Royal Academy of Music, Denmark - musikkons.dk

Royal Academy of Music, Denmark
The trumpet and trombone
classes at the Royal Academy of
Music/Aarhus in Denmark are
larger than many of their European
counterparts. Over the years, the two
classes have managed to produce a
large number of Master graduates
considering the size of the Academy.
Aarhus is one of the
largest university
towns in Scandinavia
with a population of
300,000. The Academy
moved to a completely
new building with
state of the art
classrooms, concert
halls and rehearsal
rooms in the middle of
Aarhus in 2007.
In more ways than one,
the brass department
is a reflection of the
Academy in general.
Emphasis is put on
international activities
through exchange
programmes with
both teachers and
students. Musicians
at a high soloist level
competing for spots
in leading orchestras
and music teachers
headed for the tuition
of future generations
all graduate from the
Academy. Tuition and
programmes span a wide
selection of genres and
the programmes undergo continuous
development based, for example, on
teacher research and artistic activities.
In this article you will meet two of the
international students at the Academy in
Aarhus as well as one of their teachers.
Small Town with an Amazing
Music Academy
“It all started with a master class,”
Royal Academy of Music Brass.
Niels-Ole Bo Johansen.
88 The Brass Herald February 2012
says French trombonist Valentin
Guérin, who has a Bachelor’s degree
from the Academy in Paris and started
on the Masters programme at the
Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus in
September 2011.
Valentin didn’t expect to become a
musician. He
has played the
trombone since he
was ten, but went
to a regular high
school and started
on an engineering
programme
afterwards.
Concurrently, he
received private
tuition from an
Academy teacher
in Paris, Jacques
Mauger, who
convinced him
to apply for the
Academy.
Valentin appreciated
his teachers at the
Academy in Paris but
was less enthusiastic
about other aspects
of the Academy. He
wanted to leave Paris.
At the engineering
programme, he met
several students
who told him how
incredibly rewarding
it was to study
abroad. Valentin
investigated different
opportunities and considered London
and New York among others. He even
received a scholarship for Juilliard in New
York, but it was still much too expensive.
Valentin had never heard about Aarhus
and knew nothing about Denmark apart
from the fact that one solo trombonist
with the Berlin Philharmonic is Danish.
But then Professor Niels-Ole Bo Johansen
Klaus Møller-Jørgensen
from the Academy in Aarhus came to
Paris to give a master class. And that
really made an impression.
As an EU citizen, Valentin could study for
free in Denmark and he decided to give
it a chance. He was not disappointed.
Both Niels-Ole Bo Johansen and the
other teachers are very competent.
Furthermore, the Academy in Aarhus
resides in an amazing building. You have
24 hour access to the building, it’s easy
to book a rehearsal room and you never
have to wait in line if you do it right; very
different circumstances than in Paris.
However, Valentin has also experienced
things about the Academy that he is
not too pleased with, but he has a lot
of time for practicing and he finds the
administration very helpful.
Kristian Steenstrup.
The general atmosphere in Aarhus is
great. Valentin likes the town and his
fellow students; he has felt welcome from
the first day and never feels alone. Also,
he loves being so close to the ocean and
the harbour. The only thing he really
misses from Paris is more professional
orchestras - but he knew that was the
price to pay for studying in a smaller
town.
Cracking Technical Issues
“Every lesson with my main subject
teacher, Associate Professor Kristian
Steenstrup, reinforces me as to why I’m
here.” These are the words of Tristan
Button, English trumpet player, who
also started as a Masters student at the
Academy in Aarhus in September 2011.
Tristan has played the trumpet since
he was five and has played in a brass
band since he was ten. He received
private tutoring from James Watson
among others and was accepted to the
Guildhall School of Music in London.
But then Tristan started having technical
issues. His teachers gave him a lot of

Tristan Button
great advice, but nothing really worked.
Tristan even considered switching to the
trombone instead of the trumpet.
