Teaching with vocal power
An indirect way to qualification
Since 1996, Thomas Quasthoff has held a full professorship for Singing. He began teaching at the Academy of Music in Detmold, and since 2004 has been a professor at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
It is certainly not unusual for a trained singer to begin teaching at a Music Academy at some point in his career. However, for Thomas Quasthoff this was by no means a foregone conclusion, for he himself was not able to study singing at a Music Academy. All of his applications to study were flatly refused: “No admission to study singing if you cannot play the piano – it was as simple as that in those days!”, says Thomas Quasthoff, now calm about his past hardships.
Instead he studied law for several semesters, which he now sees as an interesting additional experience in his life. In order to satisfy his passion for singing and train his extraordinary voice, Thomas Quasthoff took private lessons from Prof. Charlotte Lehmann and Dr. Ernst Huber-Contwig in Hannover, Germany, and, over the course of 17 years, built up a solid foundation… with international repercussions!
He places extremely high demands on his students; as an internationally acclaimed singer he knows all about the difficult conditions on the marketplace, and believes that young singers must be well equipped to contend with them.
Thomas Quasthoff does not give private lessons – singers who wish to study with him must pass the entrance examination for the Academy or enroll for a master course under his tuition.