Latest News
KKI director gives two online lectures at VHS Frankfurt am Main
As part of the Studium Generale at the adult education center in Frankfurt am Main, Nico Thom (KKI director) will be giving two online lectures entitled "How popular music became established in Germany". On Thursday, October 17 (7-9 p.m.), the focus will be on the 1950s and 1960s, while the following week (Thursday, October 24, 7-9 p.m.) will be on the 1970s and 1980s. For more information and to register, please click on the following link: https://vhs.frankfurt.de/de/portal#/search/detail/171339
New FaMI intern in October
From October 7 to 18, Timothy Schellstede will be completing a two-week internship at the KKI. He is currently training as a media and information services specialist (FaMI) at the Center for Artists' Publications at the Weserburg in Bremen and is in his second year of training. We are grateful for his cooperation and are happy to give him an insight into our day-to-day work. FaMI interns regularly honor us with their presence and are always welcome.
Student from Greece completes four-month long-term internship
With the help of the European Erasmus+ funding program, Eleni Lampronikou, a musicology student from the Greek capital Athens, will be completing a four-month long-term internship at the KKI from October 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025. We are very happy about her stay, her interest and her participation! Eleni has already gained professional experience in Greek music libraries and archives and will be able to bring this to us. We welcome her warmly and look forward to the coming months with anticipation and gratitude.
Big pick-up action of vinyl duplicates
After a long search and several applicants, a collector from Frankfurt am Main finally won the bid on September 18 and took over 2,500 vinyl duplicates from the KKI. This clears our stock a little. The next major duplicate sale is already being planned.
New FaMI intern in August/September
Sophie Taphorn is completing a three-week internship at the KKI from August 26 to September 13. She is currently training as a media and information services specialist (FaMI) at Bremen City Library and is in her final year of training. We are grateful for her cooperation and are happy to give her an insight into our day-to-day work. FaMI trainees regularly visit us and are always welcome.
Article about KKI in the Weser Kurier
On Monday, August 19, the Weser Kurier, which is published in Bremen, devoted a full-page article to us. In the section "Bremen in figures", the KKI is presented in figures under the heading "Treasure trove of sound recordings". Even though we naturally have more to offer than sound recordings (which is clear from the text), we are delighted with the media attention. And some collectors have promptly got in touch to entrust us with their treasures. A fine thing then!
New intern in August
From August 19 to 30, John Andreas will be completing a two-week internship at KKI. We are delighted to have his support and are happy to give him an insight into our varied day-to-day work.
New FaMI intern in August
From August 12 to 30, Hanna Lork will be completing a three-week internship at the KKI. She is currently training as a media and information services specialist (FaMI) at the Verden City Library and is in her final year of training. We are grateful for her cooperation and are happy to give her an insight into our day-to-day work. FaMI trainees visit us regularly and are always welcome.
Saying farewell to Prof. Florian Poser
It was with great regret that we learned of the death of our esteemed colleague Prof. Florian Poser. Florian held the professorship for popular music as part of the music teacher training program at the University of the Arts and the University of Bremen since 1994. He was mainly active as a jazz vibraphonist and jazz composer and had a soft spot for Brazilian musical influences. He made a lasting impression on us with his extremely friendly and approachable personality as well as his professional expertise. Unfortunately, his health was severely impaired in recent years. He was only 70 years old. We will miss him and would like to express our condolences to his bereaved family.
New internships only from March 2025
Due to high demand, our internships are currently fully booked until the end of February 2025. We will therefore not be able to offer new internships until March 2025. Applications are of course possible at any time.
Company vacation from July 15 - 28
The KKI will be closed for two weeks from July 15 to 28 due to vacation. We will take our summer vacation and recharge our batteries for the second half of the year. We wish everyone good weather & great musical experiences! We will be open again on Monday, July 29th.