Then trumpet player Kristian Steenstrup
from the Royal Academy in Aarhus visited
the Guildhall School of Music in London
to give a master class. Tristan didn’t even
dare to participate in the master class.
But when he saw what Steenstrup did for
the participants, he had a single private
lesson set up. Suddenly Tristan’s technical
issues were cracked open.
From then on, things were a lot
better for Tristan at the Guildhall
and when he had the opportunity
to study abroad for six months,
without hesitation he decided to
go to Aarhus. This stay was such a
positive experience that he decided
to take his Master’s degree in
Aarhus.
Amazing Facilities
Tristan is very happy with his
teacher Kristian Steenstrup. It is
impressive how Steenstrup makes
the best of every student regardless
of their ability. In Tristan’s
experience, tuition at the Academy
in Aarhus is generally at a very
high level.
Furthermore, it is much easier to
audition for a professional orchestra in
Denmark than back home in London.
Denmark is a small country and it is easy
to travel between the different orchestras.
Besides, it is only your performance that
counts, which is fairer than in other
places.
London is almost too big a city to study
in. It’s easy to disappear in the crowd.
Aarhus is a nice city to study in and
everyone in Denmark understands and
speaks English.
Since Tristan expects to be here for at
least two years, he has decided to learn
to speak Danish. It was difficult in the
beginning but, in his own opinion, it’s
coming along after 4-5 months. Also, if
you know a little bit about languages in
advance, it’s quite easy to read Danish.
Besides the tuition, Tristan really
appreciates the facilities and the
infrastructure at the Academy in Aarhus
Valentin Guerin.
- it is the best he has seen
anywhere. The booking
system works perfectly, it is
easy to plan rehearsals and
it is always possible to find
a rehearsal room. Of course,
some things don’t work
perfectly at the Academy in
Aarhus, but that’s the same
everywhere, Tristan Button
concludes.
Small Pool of Talent
Facilitates Great
Development
“Denmark is a small country which
means that the pool of talent is small.
This means that we as Academy teachers
see students with all kinds of issues. We
are constantly confronted with many
different challenges at many different
levels. This has sharpened our ability to
analyse and deal with the most diverse
performance technical and musical issues,
which eventually helps the students
develop.”
This is the explanation of the brass
department’s great success over the past
20-25 years according to Trombone
Professor Niels-Ole Bo Johansen. The
success can be
measured by the
many graduates,
many of whom
have good jobs
in the music
business, including
in orchestras and
at music schools.
The trumpet and
trombone classes
at the Academy are
larger than many
of their European
counterparts.
Among the
trombonists
alone, Johansen
and his team of
teachers can count a number of names
who are now permanently employed in
professional orchestras, e.g. Jesper Busk
Sørensen at the Berlin Philharmonic and
Jesper Juul at the Danish National Radio
Symphony Orchestra.
Another contributing factor is probably
the Scandinavian pedagogical tradition
for roominess, says Niels-Ole Bo
Johansen. This means being very
inclusive and meeting the individual
student where he or she is. Faults and
imperfections are considered exciting
challenges, not problems.
Johansen elaborates: “We deliberately
work on creating a great, respectful
environment. There has to be fierce
competition on stage - the students must
never be in doubt about what is excellent.
But there should be room for everyone
off stage; we must treat each other
properly. This is easily combined with
high academic demands. It’s a question of
attitude.”
“We strive to achieve great versatility in
the programmes,” Johansen continues.
“Excellence has many faces. Therefore,
the students will meet many different
teachers and guest teachers. In the
trombone class alone, we have five
master classes a year. We even have
former students in the two professional
Danish big bands.”
The last thing Niels-Ole Bo Johansen
mentions is that it may be easier to
cultivate a certain level of teacher
dedication at a smaller music academy.
Everyone strives to perform at their
best and give an extra effort for the
Academy to do well in the competition
with “the big ones”.
The Future
The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/
Aalborg is currently working on
expanding its international profile.
