Musikschule Johann Sebastian Bach

Leipzig keeps its music close, and the Musikschule Johann Sebastian Bach is where the city trains its players. It is the second largest music school in Germany. Classes run at seven locations across the city, so no single building holds it. Children, teenagers and adults come for music and dance lessons, some for a short course and some for many years.

Its story begins in 1951, when it started as a folk music school with just a guitar and mandolin department. Dance and art joined the curriculum in 1960. In 1985 the school founded its youth symphony orchestra, with Ivan Ivanov from Bulgaria as artistic director. In 2003 it was the only German youth orchestra invited to the Edinburgh Music Festival. It won the national round of the German Orchestra Competition in 2008 and again in 2016. The 2016 victory came with the top score of 25 points. The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig acts as a sponsor, and the MDR Symphony Orchestra has worked alongside the students since 2005. The ensembles stretch from a big band and the Leipziger Bachlerchen children's choir to Klezmer, rock and a pop academy.

Carry one detail with you: in 2024, students of the school performed a newly rediscovered Mozart string trio at the Leipzig Opera. The piece, the Serenate ex C, was found in Leipzig's city libraries. The Köchel catalogue lists it as number 648 under the nickname Ganz kleine Nachtmusik.