Retirement of our dear colleague Andreas Herrmann
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to our esteemed and beloved colleague Andreas Herrmann, who will be retiring in mid-July. He has been part of our small team since 2017, in other words: for seven years. He looked after our magazines and journals as well as our technology on a part-time basis. As a dedicated computer nerd and music technologist, he was able to get almost everything up and running again that had actually given up the ghost. He is also a passionate craftsman and has supported us in word and deed with repair and renovation work. Most recently, he was particularly involved in the planning of our new shelving system and the construction of our kitchen. But he has also always been able to contribute his music-related knowledge. In his main profession, Andreas was a music teacher, initially for many years in the Bremen school service, and for the last few years as a teacher of practical school instrumental playing (piano & guitar) at the Bremen University of the Arts. We wish Andreas a good start to his well-deserved retirement and are already looking forward to his flying visits and lunches together as well as to his musical activities, for which he will now have more time.
New FaMI intern in June/July
From June 24 to July 5, Sebastian Walow is completing a two-week internship at the KKI. He is currently training to become a specialist in media and information services (FaMI) at the State and University Library in Bremen and is in his second year of training. We are grateful for his cooperation and are happy to give him an insight into our day-to-day work. FaMI interns visit us regularly and are always welcome.
Music exchange & DJ sets on June 21
as part of the "Open Day" of the University of the Arts
The Department of Music at the University of the Arts is organizing an "Open Day" on Friday, June 21, as part of the worldwide "Fête de la Musique". The KKI will be represented with a music exchange in the inner courtyard of the university. Here you can buy duplicates of all kinds (LPs, CDs, books and magazines) for little money. In addition, Nico Thom will provide adequate sound for the courtyard and play summer music. Food and drinks will also be provided. A warm invitation to all!
Here is the complete program for the "Open Day" of the HfK:
https://www.hfk-bremen.de/en/events/tag-der-offenen-tuer-musik/11876
KKI head has completed "training as a trainer"
In 2025, the KKI is planning to set up a training position for a specialist in media and information services (FaMI) with a focus on "Information & Documentation" or to act as a training company. In order to be able to do this, Nico Thom (Head of KKI) has completed several weeks of further training or what is known as "training of trainers" (AdA) at the Bremen Training and Further Education Center (AFZ).
Konstantin Wecker Collection taken over from Ruth Riedo from Lucerne (Switzerland)
Another donation reached us recently from Lucerne (Switzerland). Collector Ruth Riedo personally brought us her Konstantin Wecker Collection from there. The collection includes vinyl albums, vinyl singles, CDs, MCs and sound foils by the well-known German singer-songwriter from Munich, as well as recordings by other artists with whom Konstantin Wecker (born in 1947) has collaborated. There are also recordings of Wecker's music for films and radio plays. You get a good impression of the work of this versatile artist, who was also active as an author and actor. As he is still active, we can look forward to further works by him.
Collection of sheet music received from Thomas Thalacker
Berlin-based collector Thomas Thalacker has sent us duplicates of his fantastic sheet music collection. It mainly consists of songs with piano accompaniment from the first half of the 20th century, primarily from German and English-speaking countries. He himself runs a website on which his impressive collection is presented: https://www.notenmuseum.de
Recently
New intern for six weeks
From the beginning of June to mid-July, Arne Sieb is completing a six-week internship at KKIå“. We are delighted to have his support and are happy to give him an insight into our varied day-to-day work.
Interview with Nico Thom in the Frankfurter Rundschau
on Gigi D'Agostino's song "L'amour toujours"
Excerpts from an interview with Nico Thom have been published in the Frankfurter Rundschau. It is about the current scandal in connection with the song "L'amour toujours" by Gigi D'Agostino, to which right-wing slogans were sung at several events. The KKI director attempts to classify and rehabilitate the artist and song.
The article by Felicitas Breschendorf can be read here:
https://www.fr.de/panorama/lamour-toujours-sylt-verbote-experte-bedeutung-gigi-d-agostino-fans-eurodance-rassismus-zr-93103639.html
KKI participates in the call of the Landesmusikrat Bremen for the European elections on June 9th
As an institutional member of the Landesmusikrat Bremen e.V., we support the joint call for the European elections on June 9th.
#duhastdiewahl #machdeinkreuz #stimmtfuereuropa
In keeping with this, we have found sheet music from "Le Chant de l'Europe" from 1973 in our collections. The music is by Jacques Mendel, the text by Igor Mrozinski. The sheet music was published by Éditions Musicales M. Camia in Paris.
New intern for four months
From mid-April to mid-July, Oliver Görlach is completing a four-month internship at KKI. We are delighted to have his support and are happy to give him an insight into our varied day-to-day work.