International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA)

The IEMA, as the educational institution of the Ensemble Modern, was founded in 2003 with the aim of carrying on the musical heritage and promoting new ways of contemporary artistic creation. The IEMA offers a wide variety of educational programs for different target groups: Education Projects, International Master Classes, the International Composition Seminar and - as a focal point of the educational formats - the Master's program International Ensemble Modern Academy - Contemporary Music Performance (MA IEMA CoMP) in cooperation with the HfMDK Frankfurt.

Professionalization in the field of new music

The one-year master's program is aimed at instrumentalists, conductors, composers and sound directors who have already been trained. The aim is to teach contemporary playing techniques, the handling of notation and interpretation of contemporary music, the understanding of aesthetic concepts intrinsic to the works and, concomitantly, comprehensive repertoire knowledge of 20th and 21st century music. The program ends with the degree "Master of Music (M. Mus.)".

In the Master's program, young artists work as an IEMA ensemble for over a year with members of the Ensemble Modern as teachers on the diverse repertoire of contemporary solo literature, chamber music as well as conducted ensemble works. Cooperations with various institutions also allow for interdisciplinary projects.

In addition, renowned composers and conductors such as Mark Andre, Carola Bauckholt, Peter Eötvös, Brian Ferneyhough, Heiner Goebbels, Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann and Lucia Ronchetti as well as Stefan Asbury, Lucas Vis and Michael Wendeberg are regular guests.

Concerts, festivals, networks

The IEMA ensemble presents the results of its work in around 30 concerts a year at home and abroad, including at renowned festivals such as the Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, the Gaudeamus Muziekweek and the Kurt Weill Fest Dessau. International performance opportunities also arise through the "Ulysses Network", of which the IEMA has been a partner since 2012, along with 13 other European music institutions. Since the beginning, the Kunststiftung NRW has been a major sponsoring partner of the course. Thanks to this and other funding, every place on the course can be equipped with a scholarship to date.