History of the Society

On 16 August 1983, three non-locals crossed the Weser by ferry near Dedesdorf.
They had come from a very important meeting in Wilhelmshaven,
and now had to decide what their next steps should be.
For the few minutes on the ferry they stood silently at the railing, gazes and thoughts directed into the distance,
with the feeling that they had hit on something,
full of expectation, but not without some worries. Just now the three of them, Helga de
la Motte-Haber, Günter Kleinen and Klaus-Ernst Behne, had, to their own surprise,
founded the society whose anniversary we are celebrating here.

(Translated freely from Klaus-Ernst Behne, Festschrift „25 Jahre Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie 1983-2008“)

(Klaus-Ernst Behne, Günter Kleinen and Helga de la Motte-Haber (l.t.r.) at the annual conference in Freiburg 2006, Photo by Andreas C. Lehmann)

In the protocol of 16 August 1983 it was decided to found the German Society for Music Psychology (DGM). Elected to the first board were: Helga de la Motte-Haber ( President), Günter Kleinen (Vice-President), Florian Noetzl (Treasurer) and Klaus-Ernst Behne (Secretary). The establishment of the publication (Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie) and the organisation of the first annual conference in 1985 are already recorded in this protocol.

On 9 September 1983, the official founding of the society with nine members was recorded in official documents and forwarded to the District Court of Hannover together with the constitution on 19 October 1983. That date in the official protocol, 9 September 1983, was recorded at the District Court as the official date of foundation of the company.

In 2008, the 25-year history of the Society was celebrated and published as a commemorative publication. The print version can be ordered directly from the Institute for Music Education Research (Hanover).

Lehmann, Andreas C. & Kopiez, Reinhard (Eds.) (2008): 25 Jahre Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie: Eine Festschrift im Auftrag der DGM. Hannover: Institut für musikpädagogische Forschung. ISBN 3-931852-79-2 € 8,00

A PDF version of the jubilee publication can be downloaded here (German Version only):

(DGM President Andreas C. Lehmann handing over the commemorative publication to Klaus-Ernst Behne and Helga de la Motte Haber, Photo DGM)