Institutes & Centers

The Cologne University of Music and Dance can rely on two large departmental institutes: an Institute for Early Music and an Institute for New Music.

Institute for Early Music

Since the 1950s, the development of historical performance practice has been largely based in Cologne. Numerous orchestras and ensembles have established themselves here over the decades and form a lively concert life in the region, in the heart of Europe and far beyond. The Institute for Early Music was born out of this environment, where the latest findings in performance practice have been and continue to be incorporated into teaching and projects. Public concerts, interdisciplinary projects and regular cooperation with other departments of the Cologne University of Music and Dance or external institutions (training centers, event organizers, ensembles) also contribute to providing the most comprehensive musical education possible.

Institute for New Music

The Institute for New Music, founded in 2009, unites representatives of the departments of composition, interpretation, musicology and dance. It is closely connected to the Ensemble for Contemporary Music ColLAB Cologne and the Studio for Electronic Music and is characterized by excellent study conditions. In addition to organizing numerous workshops with renowned guests from the music and art scene, the institute's work is characterized by diverse concert activities and collaborations with, among others, the Acht Brücken Festival Cologne, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), DNT Weimar, Theater Bielefeld or Donaueschinger Musiktage.

PreCollege Cologne & Peter-Oswald-Institut

In addition, the Cologne University of Music and Dance not only offers courses in the "classical disciplines" of a music or art academy, but can also boast numerous innovative additions, with

• the PreCollege Cologne, the early intervention institute for highly gifted children - and adolescents,
• the Peter Oswald Institute for Musicians' Health, which is dedicated to research as well as therapy and therapy mediation in the border area between music and medicine.

In Montepulciano, the Cologne University of Music and Dance has at its disposal a unique place for artistic work and research, but also for performance and presentation experiences. The study stay in Italy, which is also historically justifiable, forms an essential resource for the university and its students and makes an elementary contribution to the creation and development process of creative artists.

The connection to Montepulciano goes back significantly to Hans Werner Henze's commitment to the place and to artistic education. At the end of the 1990s, the Palazzo Ricci in Montepulciano was opened for use as a municipal building and, after a basic renovation made possible by extensive sponsorship, was officially opened in June 2001. From 2002 to 2022, the Palazzo Ricci e.V. association, founded for this purpose, ensured the expansion and progress of the project. With the founding of the College of Arts in 2010/2011, the regular use of the Palazzo expanded to include all seven art and music colleges in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Through the expansion of the upper floor with a large loggia and two studio rooms, the Palazzo has also offered additional work opportunities for this since 2017. With the founding of a new operating association and institutional funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the change from the "European Academy of Music and Performing Arts" to the"European Academy of the Arts" was also formally completed in 2022.

The guiding principle of the Academy, analogous to other German cultural institutions in Italy, is to facilitate encounters between young, highly talented artists from all over Europe. In master classes with internationally renowned teachers, in themed projects, with scholarship residencies and with congresses, this idea is put into practice. In the meantime, the Academy is also increasingly being used by Italian cultural partners from the region. It is also available to all cultural professionals as a conference venue for their own projects.

The College of Arts Montepulciano continues to be an essential part of the Academy: This unique cooperation of the seven art and music colleges of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia unites the Detmold College of Music, the Robert Schumann College of Music in Düsseldorf, the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, the Cologne College of Music and Dance, the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, the Münster Art Academy and the Düsseldorf Art Academy. The academic institution enables particularly qualified students as well as teachers of the participating universities to spend several days of intensive work at Palazzo Ricci and, with its various, primarily interdisciplinary offers, forms the exploration of art forms in new contexts.