Music schools and VHS: “One more year like this, then it will be tight” – Ebersberg

727 courses for around 4400 people at the adult education center in the municipal education association, 1268 courses for which there were 4859 registrations at the adult education center in Vaterstetten – this is the balance sheet for the autumn/winter semester of the two educational institutions in the Ebersberg district.

What sounds like a lot is still a drop of about 30 percent compared to pre-pandemic times. And what this sober figure only gives an idea of ​​are the efforts that had to be made in the two institutions and also in the two music schools in the region in order to be able to do justice to their public mandate and responsibility as educational institutions over the past two years. So far we have managed to get through this difficult time to some extent. But breath won’t last forever.

Finances are of course the most obvious. In the music schools you had to make ends meet with short-time work, for the VHS there was at least the “rescue parachute adult education” in 2020. According to Martina Eglauer, managing director of the adult education center in the municipal education association, “at a good 126,000 euros, it lived up to its name and was really our salvation”. It was different in 2021, there was “not a cent from the state – neither from the federal government nor from the state”. Many support measures fell through the cracks and the only possible application, that for November/December aid, was rejected. “Because of a formal error. You have to have a tax number, but it was deleted because we are non-profit. Now a lawsuit is pending, after all, it’s about 100,000 euros,” adds Eglauer.

2G and 2G Plus – that was a huge hurdle

Helmut Ertel, managing director of the adult education center in Vaterstetten, also has serious thoughts about the future: “The VHS is not and never was financially endangered – because we have great communities that will never let us down. But: Our money is melting, it must not come another year like this.”

“A year like that” was the constantly changing hygiene regulations with tests that were temporarily subject to a fee. Above all, the 2-G and 2-G-Plus regulation for the health and relaxation courses from November led first to slumps, then to a de facto lockdown and the suspension of these offers until Christmas. These would have been so important when working from home, says Eglauer. “Such a year” was also the loss of more than every second course place due to the distance regulations and the “unequal treatment compared to gastronomy” of the small and fixed groups, as she also notes.

After all, this year, like the previous one, also brought with it the migration of specialists as well as a lot of additional work for the administration teams and teachers, who had to adapt to ever new digital challenges, especially if an event is to be offered online and in person at the same time or you want to switch between the options at short notice if necessary, as soon as the incidences rise or someone is in quarantine.

At the same time, however, hidden talents also came to light, the exchange in the colleges was intensified, the sponsors provided not only financial but also non-material support, rooms in schools, public buildings, churches and community centers were made available.

Course participants from Wales are now also joining in

And even though most events are currently being held face-to-face again – in Ebersberg the online share is 22.3 percent, in Vaterstetten 30 percent – the flexibility associated with a digital solution is of course also a very big advantage, which will probably continue after the will remain at the end of the pandemic: If someone does not have a babysitter or is sick at home, a streamed lecture can also be followed from home. Courses offered purely digitally, such as those offered by the VHS in Vaterstetten as part of a new cooperation with other VHS, offer even more advantages: the catchment area becomes larger in one fell swoop – “we also had people from Saxony or Wales with us” – and as a result of the merger, niche courses such as Hungarian or Icelandic with low demand locally would also have a chance, reports Ertel.

At the same time, one must not hide the fact that virtual teaching has its limits – for some older people and some people with disabilities, digital participation is still a problem. “Even for beginners in the German courses, the hurdle is too high and the same applies to the IT basic courses: If someone wants to get fit first, but should already be able to learn it, things get difficult,” says Eglauer clear.

In the eyes of Peter Pfaff, head of the music school in the municipal education association, “the screen can only be a small bridge”. He notices a certain online fatigue, especially among young people, as well as frustration due to a lack of interaction with others in ensembles, orchestras and bands. Another reason for cancellations is the fact that there were practically no more opportunities for public appearances.

Open detailed view

In order to remedy this, Bernd Kölmel, head of the Vaterstetten music school, organized zoom concerts that were very positively received by parents and students and were also of convincing quality soon after the outbreak of the pandemic. This was possible because “fast internet was brought into the building” as early as 2018. This trend-setting decision paid off, as did the foresighted attitude of the VHS Ebersberg, in 2017 hiring an employee responsible for digital issues and possibilities, and the insistence of the music school there, years ago, on large premises: “I didn’t want a chamber, because for me Music and movement belong together”, as Pfaff says.

The numbers prove him right: he has 2,600 pupils and, above all, in the elementary level, i.e. in the areas of parent-child groups, early musical education, “Musikita” cooperation with kindergartens and singing and wind instruments classes at the elementary schools, an increase Registrations, which he enthusiastically describes as a “plus that goes beyond normal fluctuations”. Kölmel, who speaks of more group lessons and is currently happy about “about 1,600 students from toddlers to old age”, expresses himself in a similar way, which is why he started the new semester “with positive vigour”, in which he wants to do everything to finally let the 40th edition of the district-wide competition “Podium Junge Musik” take place after the two cancellations in 2020 and 2021, probably in May.

The heads of the cultural institutions are happy about the great solidarity

Peter Pfaff also has plans for the future: his “music mobile” will continue to be in schools and day-care centers and encourage people to enjoy music through hands-on activities. He is also thinking about interactive concert formats. Martina Eglauer, on the other hand, wants to establish the VHS locally as a training center for companies, as is already the case with existing courses and in-house training courses for municipalities. Helmut Ertel, on the other hand, and Bernd Kölmel have decided to “make the commercial area building a meeting place for the people of Vaterstetten” over the next few years. A meeting center where culture and exchange can be experienced.

In the end he says: “We experienced amazing solidarity! And why? VHS and music school are simply typically German – and that’s probably why everyone is worth preserving!” This is almost certainly the reason why there have only been three complaints about the “corona solos” of two euros for individual events over time – with 8000 registrations. And why the participants waived course refunds – in the music school in Vaterstetten as well as in the adult education center in Ebersberg, where more than 12,000 euros were received as a donation in this way.