Which paths lead to the big stages? What freelance alternatives are there after graduating from UdK Berlin, apart from full-time engagements? How can artistic independence as a musician be organised and which contact points are helpful?

29 June, 6 - 8:30pm: 
Alumni talks with Ya-Chung Huang (Deutsche Oper), Anne Martha Schuitemaker (freelance singer), Irina Chistiakova (pianist)

30 June, 10am - 1pm: 
Experts’ roundtable with Sarah Tysman (Vienna State Opera), Harry Curtis (conductor), Dorian Wetzel (Berolina Ensemble), Chang-Yun Yoo (AsianArt Ensemble)

Collected links about funding, job opportunities and opera studios for Classical Music & Opera (PDF).

Irina Chistiakova

Irina Chistiakova graduated from the Moscow State Conservatoire, where she is currently pursuing postgraduate studies with Prof. Mikhail Voskresensky and with Prof.  Jacques Rouvier at UdK Berlin. She also studied Konzertexamen at UdK Berlin with Prof. Markus Groh. She has performed as a soloist and with orchestras worldwide and her live performances have been broadcast on numerous international radio and TV networks.
https://irinachistiakova.com/

Ya-Chung Huang

Ya-Chung Huang studied Voice with Chong-Boon Liau and completed his Bachelor of Music with Prof. Ching-Chi Sun at Soochow University in Taipei in 2011. He then studied Opera Singing and Lied/Oratorio/Concert at UdK Berlin. In the 2016/2017 season Ya-Chung Huang made his debut as Goro in MADAMA BUTTERFLY at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and has been a member of the regular ensemble since the 2018/2019 season.
https://www.deutscheoperberlin.de/de_DE/ensemble/127538

Anne Martha Schuitemaker

Anne Martha Schuitemaker performed her own composition Mondnacht for voice and string ensemble at the age of 17 as part of the ASKO|Schönberg Ensemble's "Notepad" project at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.  The young soprano completed her MA in Opera at UdK Berlin. She has received scholarships from the Threes Orri Fund, Van Weemen Schoppen Fond and Fonds Jong Talent, which is part of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.
https://www.weiler-artists.de/k%C3%BCnstler/sopran/anne-martha-schuitemaker/

Prof. Sarah Tysman

Sarah Tysman is Professor of Repertoire at UdK Berlin and has been Director of Studies at the Vienna State Opera since the 2020/21 season. She has worked at the Komische Oper Berlin, where she worked closely with Kirill Petrenko, and at the Zurich Opera House. Sarah Tysman has also worked as a solo répétiteur and musical assistant at the Berliner Staatsoper, the Theater an der Wien, the Opéra Nationale de Paris, the Bayreuther Festspiele and with conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Ingo Metzmacher, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano and many of the most important singers and directors of our time.
https://www.udk-berlin.de/personen/detailansicht/person/show/sarah-tysman/

Harry Curtis

Harry Curtis teaches Conducting at UdK Berlin and is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, both of which are his alma maters. In 1996 he took over the direction of the London Chamber Group, and in 2001 he was appointed director of the London Pergolesi Sinfonietta. From 2005 to 2013 he worked as a permanent conductor with the Bochumer Symphoniker. Harry Curtis also appears frequently at international music festivals (including the Ruhrtriennale, Lincoln Center Festival, Stavanger International Chamber Music Festival, USA Spoleto Festival).
https://www.udk-berlin.de/personen/detailansicht/person/show/harry-curtis/

Dorian Wetzel

The Berlin violist Dorian Wetzel is a member of the renowned Berolina Ensemble and a founding member of the early music ensemble "Kavka". He performs in symphony orchestras, opera orchestras and chamber orchestras. In addition to chamber music, his passion is making music on old instruments. He has been musically influenced by Prof. Hartmut Rohde and by chamber music lessons with Prof. Eberhard Feltz and (former) members of the Artemis Quartet.
https://www.berolina-ensemble.de/musiker/dorian-wetzel-bratsche/

Chang-Yun Yoo

Chang-Yun Yoo has been working as a freelance concert and chamber musician since 2007 together with renowned ensembles such as Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Potsdamer Kammerakademie, Ensemble Resonanz Hamburg, Modern Art Ensemble Berlin and is a member of the AsianArt Ensemble. He also composes film music in a variety of styles. Chang-Yun Yoo comes from South Korea and studied violin at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium in Austria and with Prof. Rohde at UdK Berlin. He won numerous international competitions already during his studies.
https://www.asianart-ensemble.com/