German Exchange Project

During the summer of 2018, Beneficence Brass attended the Brass im Frankenwald chamber music camp in Hof, Germany. This experience was an intensive, one week long seminar that was wrapped up by three performances in various towns of Bavaria, Germany. Every day of the seminar consisted of multiple hours of brass quintet rehearsals, coachings with a professional brass quintet known as the Rekkenze Brass, coachings with Ball State University faculty member Dr. Chris Van Hof, and rehearsals with other chamber groups. To say that this trip was incredibly eye-opening would be an understatement. Not only did our quintet gain performance experience, we obtained unique musical feedback from a professional group for a week long. While immersed fully in the culture of German music, we discovered that the culture of music is quite different between Germany and the United States of America. This educational element contributed heavily to our “incredibly eye-opening” experience.


During our stay in Hof, we befriended and collaborated with another student brass quintet. This particular group is comprised of five students that are students of the University of Würzburg School of Music. Both members of Beneficence Brass and the quintet from Würzburg became increasingly curious about the culture similarities and differences between Germany and the USA. At this point, we began the planning process for an exchange project with this group of musicians. We thought that it would be an astounding educational experience for us to host each other at our respected universities. The exchange project will consist of performance collaborations between both groups at the universities and in the community, culturally enriching experiences, and the visiting group will study with the applied brass faculty at both universities. Furthermore, each group will be visiting the opposite school for roughly two weeks long. The Würzburg students will be visiting Ball State University from April 3 - April 15. The Ball State University students (Beneficence Brass) will be visiting the University of Würzburg from June 2 - June 13.  We look for this trip to benefit both group of musicians, both universities, and communities surrounding both universities.


In order to push this project into motion, we need your help! We have created this GoFundMe account to help our brass quintet pay for our flight to Germany. Please consider donating and anything will help! Be sure to keep posted for concerts that will occur on and around Ball State University’s campus to check out the work that both groups have done! We also suggest considering attending the concerts to talk to and meet our German counterparts!


Cost Breakdown:


Chicago airport to Frankfurt, Germany airport = $900/per ticket. The tickets will be economy/coach class.


$900 x 5 musicians = $4,500

Concerts Confirmed in Indiana:
-Chamber Music House Show. 1429 W. Gilbert St. Muncie, Indiana. April 4th, 8pm
-The Guardian Brewing Company. Muncie, Indiana: April 5th, 7pm-10pm.
-Ball State University Large Brass Ensemble Concert. Muncie, Indiana: April 9th, 7:30pm.
-Beneficence Brass and BRAWÜSSimo Joint Recital. First Presbyterian Church in Muncie, Indiana. April 10th, 5:00pm.
-Carmel Middle School. Carmel, Indiana: April 11th, 7:45am-9:00am (not open to public)
-Foundry Provisions coffee shop. Indianapolis, Indiana: April 13th, 11am-1pm.
-Indianapolis Liederkranz Spring Concert. Indianapolis, Indiana: April 13th, 7:00pm.

We will be rolling out special perks for people donating soon! Email us at [email redacted] so you can claim yours!