Hi! This is a great forum...so glad to have found it. I'm an American student who will be living in Basel from September, attending the Musik Akademie. My grandfather is Swiss, so I have Swiss citizenship, but I speak only a leetle German and I've never lived in Switzerland. Now's my chance and I'm so looking forward to it!

Don't worry too much about the lack of German. Basel is very "multinational" and you'll hear english spoken all over the place. It helps to learn a few words once you get here though.

Oh I definitely want to learn German, if only cause school is taught in German. But I was there for the audition this month and all the teachers also spoke English.

hey rebekkah can you play a music instrument ? "Musik Akademie"

Yup, I play piano. That's what I'm coming to Basel to study. I hear there are lots of concerts going on in Basel, so that's great.

Hi!

Welcome! I've been here in the Basel area since 1977. I too came to attend the Musik-Akademie, albeit for only one year. It's been a loooooong year. I studied at the Schola Cantorum der Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel.

Basel is a lovely town and the MAB is on the edge of the old city, so instead of practicing, you can spend lot's of time bumming around there. There's also alot of music offered outside of the MAB. And if you get the chance, you really have to also visit the TOnhalle in Zürich - it's opera is often much better than the opera in Basel, because it can attract bigger names. Of course also at bigger admissionproices too.

What will you be studying at the MAB?

Piano performance, in the B.A. program. Really looking forward to it. What did you study at the Schola? And if I may ask, what do you do now? Do you still have a career in music?

Hi!

I came as a kind of post graduate trumpet major. I'd gotten a B.M.E. at the Univ. of Cincinnati Collge Conservatory and wanted to study Baroque trumpet and performance practice.

Later I was hired to teach trumpet there as well as start the wind band program and still later conducting, both at the prep Dept. and the Conservatory.

1996 I got a teaching diploma for trombone and euphonium and play bass trombone when I get the chance.

My wife is on the piano faculty at the prep department.

I also had a company doing computer music notation. I still have a couple of "old" customers, but don't handle any rush jobs anymore. My "day job" is as a computer support for a local arts college. Mostly Macs, but also a smattering of Windows and Linux.

I moved to Basel almost a year ago (although I found this site last week).

Basel's a great city although I have to say that it's not the best place to learn German (perhaps depending on where you work). It's been ridiculously easy to get by on English and high-school French that I learned 10 years ago. I'm trying to learn German but it's a bit annoying when I try to speak German at the Coop and the cashier replies in perfect English - and then tells me that I don't need to practice my German with him because he's French.

On a more or less unrelated note, does anyone here play the violin?

LOL, is that the cashier at the small one near Wasgenring? Older man, beard?

Yes - that's one at the Helvetiaplatz Coop. I suppose he's getting famous now. Always smiling, speaks five languages and is fantastic at mental arithmetic...

A world apart from the cashiers at Walmart...

Heh, when you originally mentioned him, I immediately knew who you meant! One of the nicest and friendliest cashiers I've encountered, here or elsewhere. And all those languages... and he smiles shyly and said something like "sorry I'm not so good, I'm French...".

That's my closest Coop, and i hate the selection there - but will sometimes go because he's there!

I'm in the same situation. It's extremely close - closer than where I'd park my car in my apartment complex in Tucson - but the selection leaves a lot to be desired - and it seems to be getting worse. Spaelemart's a lot better and is open till 8. Didn't think that I'd be happy a store would be open till as late as 8.

But in general, I would say that the cashiers in grocery stores in Switzerland are very sharp and good.

Hi,greetings Rebekkah from sunny Hermosa Beach,California!

All the best to you !!


One Love,