Solving crises and kindling fires
Caroline von Lengerke remembers how, when she was young, she and three elder siblings always heard the same thing from their parents: “You can train for a job, go to university or do whatever else – but please do it somewhere south of the River Elbe.” The family lived out in the country near Bad Segeberg, in Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, and for the parents it was important that their children should get to know a different kind of world.
Caroline von Lengerke took this advice to heart. After her Abitur she went to Münster to do a Voluntary Social Year. While she was working for the non-profit foundation “Bürger für Münster” (“Citizens for Münster”), she met the actress Cornelia Kupferschmid, who is responsible for the Stadtensemble Münster and is the Artistic Director of the “Neue Wände” Festival. For Caroline von Lengerke (26), this contact was her introduction to the world of the arts. Today, she looks after the social media channels at the Stadtensemble, acts as assistant to the Festival management, and works as a student assistant in the University of Münster’s Cultural Office.
It’s easy to forget that she is a student in the 4th semester of her master’s course, training to be a teacher of music and Latin. “I always wanted to study music and a language. This passion for cultural affairs was unexpected,” she says. It’s clear to see that working on the Festival is what excites her most. Every three years, the event provides a stage for around 600 creative artists. Anyone connected in some way to Münster’s universities can take part. Since March 2025 the Universitätsgesellschaft Münster has been sponsoring Germany’s largest festival of university culture.
Caroline von Lengerke joined the team of organisers in 2018. Her work covers everything that takes place behind the scenes at Münster Theatre, the Festival’s home: fitting musical, theatrical and dance items into a three-day programme; repeatedly solving “minor crises” – for example, drawing up dressing-room plans or putting up signposts for artists who easily lose their way behind the stage. “Many of them have never stood on a stage before or been behind the scenes in a theatre” she says. Seeing people’s eyes light up, she adds, shows her that culture can kindle a fire. “What makes me happy is when different art forms get to know and appreciate one another.” Quite spontaneously, she remembers a typical situation: “In 2023 we had four solo artists – piano, voice, percussion and guitar. They all wanted to take part but didn’t know in what form.” In the end they got together and worked with a dance troupe. “They’re still in contact with one another today and want to perform together at the next Festival.”
Since she has been working with the Festival, she has become calmer in difficult situations: “We always find a solution.” Sometimes it is just a different one from what was planned. She needs this resilience to stress to successfully manage her studies and her cultural and voluntary work. “It does me good to be involved in several things at the same time.” She doesn’t brush aside the question of whether she really does want to be a teacher after she graduates – or would rather stay in the cultural world. “It wouldn’t be credible if I were to say that I’m not toying with the idea of staying in the cultural scene,” she admits. But she knows about the other side of the business: during the Covid pandemic she had contact with freelance artists. “I was impressed to see how people threw themselves into finding solutions. But do I feel the same, to the same extent?” Perhaps juggling with a variety of activities is just the right preparation for school with its different classes, projects and needs, she says.
Caroline von Lengerke still has a lot of things on the go. Just recently she resumed an activity from her voluntary social year: once a month she makes music in an old people’s home. “My parents set us an example with their voluntary work. It’s so lovely, singing with elderly people.” She’s not worried about finishing her studies. “The semester of practical training showed me that I have a need for regularity.” And who knows: being a teacher needn’t mean the end of her passion for culture. “If it functions at university, it can function at school too.”
Author: Hanna Dieckmann
This article is from the brochure "Twelve months, twelve people", published in March 2026.
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