students are opening their door: the room may be entered or left at any time with due attentiveness.

10:30 - 12:30, Marstall, Room 166

Open to all genders and all member groups.

Can p o w e r and a u t h o r i t y have a positive impact? It is worth to examine these charged terms in an artistic context, illuminate them from different perspectives, and re-assemble them. A 90-minute workshop for students of all disciplines to actively engage with these concepts, discover new possibilities, and reflect on them for oneself and within the professional community.

In the Moving Dialogue format, with exercises from martial arts and physical acting, we explore their relevance and facets with central questions:
?    What is power? What significance does it have in our relationships?
?    What is authority? What was it once, what is it today, and what can it be? And what could and should it be?
?    Power. Authority. Meaning. (How) are these three terms related?

Through simple duo and ensemble exercises, the questions enter our perception, our bodies and into movement. Using elements of storytelling, we begin to develop our own future-oriented definitions and research questions in order to bring them into play and into our own artistic practice and spaces:
How can I redefine authority in the present day? What sense-making, beneficial approaches can emerge from this? The ?stories‘ are impulses for a meaningful change of perspective for our everyday reality in higher education, the art world and society.

Kristin Guttenberg works at art school in Berlin, Germany, and internationally, as well as in the independent arts scene, specializing in performing arts physiology, communication, feedback methodology, and artistic leadership. As an adjunct professor, she also teaches mental and performance training and the aforementioned topics at the HfM and offers students and faculty further training and support on the topic of feedback.

10:30 – 12:00 Galakutschen-Saal II / GKS II
Languages: Englisch, Deutsch, Non-Verbal 
For Students of all disciplines
 

At music universities, internationality is often equated with open-mindedness. Yet it requires mutual openness. But when do students from all over the world actually have the opportunity to share what they felt when they first arrived at a German music university? We would like to exchange our experiences across language barriers.

How do different countries balance closeness and distance in musical training and how is #MeToo discussed in the classical music world? Sensitive issues such as these are often easier to speak about in one’s mother tongue – or favourite language. For this reason, these discussion rounds will take place in various languages and will be interpreted simultaneously, depending on how the groups are composed. We aim to avoid isolated groups sorted by language skills. Instead, several discussion circles will run in parallel, facilitated by colleagues from teaching and administration as well as students with diverse migration backgrounds.

If you can answer YES to any of the following questions, this workshop may be particularly helpful for you:   

• Were you born and/or raised in a country other than Germany?
• Is German not your first language?
• Have you experienced music education different from what is common in Berlin?

Members of the university who are interested in the experiences of students from other countries are warmly welcome. Perspectives from binational partnerships can also enrich the discussion. A central overarching question is how the UdK and HfM can acknowledge and draw upon the diverse experiences of university members from other countries beyond the Action Day itself.

Prof. Natalia Farhi, Officer for Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Community Life; Vocal Diction
Prof. Stephan Forck, Officer for Early Career Support and Transfer; Professor of Cello
Jüntao Ye, Trust Team
Huijing Han, Pianist, UdK
Ptof. Mari Fukumoto, Organist, UdK
Peggy Bertaux, SE Student Affairs; Officer for Students with Chronic Illness
Anna Paolantonacci, Planning

Languages: English, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, French, Russian and others
10:30 – 12:30, Lounge

As part of the nationwide Action Day of Music Universities on Thursday, 27 November 2025, this workshop is offered for teaching staff.

Teaching “at eye level” and maintaining a relationship of trust with students is of great importance to many teachers. As experts in both musical and pedagogical matters, they bear a particular responsibility for learning processes and for shaping the teaching relationship. At the same time, pedagogical relationships are always marked by an imbalance of power: the responsibility held by teachers is also a position of privilege.

Becoming aware of one’s roles enables teachers to question their own pedagogical attitudes, recognise their scope for action, and structure their teaching in a way that feels appropriate for everyone involved. In doing so, questions may arise such as:

• What expectations do students have of me – and what expectations do I have of myself?
• How can I support them in the best possible way without restricting them or offering too little guidance?
• How much closeness, leadership, and freedom is helpful?
• How can I foster a climate of trust in which students feel safe??

In the workshop, we will examine our own role concepts, share experiences with colleagues, and explore approaches for power-sensitive teaching. We will also consider the institutional level: Which structures, support systems, and regulations within the university can strengthen us in our roles and provide orientation?

Methods: Individual and shared reflection, input, and discussion primarily in German (English translation available if required).?Participation is expected for permanently employed teaching staff. For adjunct lecturers, participation is voluntary and not counted as working hours. No registration required.

Hannah Lindmaier teaches at the HfM with a focus on music education and in the artistic-pedagogical training programme at the UdK. Previously, she was a research associate in instrumental pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). She studied guitar, music education, and musicology, and is currently completing her doctorate on touch as a methodological practice in instrumental teaching.

10:30 – 12:30, Marstall, Galakutschen-Saal I, GKS I

As part of the nationwide Action Day of Music Universities on Thursday on 27 November 2025, a workshop for administrative staff will be offered.

In this introductory session on nonviolent communication, you will explore how conversations can be conducted in ways that foster connection rather than distance. We all know the pattern: assumptions, misunderstandings, and accusations – many conversations end unsatisfactorily or in conflict, even though we long for genuine mutual understanding.?Often this happens because feelings and needs remain unspoken. When we succeed in separating observation from interpretation and in recognising underlying needs, we can clearly articulate our wishes.

Using concrete examples, we will analyse typical conversational patterns and practise new forms of expression that lead to greater clarity, respect, and genuine engagement. Participants will be introduced to simple methods such as active listening, perspective-taking, and feedback principles.

The workshop includes input from supervisor Dr. Luise Steinwachs, as well as fun practical exercises which will be applicable in everyday university life. 

Dr Luise Steinwachs is a systemic supervisor, mediator, Gestalt therapist, and holds a doctorate in sociology.

This internal training session takes place during working hours.

10:30 – 12:30, Marstall, Room 318

No registration required. 

We warmly invite you to an introduction to the nationwide project Tauwetter:

“Tauwetteris a counselling centre for men, trans*, intersex* and non-binary people who have experienced sexualised violence. We also support relatives, professionals and anyone wishing to learn more about the subject.?Tauwetter emerged in the early 1990s from a self-organised support group of male survivors. This origin continues to shape our work today: all of us working at Tauwetter are ourselves survivors – now of all genders. Our lived experience informs every counselling session, every service we offer, and every political voice we raise.?In this session, we will introduce our project, our working principles and our approach. We will offer insight into our support structures and create space for questions.?We welcome everyone who wishes to become informed.”

Language: Presentation primarily in German, with English translation available if required?
Speaker: Judith Neubauer, Tauwetter counsellor supporting men*, trans*, inter* and non-binary survivors of sexualised violence in childhood, adolescence or adulthood

10:30 – 12:30, Marstall, Room 166

Open to all genders and all member groups.