When Jazzhaus Freiburg opened more than 20 years ago, Miles Davis came and performed in the city to commemorate the event. Since that landmark inauguration, Soul Asylum, Dianne Reeves, Rammstein, Ice-T, Cassandra Wilson, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Berklee alumnus Al Di Meola are among the varied artists who’ve taken the stage at the prestigious venue.
Counterpoint class
I’m here in Freiburg, visiting a group of Berklee students studying for a semester at the Jazz and Rock Schulen. At four, the group is small and tight-knit, and makes for even more personalized attention in the classroom. Aside from ensembles and a few classes, the Berklee students take their classes (which are in line with the Berklee curriculum) independently from the Jazz and Rock Schulen students.
After a day of getting settled—climbing the Schlossberg, visiting the Freiburg Münster, jogging along the Dreisam River, and eating a proper German meal (read: fleisch and kartoffel)—I spent some time at the school, which is just a short walk from the city center.
At the Freiburg farmers market. Fffresh!
Cleaning my metaphorical desk (meaning: cell phone camera) after the holiday break, I came across these Freiburg photos. More angles and corners on the Berklee study-abroad experience, at the Jazz & Rock Schulen and around the city.
The Hochschule für Musik orchestra rehearses Tchaikovsky
I’m writing a profile of Berklee study-abroad student Josh Story, who toted his tuba all across Freiburg to play with a variety of groups. I got to see a particularly impressive one: the Hochschule für Musik orchestra. If you peer in, you’ll see that dash of gold in the back of the brass section.
(Those with a childhood doused in musical theater may hear “76 Trombones” on their mental jukebox: “And I modestly took my place as the one and only bass. . . .”)
Reinhard Stephan, Jazz & Rock Schulen managing director
“In our school history, the most important partnership is the partnership to Berklee,” said Jazz & Rock Schulen managing director Reinhard Stephan. Berklee helped provide an instructional foundation for the Jazz & Rock Schulen when it began—and now, the study-abroad program is helping the school amplify its presence on the global scene
Copyright © 2023 Berklee College of Music