Academy Council
The Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin is undertaking a constitutional reform, within the framework of the law governing Berlin academic institutions, which includes the setting up of an Academy Council as a new organisational structure at the interface of the Academy, the state and society.
The Academy Council supports the intentions of the reformed constitution of the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin - improved effectiveness in the perception of executive duties, optimisation of decision-making processes and economicalness. The emphasis of the Academy Council's activity is on advising the Academy's management and central committees. This includes approving drafts und establishing the budget, decisions about plans for development and furnishings, the setting up, alteration and dissolution of organisational units, the setting up and dissolution of courses of study, decisions about starting up enterprises and involvement, the formation of joint centres with other academic institutions.
The activities of the Academy Council are carried out in close cooperation with the Academy's management and Academic Senate.
Members of the Academy Council are
the member of the Berlin Senate responsible for academic institutions,
the director of the Academy
and
four external representatives from the arts, economics and science.
The following were appointed external, honorary members:
Thomas Greiner,
Prof. Monika Grütters,
Christian Töpper,
Dr. Elmar Weingarten.
Thomas Greiner was born in 1955. Studied political science, law, education and psychology, graduating with Magister Artium. Additional studies in business administration and political economy, gaining a diploma from the VWA as Business Promoter. From 1987 to 1996 director of the arts and sports department of the city of Rottweil. From 1996 to 1997 Management Academy of the state of Baden-Württemberg. From 1997 to 2002 director of company communication for DUSSMANN AG & Co. KgaA. 2002 managing director of Kursana. Since January 2005 member of the board of directors of DUSSMANN AG & Co. KgaA, responsible for Kursana, marketing and public relations. September 2007 - April 2011 chairman of the board, Dussmann Group. Since July 2009 member of the Academy Council of the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin.
Prof. Monika Grütters was born in Münster. She studied German, History of Art and Political Science at the universities of Münster and Bonn. PR work at the Berlin Museum of Transport and the Berliner Buchhandelsgesellschaft Bouvier und Nicolai mbH. She taught PR part-time on the arts management course at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She was public relations officer in the Berlin Senate’s department of science and research and worked in PR for the Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG. Since 1998 spokesperson for the board of the "Brandenburger Tor" foundation of the Bankgesellschaft Berlin. Since 1999 Honorary Professor of Arts Management at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler in Berlin, since 2005 also at the Freie Universität Berlin. 1995-2005 deputy leader of the parliamentary party and arts and science spokesperson for the CDU in the Berlin House of Representatives. Since October 2005 member of the German parliament and member of its study commission "The Arts in Germany", the committee for education, research and estimation of consequences of technology, as well as the arts and media committee.
Christian Töpper, born in 1960, studied law and political science in Freiburg/Brsg. and Berlin before becoming first a trainee and later assistant to the board of directors of the Axel Springer Verlag AG in Hamburg. From there he moved to the main editorial office of the Berliner Morgenpost as commercial representative, took over project responsibility for the first internet project of the Axel Springer Verlag AG and later moved to the management of the Cityweb Network GmbH & Co. KG, Essen, an online-service of the newspaper group WAZ, the Bertelsmann AG and the Axel Springer Verlag AG. Since January 1999 Christian Töpper has been manager of the Presse-Programm-Service GmbH in Berlin. Christian Töpper is a member of the board of directors and manager of the Society of Friends of the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin e.V.
In 2004 Christian Töpper was appointed as an external member of the Academy Council of the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin.
Dr. Elmar Weingarten, born in 1942 in Gleiwitz, studied political economy, business management und sociology in Cologne. He gained a doctorate in 1975. He undertook academic activities in the field of general, qualitative and medical sociology. He has presented radio broadcasts for SFB.
Weingarten was director of the music department of the Berlin Festival, the Niedersächsische Musiktage and the Festival "Neue Musik in Herrenhausen".
Initially assistant to the temporary general manager of the Berlin Philharmonic, he took over the management of the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin (nowadays the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin). In 1994 Elmar Weingarten became general manager of the Rundfunk-Orchester und -Chöre GmbH in Berlin. From 1995 to 2001 he took over this post with the Berlin Philharmonic.
From 2001 to 2005 Weingarten was managing director of the Deutsche Ensemble Akademie and the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt. He is a member of the board of directors of the Leipzig Bach Festival, chairman of the jury for the piano section of the ARD music competition and orchestral advisor to the minister for science and the arts in the State of Rheinland-Pfalz. He teaches in the Institute for cultural and media management at the Freie Universität Berlin, and in 2004 he became an external member of Academy Council of the Academy of Music ”Hanns Eisler“ Berlin. Dr. Elmar Weingarten was appointed curator of the Capital Cultural Fund from 1st May 2006.
Weingarten was awarded the Order of the Federal Republic of Germany (first class).