No need to blow their own trumpet…
The TU Big Band is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a concert on November 24, 2018
Mathias Bäumel
Marching to the beat of their own drum: 1968 was an eventful, momentous year, for popular music as well as world news. It was the year the Prague Spring was crushed. It was also the year the TU wind orchestra was founded in Dresden. The group originally performed both traditional marches and brass and wind pieces, and more traditional concert music. Heinz Krause directed the group until 1979. It was an amateur band, but nonetheless highly regarded in the GDR, receiving the “Staatspreis fü̈r kü̈nstlerisches Volksschaffen” (state prize for artistic contributions to society) and even going on tour to the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Helmut Vietze and later Hans Hombsch then took over as artistic directors – both were leading professionals, one from the Dresdner Tanzsinfoniker orchestra and the other from the Staatskapelle. This was reflected in more sophisticated arrangements and in the repertoire, which now included compositions by The Beatles and from musicals and Dixieland. Highlights included concert tours and recordings for GDR radio.
The TU wind orchestra was part of the student “Volkskunstkollektive” – GDR artistic groups – under the umbrella of the Zentraler Studentenklub or central student club (ZSK) alongside the choir, the symphony orchestra, various dance ensembles, and other creative groups. This degree of proximity to the state meant the inclusion in the repertoire of music associated with the class struggle and GDR ideology; at the same time, however, the TU wind orchestra also benefited from extensive support – common at the time – in terms of equipment, conductors, sheet music, and orchestra exchange programs.
The new framework and environment after the GDR’s accession to the Federal Republic of Germany brought about far-reaching changes for the TU wind orchestra. New regulations made the newly founded Studentenwerk (Student Union) responsible for supporting student culture. Funding for cultural activities became tight, as was the case almost everywhere; audiences shrank as people found new, exciting cultural and in particular musical opportunities that they had not previously experienced. The situation is succinctly put on today’s Big Band website: “Audience, organizers, and cash.” All these changes led to the establishment of an independent association, “TU Big Band e.V.,” in 1990. Even though Studentenwerk Dresden and the university helped out on a number of occasions, the big band had to compete on the free market and largely generate funds for fees and purchases on its own. “The band successfully embraced the start of this new era under Martin Konitzer, a musician and former member of the TU wind orchestra. From 1995 to 2005, he not only wielded the baton and took the ensemble beyond traditional wind and brass music, he also put his organizational skills to good use for the band,” we read on the group’s website. The potted history also tells us that Bertram Liskowsky, who became musical director of the TU Big Band in 2005, further honed their swing and dance band credentials: The band learned more big band classics and responded to the resurgence of dances and balls with a wide range of dance music.
The TU Big Band has always had close ties to its university – for example, the ensemble was a regular guest at the legendary “Dixie auf dem Campus,” an annual concert with six different bands that took place each year from 2001 to 2009 in the Auditorium Center’s largest space as part of the Dixieland Festival.
In short, the band has achieved considerable success – thanks to a lot of hard work. “As we are a student band, members move away, go on semesters abroad, or leave for work, so we are always happy to hear from potential new members,” it says on the Big Band website. They are always on the lookout for new players.
Want to enjoy the impressive sound and skills of this young ensemble for yourself? Come to the anniversary concert. Where and when? On November 24, 2018 (7 p.m.; doors open 6 p.m.) at JohannStadthalle in Dresden. Tickets are available from JohannStadthalle and at the box office on the night.
http://www.johannstadthalle.de/programm.html#goto=881
https://www.tubigband.de
This article appeared in the Dresdner Universitätsjournal (university newspaper, UJ) 18/2018 of November 13, 2018. The complete issue is available as a free PDF download here. Printed copies and PDF files of the university newspaper can be ordered from doreen.liesch@tu-dresden.de. More information can be found at universitaetsjournal.de.