The World & European Brass Association (WBA & EBA)

The World & European Brass Association is a cooperation of international Brass Festivals, Universities, Orchestras, Opera- and Concert Houses, Music Institutions, Musicians etc. to support brass music, education and intercultural exchange in concerts, masterclasses and professional exchange.

Founder of the association is the German world famous trumpeter Prof. Otto Sauter. In cooperation with leading international musicians, professors, institutions and cultural managers they are focussing on the needs of brass music today.

 Giving young people a profound education

and a promissing future

The Idea

Worldwide the situation for professional musicians changed in the last years because of the modifications on the cultural market. In a time when even orchestra positions are not save anymore and orchestras have difficulties to find highly qualified young musicians in brass music, the requirements for professional musicians are increasing continuously.

In the World & European Brass Association Otto Sauter brings together specialists from the leading orchestras, universities and music institution of the world and develops with them in a sustainable intercultural and professional exchange and education program corresponding to the needs of the new generation of musicians of the 21st century from amateurs to students and professionals with masterclasses, workshops, concerts etc..

Pierre Boulez said once: „We have to educate musically and technically flexible artists“. Especially brass instruments are divided in plenty of different disciplines, that cannot be taught by only one professor. For this the students need to work with different specialists.

Music inspires - for our World in Harmony

The WBA & EBA program offers students and professionals a coordinated sequential education program with lectures and intense masterclasses and working periods throughout the year all over the world. The courses are given by an exclusive circle of specialized and internationally renowned professors and musicians, leading worldwide in their disciplines, that cannot be found in other places in this combination, with a curriculum in university style, based on the positive experiences of the professors in their areas of expertise and the different educational systems of the leading international universities.

With the support of the WBA & EBA students get prepared to the permanently changing and expanding musical spectrum on the market and can achieve a practical and musicology knowledge and additional competences in subjects like culture- and mediamanagement, intercultural communication, network building, contractlaw etc.. A Virtual Campus with educational material, webinars etc. will be build up, to guarantee a continuous and sustainable supervision also in the festival free time.

Highlight Concerts

Each festival presents classical, jazz and pop highlight concerts with renowned international artists for a local, national and international audience. The aim is to present brass music in a public- and media oriented way, to show the fascination of brass music not only to brass connoisseurs but also to new audiences.

Students have the possibility to share the stage in special concerts with international renowned artists and to gain stage experience in competitions and student concerts.

In addition professionals like instrument makers, music collectors etc. present their knowledge and exhibitions of instruments, music literature, CD‘s/DVD‘s etc. will be organized.

Sharing the Fascination of Music Treasures all over the World

To value precious cultural history is important to guarantee cultural diversity and to develop new visions. Germany e.g. is full of art treasures, the whole world is fascinated of. In Otto Sauter's collection with more than 600 never performed baroque and early classical works since their premiere about 250 years ago, are amongst others forgotten masterpieces written by German composers like Telemann, Molter, Graun, F. X. Richter, Bach sons, Endler etc.. which he presents on international stages and contrast them with new brass compositions or traditional foreign pieces.

Besides the baroque repertory, Otto Sauter also enlarges contemporary original literature for trumpet and with colleagues for all other brass instruments. For this he works with renowned composers like Julien François Zbinden (CH), Harald Genzmer (D), Jan Koetsier (NL), Juraj Filas (CZ), Mikis Theodorakis (GR) and Enjott Schneider (D).

The Founder

The German trumpeter Otto Sauter is not only known for being the world‘s leading piccolo trumpet player but also for his extraordinary engagement for young musical talents from all over the world. With the help of his international network, he built up the WBA & EBA.

In 1994 he founded the International Trumpet-Academy Bremen, Germany that became a unique education model for highly talented trumpet students from all over the world. International renowned universities like the Royal Academy of Music London (GB) and the Toho Gakuen School of Music, Toyko (J) regularly sent students to the International Trumpet Academy Bremen. All graduates of the Academy took over positions in leading orchestras of their home countries and abroad.

Prof. Otto Sauter: “It was always my concern, as well as the concern of all the supporters I had at my side, like Dr. Franz Böhmert, Dr. hc. Egidius Braun, Maestro Zubin Mehta, Ray Charles, Maurice André, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Mikis Theodorakis etc., to give young musicians a profound education and with this a promissing future.“

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