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FiF Forum 2024 ‘High performance needs dissonance – What can we at TU Darmstadt learn from a world-class orchestra?’

on 27 June | Wilhelm-Köhler-Saal of TU Darmstadt | 12:30 to 15:00

with Albert Schmitt | Lecture with subsequent discussion round

We cordially invite you to the lecture by Albert Schmitt, Managing Director of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, on the topic ‘High performance needs dissonance – What can we learn from a world-class orchestra?’!

The topic will be the orchestra's formula for success as a high-performance team – that success is not achieved through permanent harmony, but by consciously dealing with dissonance and conflict tension.

27 June 2024, 12:30 to 15:00 in the Wilhelm-Köhler-Saal at TU Darmstadt

Old Main Building, Hochschulstraße 1, 64289 Darmstadt | Building S1|03 Room 283

  • 12:30 to 12:40 Welcoming words from Martin Lommel, Chancellor | Ulrike Nuber, FiF-Fellow
  • 12:40 to 13:40 Lecture by and Q&A with Albert Schmitt, The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
  • Snack
  • 14:00 to 15:00 Discussion with Martin Lommel, Harald Holzer (HIGHEST), Iryna Gurevych (computer science), Ulrike Nuber (biology, FiF-Fellow) and others. Moderation by Claudia Becker (HIGHEST/SCC).
Poster of the FiF Forum 2024

To the lecture

We talk to Albert Schmitt. Former contrabassist of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, for more than twenty years he has been Managing Director of the orchestra. In this position, with the support of external sponsors, he has contributed to transforming the orchestra into an internationally leading and unique ensemble.Under its chief conductor for the past twenty years, Paavo Järvi, the orchestra has presented highly acclaimed recordings of symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms and Schumann, among others. The orchestra has been honoured with numerous awards, most recently the audience award ‘Orchestra of the Year’ for 2023/24 from Europe's oldest and leading classical music magazine Gramophone ‘to celebrate its excellence, and a palpably inspiring musical partnership, as they approach their 20th anniversary’.

‘When we play, the stage rocks. Every musician really shows maximum commitment and maximum enthusiasm, and then you get different results.’ (A. Schmitt in Deutschlandfunk Kultur 21.12.2016)

‘Self-determination: musically and economically independent

Since the founding of the orchestra, the musicians of Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen are united by the will to be independent. Being free in programme design and independent in musical interpretation. Thus, important musical matters are decided democratically by all the musicians. But that is not all: even the economy is a joint responsibility – unique in the world of large orchestras.

And something more unites the 41 virtuosos: the common goal of exploring music anew every day – down to the most subtle details of a musical score. This is possible due to the high musical standard of the orchestra. The highly praised precision and the energetic, detail-obsessed playing are based on the solo virtuosity and chamber music expertise of each individual orchestra member. The formula for success is not permanent harmony, but the conscious management of dissonance and conflict tension.’

To the website of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

The 5-second model – The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

A professional orchestra and interdisciplinary research groups (consisting of highly qualified researchers) have very much in common. This does not only apply to their musical or scientific interaction, but also to their approach to a changing environment in which the proportion of basic funding is decreasing and their own revenue (in our case, third-party research funding from various sources) and their external image are playing an increasingly important role.

The following discussion round will focus on how an autonomous university could learn from the experiences of the autonomously managed orchestra. Which insights can be gained for teamwork in particular, how can opposing ideas be brought together, how can dissonance become something positive? How can the potential of individuals be combined to form a top team? Where are the obstacles, where are the opportunities?

Participants of the round table will be, among others:

  • Dr. Martin Lommel – Chancellor of TU Darmstadt
  • Harald Holzer – Geschäftsführer HIGHEST Innovation & Start-up Centre TU Darmstadt
  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike A. Nuber – Professor at the Department of Biology, Stem Cell and Developmental Biology and FiF Fellow
  • Prof. Dr. Iryna Gurevych – Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Ubiquitous Knowledge Processing (UKP) Lab
  • Elias Hamel – Physics student at TU Darmstadt

Dr Claudia Becker will act as moderator.

With the kind support of