n[o]ice! aims to closely interlink the study areas of singing/opera and composition through the joint development of a music-theatrical work.

The students develop an opera, search for content, form, vocal spectrum, sound and provide inspiration for contemporary vocal music. Artists with their finger on the pulse of the times provide support with creative input and ask questions about relevance in workshops, master classes and excursions which, in addition to the curriculum-based seminars, reflect innovative developments and open up international perspectives.

As the first component of the “n[o]ice!” project, the work on “Pierrot Lunaire - Moonstruck” was a good introduction to the vocal sound world of the 20th century. Arnold Schönberg's classic of contemporary music theater was placed in a tense relationship with 7 compositions by students of the Incontri Institute and performed in June 2023.

For the second year of study, the author and librettist Prof. Tina Hartmann from the University of Bayreuth was recruited to develop the common subject with the students: work as a meaning, work as exploitation, work as the center of life, work as a means to life.

Research into the content, character constellations and dramaturgical drafts led to texts that were set to music by four composers from the Incontri Institute (mentors: Aaron Cassidy and Gordon Williamson).

The musical development was supported by the Ensemble Quillo from the Uckermark, experts in new music. The sound of six instruments was explored in five workshops lasting several days, classical and innovative playing techniques were tested and the ensemble was heard playing together.

Under the direction of Yoonjee Kim, the instrumental structure was created, always in correspondence with the vocal parts. The collaboration with the singers that began with Claudia Barainsky was continued in three master classes per semester. Based on recent vocal works, the vocal students were prepared for the extended demands of contemporary music.

The “tryout n[o]ice!” presented the results of this process in a staged concert in the Richard Jakobi Saal.

In the third year of study, the four resulting drafts will be dramaturgically linked and finalized. The collaborative composition will be premiered as a self-contained work and will be made reproducible. The content and musical themes are developed further, characters are more clearly defined, choral and solo parts are added. Four individual parts become a whole.

A new story arc emerged from the first four drafts: The “Memory of Mankind”, a large-scale project created by artificial intelligence, collects and archives knowledge, skills and experiences from the world of work and life. Changing climatic conditions make human survival impossible, but flora and fauna have the ability to adapt. In this situation, some human specimens fight for autonomy, survival and immortality.

In the winter semester 24/25, the existing group will be expanded to include new singers, who will first rehearse the sheet music created so far. The composition(s) will be complete by the end of the year and will be reviewed with the Quillo ensemble in January. The singers will then also begin rehearsing the newly created parts of the work.

In the summer semester of 2025, an instrumental ensemble made up of students from the university will be formed under the direction of Yoonjee Kim. Musical and scenic ensemble rehearsals will begin in April, while stage and costume design will be conceived and realized by students of the HS Hannover.

World premiere: The final product will be premiered as a self-contained work in June 2025 under the title “Al-cinas Archiv” and is to be made reproducible; four performances are planned at HMTMH and guest performances are being considered.

Funded by the funding program for top-level research and teaching in Lower Saxony, the Volkswagen Foundation and the Ministry of Science and Culture of Lower Saxony

Al-cinas Archiv (UA) June 19 | 20 | 21 | 23, 2025 each 7:30 pm in the Richard Jakoby Saal, Neues Haus 1 - Singers and instrumentalists of the HMTMH - Prof. Mascha Pörzgen Project management, scenic instruction and direction - Yoonjee Kim Musical direction - Prof. Aaron Cassidy and Prof. Gordon Williamson, Institut Incontri Supervision Composition - Prof. Tina Hartmann, University of Bayreuth Text production, libretto - Betty Mavropoulou, Hana Lim, James Anderson, Tom Bañados Composition

Claudia Barainsky Supervision of the singers - Rainer O. Brinkmann Coordination and conceptual collaboration