Ulrike Dreßel is in charge of the St. Michael’s singing school for children and youth.
Ulrike Dreßel grew up in Upper Franconia and studied Elementary Music Education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, with a focus on piano and trombone. The first state exam was followed by a church music degree course with Prof. Hannelotte Pardall (choirmaster) and Prof. Jan Ernst (organ) at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. She completed her course with a Bachelor of Music in 2010 and filled in for a year as cantor of Brunswick Cathedral, who was on parental leave. In 2011, Ulrike Dreßel switched to Bremen Cathedral and assumed responsibility for the Bremen Cathedral singing school. With the birth of her daughter in May 2012, she settled in Hamburg again.
During her studies, Ulrike Dreßel found inspiration in conducting classes with Prof. Marguerite Brooks and Prof. Jeff Douma at Yale University of Music in New York. She conducted a variety of projects, for instance, at Bavaria Filmstudios, directed the ‘Stingente’ chamber orchestra in Munich, and conducted Leonard Bernstein’s opera ‘Trouble in Tahiti’ at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. She also assisted with the Festival of Young Artists Bayreuth and has coached musicians in renowned competitions, including the Prague Spring Competition and the German Music Council in Berlin.
Ulrike Dreßel had already gained experience with children and youth early on when teaching budding wind musicians. Her work at the Brunswick Cathedral singing school, as Germany’s largest facility for Evangelical church music, cemented her passion for singing with children and youth.