You can find all lecture periods and lecture-free periods as well as deadlines on the page of the JGU. They also apply to the Mainz School of Music:
New: Book practice rooms now via:
The Mainz School of Music is gradually switching its room reservation to a new platform from summer 2025. This will initially start with the booking of practice rooms for all appointments from August 18, 2025.
On this page you will find information to help you get started.
The known booking rules still apply. Please continue to book classrooms, theory rooms and the large rooms via the Teams channel.
Have fun getting to know the new page for practice room booking – and happy practicing!
The Mainz School of Music, together with its partner institutions, organizes several internal competitions: The “Concert Exam” competition, which takes place internally every two years, the “Heinz Frankenbach Prize” for singing in the field of Baroque music, the Piano Competition of the Mainz School of Music and the “Steinway Advancement Award“, which is held every year by the Steinway-Haus Frankfurt.
The Heinz Frankenbach Prize is an internal singing competition of the Mainz School of Music in the field of Baroque music. It is intended to encourage and guide students to engage with chamber music baroque works (cantatas, songs, monodies, …), to develop their own program ideas and to put them into practice with audience-oriented concepts.
The jury of the competition is composed of lecturers from the Mainz School of Music and external renowned personalities from the early music scene. In addition to the prize winner chosen by the jury, it is up to the audience to choose their personal favorite, to whom the audience prize is awarded. In addition, grants can be awarded, including in the form of concert engagements with partner institutions such as the Wörrstadt Days of Early Music.
Further information about the Heinz Frankenbach Prize can be found on the pages of the Barock Vokal Akademie.
Information on the results of the 2022 competition
Information on the results of the 2020 competition
Information on the results of the 2019 competition
The Steinway Advancement Award is awarded every year to talented piano students from the region of the Steinway-Haus Frankfurt. The aim of the prize is the continuous support and promotion of talented young talents.
Three music academies are involved in this grant: The Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, the Mainz School of Music and the Würzburg School of Music. Each of these higher education institutions sends two candidates for the grant, who are determined in an internal audition. The maximum age of the participants is 27 years. The competition concerts as well as the award winner concert – all concerts are public – take place in the Steinway-Haus Frankfurt. A top-class independent jury determines the prize winners.
The grant is awarded in the form of a fellowship per institution in the amount of 1000,- Euro.
Piano competitions play an extremely important role in piano training. By participating in the two-round competition, the students of the piano department of the HfM are to be motivated to prepare intensively, to experience the competitive situation in the competition and thus to develop further as pianists.
Information on the results of the 2023 competition
Information on the results of the 2019 competition
Since 2019, students of the HfM Mainz have been able to apply for the Kneifel Grant for outstanding achievements in the field of chamber music with guitar. It was the concern of the married couple Hans and Gertrud Kneifel, based in Kronberg, to support young up-and-coming artists with the foundation they created. In annual competition concerts, HfM formations present themselves to a changing expert jury.
Information on the results of the 2023 competition
Information on the results of the 2022 competition
Information on the results of the 2021 competition
Information on the results of the 2020 competition
Information on the results of the 2019 competition
Report of the Kronberger Bote on the first competition concert 2019
The Concert Exam competition takes place every two years exclusively for students of the Mainz School of Music, i.e. internally. Students of all instruments of the “Concert Exam” degree program can participate in this competition. The prize is awarded by an internal jury, which is supported by the Friends of the Mainz School of Music e.V. In addition, a special prize can be awarded by the GMD of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Mainz, which is associated with a solo performance in a concert of the orchestra.
Information on the results of the 2018 competition
Information on the results of the 2016 competition
Information on the results of the 2014 competition
The Barock Vokal excellence program as an artistic training program for opera and concert singers as well as advanced singing students is entering the next round:
“BAROCK VOKAL – Kolleg für Alte Musik” becomes the Barock Vokal Akademie.
After ten successful years under the artistic direction of Prof. Claudia Eder, the project management passed to Prof. Elisabeth Scholl and Markus Stein on April 1, 2021.
Prof. Elisabeth Scholl – Artistic Director
Markus Stein – Managing Director
From 27.07. to 17.08.2025 the 4th Barock Vokal Akademie invites excellent young singers to engage in a three-week intensive work phase in theory and practice with the facets of historical performance practice.
Further information about Barock Vokal and the program, the lecturers and the participants of the Barock Vokal Akademie 2025 can be found here.
As part of the Gutenberg Chamber Music Campus, students get the opportunity to work on sophisticated chamber music pieces with renowned lecturers in a working phase and to network. The next Chamber Music Campus will take place in spring 2026.
Artistic Director: Univ.-Prof. Manuel Fischer Dieskau
Grant: GLG / Drs. Göbel Foundation for Music
»As part of the GRADUS International Piano Academy Mainz, five exceptionally talented young pianists receive the opportunity to qualify as scholarship students for the Academy. At least one outstanding pianist from the piano department of the Mainz School of Music is included in this grant.
