Careers
The team at the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle is responsible for the operation of both concert halls and for the planning and implementation of all in-house-promoted concerts
When the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg first opened its doors in January 2017, it immediately became Germany’s best-known and most striking concert hall. In partnership with the Laeiszhalle, the long-established venue in the city centre, the Elbphilharmonie functions as a cultural beacon for Hamburg. The Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle team is responsible for the operation of both concert halls, as well as for the planning and realisation of in-house promoted concerts and the music education programme.
Would you like to join our team? You’ll find our current job opportunities here. Can’t find anything suitable? You’re also welcome to send us a speculative application.
By the way: lateral entry into the culture sector is possible in many areas!
Please note: A sufficient knowledge of German is necessary in order to join our team.
Apprenticeships and Internships
As a publicly-owned cultural institution and company, we are keen to support young people in the early stages of their careers and to offer high-quality apprenticeships.
We are currently training apprentices in five different professions:
- Retail salesperson
- Event technology specialist
- System integration IT specialist
- Office management specialist
- Event salesperson
We also offer practical training (Volontariat) in the Marketing & Communication department, with a choice of three focus areas: content creation, media relations and editorial.
We are also a volunteer placement for the Federal Voluntary Service. Applications for the Federal Voluntary Service are possible via Stadtkultur Hamburg (website in German).
For school pupils and students, we offer internships in various areas. The upcoming application deadlines for those are:
1 Jan–28 Feb 2025 for internships in the period September 2025–Februar 2025
1 Jul–31 Aug 2025 for internships in the period March 2026–August 2026
The internships until February 2025 have already been allocated.
Once a year, school pupils also have the opportunity to gain an insight into the many exciting professions at a concert hall on Girls' and Boys' Day.
Places are allocated exclusively via the Future Days website.
Here you can find our current training opportunities:
Jobs in the front building
Since its opening, the Elbphilharmonie has been supported by its service partner eventteam Veranstaltungsservice und -management GmbH in the front building. The eventteam team takes on a variety of tasks in the area of guest services, such as admission control, cloakrooms, catering for our visitors, sales in our shops and guest information in the Visitor Centre and at the Infopoint. Current job vacancies at eventteam Veranstaltungsservice und -management GmbH can be viewed here.
Workplace
Depending on the department, workplaces can include the Elbphilharmonie itself, offices on a large floor in close proximity to the Elbphilharmonie, the Visitor Center at Kaiserkai, and the Ticket Shops in Brahms Kontor and in the Kulturcafé Mönckebergstraße. Music education staff are also often out and about in the city districts – carrying out activities in kindergartens, schools and the city district centres.
Scope of Functions
Around 250 employees work for the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle in 13 departments. The activities of the two venues come under one management team, and are carried out by two sister companies with different scopes of functions and different company structures. HamburgMusik is a not-for-profit limited company (GmbH) that is responsible for the content, marketing and PR of the in-house promoted programme, as well as for attracting third-party funds for the artistic budget. The Elbphilharmonie und Laeiszhalle Betriebsgesellschaft is responsible for the concert schedule in both venues.
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Visitor Services
Visitor Services covers all the areas of work involving direct contact between the concert halls and guests: visits to the Plaza, the shop or Visitor Center, taking part in a concert hall tour, or purchasing tickets at one of the three in-house ticket shops. We put great emphasis on friendliness, because for each customer contact, the experience for our guests should be as pleasant as possible.
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Operations & Production
Colleagues are responsible for the scheduling and hiring of our halls, lounges and foyers, taking care of production management for third-party events, and, in cooperation with Quality Management and the back office, ensuring that all visitors before and behind the stage feel at home in our venues.
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Concierge Service
This is where customer data is maintained, and sponsors and patrons can book exclusive services via the concierge service.
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Development & Stiftung Elbphilharmonie
Around one third of the Elbphilharmonie’s artistic budget comes from private donors – sponsors, foundations, patrons and the Stiftung Elbphilharmonie. Colleagues working in this department maintain contacts with these respective institutions, companies and individuals, and continuously develop these relationships.
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Digital Operations
A highly specialised management unit is responsible for the introduction, administration and further development of digital applications on all operational levels in both venues.
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Education
No other concert hall in the world pours so much of its resources into music education as the Elbphilharmonie. The Education team is responsible for all school events, with several thousand participants each year – from daily workshops to school concerts. The department’s employees also realise their own concert productions for various age groups, as well as major community projects and supporting programmes. There is also a diverse programme of opportunities for the public to take part, including five in-house amateur ensembles.
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IT
From PC maintenance to running large control systems and taking care of cybersecurity: our IT staff look after the complex network structure of the two venues. They also assist our employees with a comprehensive support service.
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Artistic Planning
Around one third of the Elbphilharmonie’s concert programme is made up of events organised in-house by HamburgMusik gGmbH. A small team led by the artistic director decides what these concerts will be. These events are then realised by a team of project managers who manage and supervise the concert from the initial planning to the final invoicing. This also includes supporting the performing artists while they are at the venue.
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Marketing & Communication
This team is responsible for communicating the diverse content on all aspects of the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle’s activities on all levels: digital communication and digital marketing, live communication, advertising, press and media relations, and editing all content online and in concert programmes, which HamburgMusik prepares for almost all of its own in-house events.
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Human Resources & Accounting
This team provides comprehensive support to employees and is responsible for all matters relating to payments.
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Legal & Licences
Our Legal department deals with all legal and trademark matters.
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Technical Division
The Technical department oversees around 1,000 events each year, on stage and backstage, and takes care of the building’s technical systems, as well as logistics and property management.
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Event & Promoter Services
Every concert held in our venues must be carefully set up and checked to ensure that the hall plan, prices and subscription series are correct. The team brings together all the key information and makes sure that the in-house concerts and third-party events all run smoothly.
What makes it speical to work here?
The Elbphilharmonie is a concert hall of international standing where artistic innovation and extraordinary creativity happen. It draws top artists and concertgoers from all over the world, while also inviting the population of the city in all its diversity to keep rediscovering the magic of music and to find a place of respectful relating. The venerable Laeiszhalle is also an important fixed point in the city’s cultural life.
Current socio-political discourses and changes are reflected in the programmes and communications. The two concert halls thereby represent the relevance of culture in the lives of every individual, and they actively shape the future of live music and Hamburg’s cultural identity. Our team works in pursuit of those goals every day.
We work as a strong, friendly team, and value the diversity of perspectives. We are always looking for the best way to do things and we have the courage to implement new ideas. We are aware of the responsibility we hold, and we never rest on our laurels. For colleagues, as well as for promoters, artists, visitors and other stakeholders, we are a reliable, cooperative and professional partner.
Benefits
As well as interesting work in an internationally renowned concert hall, we also offer our team:
• an attractive annual bonus
• a company pension
• flexible working hours and the option of remote working (for many positions)
• in-house opportunities for career progression
• discounts on concert tickets and items from the Elbphilharmonie Shop
• the Hamburger Verkehrsverbund’s Premium Deutschland Ticket, incl. employer supplement and good transport links
• a cafeteria with breathtaking views of the Port of Hamburg – with, of course, an employee discount on food and drink
• company yoga classes and other subsidised sports offerings
• a company doctor service
• team building and other employee events
