Incantato Insider: Musikgymnasium in Carinthia, Austria - MDHS Concert Venue for Easter Monday

As an Incantato favorite destination, Carinthia has much to offer, especially musically. One of the unique offers found in Austria's southern-most region is the BRG Viktring, a secondary school with a musical and artistic emphasis incorporated into its regular education and coursework. There are different scholastic paths that students may choose from, one with a concentration on artistic education including design, painting, architecture, photo and film. Another is with a musical concentration including choral music, as well as classical and jazz ensembles. 

In the fall of 2011, the BRG Viktring initiated a project in corporation with the Conservatorium Carinthia, the latter of which was founded in 1827 and offers musical undergraduate, graduate, as well as diploma programs. For the Bachelor of Music, students can major in performance, opera performance, composition, sound engineering, and musicology. The Master of Arts degree is in Applied Musicology, while the Artistic Diploma program offers specializations in performance, composition, and orchestral conducting. 

The project these two musical educational institutions initiated is the so-called Musikgymnasium, or musical secondary school, which places an extensive emphasis on musical education while still culminating in the Abitur, the secondary school degree necessary for the general qualification for university entrance. This special secondary school offers talented young musicians from grade 5 onward a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn significant musical content and to accumulate musical theory knowledge in a concentrated form during their school years. The goal is to provide students with a maximum amount of practical experience and actual rehearsal time with the pleasant side-effect of also completing the matriculation examination. Concentrations include folk music, chamber music ensemble, theater/acting, early music, orchestra organization, and music exchange. 

However, this emphasized musical education is not designed to take away from the overall academics and coursework necessary for the Abitur. A second foreign language, for example, is just as mandatory as the participation in a choir or an ensemble. The Musikgymnasium provides a complete, well-rounded education alongside an accelerated musical education, as well as rehearsal time and practical music sessions.