GRADUS International Piano Academy Mainz unites some of the most important institutions in Rhineland-Palatinate, creating a unique network for musical excellence. The Mainz School of Music, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the Landesmusikakademie Rheinland-Pfalz and numerous outstanding venues together form a platform that enables young musicians to enrich their artistic training far beyond the boundaries of classical studies.
This inspiring interaction not only offers the participants the chance to present their skills to a demanding audience, but also promotes an intensive exchange with leading artists and institutions – an important and beautiful step on their way to a musical career that is as versatile as possible.
Artistic Director: Univ.-Prof. Sae-Nal Kim
The Mainz School of Music regularly offers master classes for young musicians. The workshops with teaching staff from the HfM Mainz are aimed at current and future music students.
The next Wind Academy will take place in spring 2026.
Improvising over jazz standards, folk songs and pop songs is one of the most important skills of music teachers today. But improvisation is also playing an increasingly important role in instrumental lessons. The course is aimed at anyone who wants to deepen their knowledge of piano improvisation and at the same time break new ground in traditional ways. The variation and renewal of familiar musical patterns of all kinds should therefore be the focus of the course work. There are no limits to imagination and templates (e.g. image, text and tone rows).
The four lecturers Sebastian Sternal, Christopher Miltenberger, Helmut Lörscher and Laurens Patzlaff are professors at the music academies in Mainz, Freiburg and Lübeck. They are among the most internationally renowned specialists in piano improvisation and each pursue individual improvisation approaches with which they have made an excellent name for themselves not only in the field of jazz.
Project management: Univ.-Prof. Christopher Miltenberger,
The Mainz School of Music regularly offers master classes for young musicians. The workshops with teaching staff from the Mainz School of Music are aimed at current and future music students. Course contents are:
- Individual lessons, basic work, literature, audition training
- Preparation for competitions
Regardless of whether you are preparing for a competition or an audition, need solutions for technical difficulties or have questions about breathing, sound and support – we are open to your wishes and work motivating and positively on your topics.
For some time now, the university management board and the student council have been considering ways to concretely implement climate protection at the higher education institution. This initially involves raising awareness about our own use of resources. The question is: What do we consider in need of improvement regarding sustainability?
Since 2021, the ‘Green University’ project group has existed, which also includes representatives from the Department of Building and Property Management (BLM) and the State Office for Construction and Real Estate (LBB). The aim of this project is to develop measures for promoting sustainability in all areas of the higher education institution – learning and teaching, artistic project work, infrastructure, Technics Department, buildings – and to improve the quality of experience in and around the School of Music. In addition to the ‘invisible’ measures, there are already visible changes on campus around the School of Music – and more is being planned.
In summer, the School of Music is one of the hottest places on campus. A key aspect is therefore to reduce the heating of the many sealed surfaces around the School of Music and to design the existing areas in the inner courtyard, towards the former residence for visiting professors (north side) and the parking lot (west side), so that they can be used for exchange, collaborative work, and relaxation. We look forward to outdoor areas that, as shady spots with an invigorating breeze, invite our students, teaching staff, and audience to stay and relax.
The inner courtyard – for years a barren concrete area that heats up massively in summer – is being greened. Four trees have already been planted by the State Office for Construction and Real Estate (LBB) and are allowed to grow and provide shade and wind. In addition, roses, lavender, sage, and bellflowers have been planted, and raised beds are intended to complete the picture. With the sun sail acquired last summer and outdoor seating, we aim to improve the quality of experience in the courtyard and our climate footprint.
Last year, under the guidance of gardener Irmelin Dörnfeld, wildflowers, herbs, lavender, rose bushes, prairie candles, and many other plants were already planted on the green steps around the main entrance. These plants create a lively, colorful welcome, are insect-friendly, and – together with the newly planted trees – are intended to improve the indoor climate in the classrooms.
A short break on the green lawn? Reading texts or studying scores in the fresh air? For those who don’t want to walk across campus or don’t have enough time for a stroll through the Botanical Garden, you will now find seating and tables in the quiet area behind the Red Hall. Greened with hedges and wild meadows, this outdoor area will certainly become a new favorite spot at the HfM Mainz in the coming summer semester.
The integration of the Mainz School of Music onto the JGU campus offers many advantages. Not only is the School of Music within walking distance of most other JGU institutes and cafeterias, but students of the School of Music also utilize all services available to JGU students in terms of technical infrastructure.
In addition to our Music Library (location of the departmental library Philosophicum) on the 1st floor of the School of Music, there are many other departmental libraries on campus, as well as the Central Library, all offering additional workstations and facilities:
On the University of Mainz campus, there are various dining options, all within walking distance of the School of Music.
For students, full meals are available at affordable prices. Payment is cashless with the myAuthent App of the Studierendenwerk Mainz; cash payment is also accepted.
The collegium musicum combines artistic, musicological, and pedagogical aspects on campus and also houses the UniChor Mainz and the UniOrchester Mainz . Since 2013, the choral selection ensemble with professional aspirations has joined: the Gutenberg Chamber Choir . For our students, this is another exciting opportunity to become musically active.
The Student Services Center is the first contact point for general questions regarding application and studies at Johannes Gutenberg University (JGU) Mainz.