This happens through a number of
formalised collaborations with academies
in Scandinavia, the Middle East, Africa
and the USA. At the moment, the
Royal Academy of Music Brass enjoy Christmas.
The Brass Herald February 2012 89

Reinhold Friedrich teaching.
Academy offers joint study programmes
within the jazz/pop programmes in close
cooperation with other Scandinavian
academies and more will follow.
Reinhold Friedrich will remain Honorary
Professor of the trumpet class until
2015. Also, a master class with Gabriele
Cassone will be held in February.
The trombone class will be visited by
Jesper Busk Sørensen from the Berlin
Philharmonic and Jesper Juul from
the Danish National Radio Symphony
Orchestra. The class will attend the ITA
festival in Hannover in March and the
trombone ensemble of the Academy has
been invited to play at the gala concert
at the Riga Brass Festival. Furthermore,
the trombone class is attending a joint
seminar in Austin, Texas with the
trombone class from the University of
Texas. In addition, the trombone class
from Paris will visit Aarhus. Finally, it is
expected that a trombonist from one of
the world’s leading orchestras will be
affiliated as new Honorary Professor with
the Academy in the near future.
Fact Box
The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/
Aalborg has departments in the Danish
cities of Aarhus and Aalborg.
The Academy offers classical, jazz/
pop, and electronic programmes at both
Bachelor, Master and soloist level.
The Academy houses about 400 students
in total, of which about 300 are enrolled
in Aarhus.
The brass department under the classical
programme has 37 students at the
moment. Of these, 19 are in the trumpet
class and 15 are in the trombone class.
The Academy in Aarhus resides alongside
The Concert Hall in a new building with
access to four concert halls and about 100
state of the art classrooms and rehearsal
rooms of different sizes.
90 The Brass Herald February 2012
The Concert
Hall is also
home to
the Aarhus
Symphony
Orchestra and
The Danish
National Opera
(Den Jyske
Opera).
Website: www.
musikkons.dk
EU/EEA
students do not
pay for tuition.
Non-EU/EEA
students pay:
Tuition fee
for Bachelor
programmes per
year (two semesters): approx. 11,000
euros
Tuition fee for Master programmes per
year: approx. 10,000 euros
Tuition fee for Advanced Postgraduate
diploma (soloist) per year: approx. 6,500
euros
Application deadline for EU/EEA
students: December 1 (Postgraduate:
February 1)
For non-EU/EEA students: April 1
Profiles
Niels-Ole Bo Johansen, Professor,
trombone
Teacher at The Royal Academy of Music/
Aarhus since 1989, Professor since 2000.
Second vice president of the ITA, the
International Trombone Association.
Has played at several ITA festivals. Host
for the ITF in Aarhus 2009.
Has played in military orchestras and the
Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (co-principal
trombone), among others.
Co-founder of the Aarhus Sinfonietta.
Has recorded a number of CDs, especially
with contemporary music.
Kristian Steenstrup, Associate Professor,
trumpet
Teacher at The Royal Academy of Music
since 2000.
Has held numerous master classes and
workshops all over Europe, in Canada
and in Japan.
Has conducted summer courses with
Reinhold Friedrich in Tuscany since 2008.
Appears on the web platform
playwithapro.com with leading world
artists.
Author of the book “Teaching Brass”
which is very popular and has lately been
translated into Japanese.
Other Teachers
Honorary Professor Reinhold Friedrich,
trumpet, Professor at the University of
Music in Karlsruhe.
Martin Schuster, Associate Professor,
principal trumpet, Aarhus Symphony
Orchestra.
Rolf Sandmark, Associate Professor, coprincipal
trombone, Aarhus Symphony
Orchestra.
Jesper Busk Sørensen, co-principal
trombone, Berlin Philharmonic.
Jens Vind, bass trombone, Aarhus
Symphony Orchestra.
Flemming Aksnes, principal horn, Aarhus
Symphony Orchestra.
Klaus Møller-Jørgensen is Public Relations
Co-ordinator at the Royal Academy of Music in
Denmark