Church music in the north: lack of young talent endangers concerts and church services!

Church music in the north: lack of young talent endangers concerts and church services!

The churches in northern Germany are an important cultural attraction because they offer concerts and church services all year round. Church musicians play a central role in the communities, particularly in the federal states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony. But behind this colorful cultural stage, a serious problem is emerging: the lack of young church musicians, which has been observed for over a decade now. Northern Courier reports that there are hardly any new talents coming in, especially for part-time positions in the districts of Schleswig and Holstein as well as Hamburg and Lübeck.

Although the full-time positions are still well filled, the communities are calling for new blood. The effects are particularly noticeable in Hanover: the willingness among young people to commit to being church musicians has noticeably decreased. Ingomar Kury, Vice President of the Association of Evangelical Church Musicians in Germany (VeM), sees the main reasons as the declining number of members and the retirement of top-class musicians without the number of positions being adjusted. This has a domino effect on training in the semi-professional sector, which could also suffer.

Positive approaches to promoting young talent

But there are bright spots: the response to special young talent projects is consistently positive. In Itzehoe, Bad Segeberg, the Lauenburg provost and Hamburg, efforts are being made to get children and young people interested in the organ. School projects are offered that not only teach people how to play the organ, but also promote the joy of church music. There have even been free organ lessons in Schwerin for decades. Six graduates have already made the leap into full-time careers as church musicians, while three others are taking up church music studies.

The positive development is also supported by workshops, such as on January 17, 2026 in Berlin. The workshop on rehearsal methodology in children's choirs, led by the experienced Prof. Friederike Stahmer, is aimed not only at church musicians of all levels of training, but also at children's choir directors and interested parties. In addition to further musical training, exchange with colleagues is very important in order to gain fresh ideas for one's own work. The workshop is free for members of the VKBO and CBO, while guests pay a contribution of €20.

Variety of training options

In addition to the Protestant perspective, Catholic universities also offer in-depth training for aspiring church musicians. The training offerings are diverse, from D and C church music training courses designed for part-time organists and choir directors, to information about employment opportunities in the Catholic Church. Cooperation between training centers and religious communities is crucial to mastering future challenges. The opportunity to continue training plays a central role in keeping the profession of church musician attractive and attracting new generations kirchenmusik-studium.de is executed.

Overall, the signs point to change for church music in the north: with a variety of measures and a strong community committed to supporting children and young people, there is hope of closing the gap and securing the competitiveness of church music in the long term.