Graduates of conservatoires who have received an outstanding training as soloists are given the opportunity at the Deutsche Oper Berlin’s Orchestra Academy to familiarise themselves with an exceptionally wide-ranging operatic repertoire: each season’s programme features works by Wagner, Puccini, Strauss and Verdi, as well as a broad repertoire ranging from Mozart through the late Romantic period to the modern era. The academy students are mentored by experienced orchestra members through one-to-one tuition and orchestral masterclasses. They are allowed to take part in rehearsals, concerts and opera performances once they have learnt the works with their mentors. A very important part of the training is preparation for auditions for a permanent position in an orchestra. To this end, the Orchestra Academy offers mental training in the form of workshops, coaching and mock auditions.
It is not only the young Academy members who benefit from this training, but also the Deutsche Oper Berlin orchestra itself: in order to train successors for vacancies, Academy places are specifically allocated within the relevant instrumental sections. Since its foundation, 18 Academy members have thus secured permanent positions in the Deutsche Oper Berlin orchestra.
The promotion of chamber music is also a high priority. For this reason, one concert in the orchestra’s chamber music series is organised by the Academy members each season.
In the 2026/2027 season, we welcome the following to the Orchestra Academy:
Rebecca Thies, Yujeong Nam, Balthasar Thom, Emma Pircher, Jihae Bae (violin), Eden Meyer Khaiat, Hoyoon Kim (viola), Sofia Blandu, Johann Eilrich (cello), Simone Kreuzpointner, Pablo Mascarós Molina (double bass), Annika Rast (flute), Anton Franz (bassoon), Antoni Ivars Bertomeu (trumpet), Darian Keller (trombone).
