It will soon be two decades that the annual flute concert of the Werner Tripp Memorial Fund, whose latest edition was on 14 October, has been taking place at the mdw.
The concert is a fixture of the Leonard Bernstein Department’s yearly calendar that gives young flute students the opportunity to present themselves before an audience while also commemorating the life’s work of Werner Tripp. This initiative, along with the enormously important support enjoyed year-round by the beneficiaries who preform here, exists thanks to a special woman: Mrs. Karin Tripp. She is the widow of Professor Werner Tripp, who worked and taught at the mdw for nearly 40 years. Following his death, Karin Tripp established the “Werner Tripp Memorial Fund”, which has since benefited countless flute students. This generosity makes it possible for flute students from the Leonard Bernstein and Franz Schubert Departments to receive grants for things such as competition, audition, and master class participation, flute repairs, and much more.
Last year marked a decadal birthday for Karin Tripp, and this provided the impetus for the Leonard Bernstein Department to offer a motion in the mdw Senate that her tireless dedication be recognised with the Medal of Honour (Würdigungsmedaille) in Gold. This special honour, which came as a surprise to Karin Tripp, was conferred at the concert by Senate Chair Johannes Marian.
