Timbres, rhythms and music as a bond between people. That is what sparks great enthusiasm in Juliane Fehn. As a percussionist, she carries the groove in her body and also enjoys picking up the ukulele or guitar from time to time. For her, community music means finding the courage to express oneself musically – whether through an instrument or one’s voice.

Like many musicians, she spent a long time following the paths of classical music, but also played in various big bands, pop and folk bands on the side, and conducted a youth wind orchestra. Planning and organising a children’s concert whilst studying music pedagogy in Würzburg sparked the idea of professionally exploring the broad field of extracurricular music education. So, rather than embarking on the Bavarian teaching traineeship, she headed first to Nice (France) to work creatively with pupils as a foreign language assistant. She then worked as an assistant on the children’s and youth programme at the Bregenz Festival in Austria. That summer confirmed that the communication of art and culture should henceforth be the focus of her professional life.

Her traineeship at Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne enabled her to gain a deeper understanding of processes in orchestra management and music education, as well as to gain insights into many other areas of broadcasting.

From 2023 to 2026, she led the Inside Out – PORTAL on the Move project at Theater Bonn as a music educator, a project that enables people to engage with culture in their immediate surroundings. Through community music approaches and methods, new avenues for community and participation have opened up, which she can now continue to develop alongside Juri de Marco and Franziska Pieper at Beethovenfest Bonn.

And what else? Making music, of course: with the Cologne-based indie rock band umbra and the electronic duo heya from Bonn, she is constantly working on new songs and live shows.