Press photos & logos
The following images are available to journalists for free editorial use in connection with reports on EYOA. When using them, please cite EYOA as the source.
Conductors & initiator
Jan Paul Reinke – EYOA Symphony Orchestra Conductor/Artistic Director
Jan-Paul Reinke, born in 1985 in Mannheim, is a conductor and has served as Artistic Director of the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA) since 2019. He studied orchestral and opera conducting at the University of Music and Dance Cologne and gained extensive early experience in opera and orchestral productions. Since 2016, he has been Music Director of the JugendSinfonieOrchester Mannheim and, since 2018, of the historic Stamitz Orchestra Mannheim. He also teaches orchestral conducting at the University of Music Freiburg. His work combines a high level of musical precision with strong pedagogical insight. At EYOA, Reinke brings together young musicians from across Europe, shaping them into a high-performing orchestra within a short period of time while continuously developing the project—most recently through an expanded festival format that will include jazz and chamber music ensembles for the first time in 2026. Photo: EYOA
Thomas Siffling – EYOA conductor & director of the jazz ensemble
Thomas Siffling, born in 1972 in Karlsruhe, is one of Germany’s most distinguished jazz trumpeters. He studied jazz trumpet at the music academies in Mannheim and Stuttgart and has been a key figure in shaping nu jazz and lounge jazz in the German-speaking world since the 1990s. His lyrical, cross-genre sound is documented on numerous albums and has taken him to international stages across Europe, South America, Russia, Canada, and Asia. With the founding of the Ella & Louis Live Jazz Club at the Rosengarten in Mannheim, Siffling established one of Germany’s leading jazz venues, repeatedly honored with the “APPLAUS” program award. In 2026, Thomas Siffling will take part for the first time in EYOA’s new Young European Music Festival, which, alongside symphonic programs, also integrates jazz and big band formats, creating new musical bridges. Photo: EYOA
EYOA Initiator Michel Maugé
Michel Maugé, born in 1947 in Baden-Baden, former Honorary Consul of the Republic of France and long-serving Managing Director of the Rosengarten Congress Center in Mannheim, is the initiator, principal organizer, and Managing Director of the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), as well as Chairman of the association Kultur@Home Metropol Rhein-Neckar e. V. Maugé founded EYOA in 2019 to provide young musicians from across Europe with a platform for musical exchange, personal encounters, and European understanding. Under his leadership, the Academy has developed into an internationally recognized project that combines musical excellence with social dialogue and operates under the patronage of the European Parliament. With the Young European Music Festival, Maugé will expand the EYOA concept from 2026 onwards to include new formats such as big band, jazz ensembles, and chamber music, further strengthening the diversity and future viability of the project. Photo: EYOA
Orchestras, concerts, rehearsals
EYOA – Young talents
Every individual voice matters — and unfolds its full impact within the collective sound of the ensemble. More than 80 highly talented young musicians from across Europe contribute their individual strengths at the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), forming a unified orchestral sound in just ten intense days. EYOA stands for focused rehearsal work, artistic excellence, and the embodiment of the European idea. As an international ten-day bootcamp for young talent in Mannheim, the project continues to evolve in 2026 into a festival that brings together diverse ensemble formats and makes musical diversity visible. Photo: EYOA
EYOA string players (group photo)
Being part of something bigger: Since 2019, more than 80 young musical talents from across Europe have gathered annually in Mannheim as part of European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), getting to know one another, working intensively together, and growing into an ensemble within a short time. During the ten-day bootcamp, not only high-level concerts emerge, but also trust, exchange, and connections that extend far beyond the project itself. This unique combination of individual personality and shared vision defines the EYOA and flows into its further development in 2026 as a festival uniting music, encounter, and European perspectives. Photo: EYOA
EYOA Symphony Orchestra – group photos
What appears here as one large orchestra is the result of ten intense days of shared work. Since its founding in 2019, more than 80 highly talented young musicians from across Europe have come together annually in Mannheim as part of the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), growing musically and personally and developing a shared sound in a very short time. EYOA is more than an orchestral project: it is an international bootcamp for young talent that, in its seventh year in 2026, evolves into a festival format. Alongside its symphonic core, new ensemble formats, spaces for encounter, and concerts emerge, making diversity, openness, and European collaboration visible. Photo: EYOA
EYOA Rehersals
Highly focused, in close exchange, and with great precision: during sectional rehearsals at the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), more than 80 highly talented young musicians from across Europe work intensively on sound, technique, and musical expression. In a very short time, details are refined collectively — focused, open, and at the highest artistic level. This rehearsal work is a central element of the ten-day EYOA bootcamp in Mannheim. It combines high artistic standards with pedagogical guidance and forms the foundation for a project that opens up conceptually in 2026 and appears for the first time as a festival with multiple musical formats. Photo: EYOA
Encounters/ The Idea of Europe
Shared joy/friendships
What becomes visible here is more than the excitement after a successful final concert. After ten intense days of rehearsals, performances, and shared experiences, joy unfolds — joy about what has been achieved together and about the sense of community. More than 80 highly talented young musicians from across Europe have come together at the European Youth Orchestra Academy, not only musically but also on a human level. These moments reflect the core of EYOA: shared growth, trust, and connections that reach far beyond the final concert. It is from this spirit that the international bootcamp in Mannheim evolves in 2026 into a festival, sustainably uniting musical excellence and European community. Photo: EYOA
EYOA Workshops/New perspectives
New perspectives emerge where openness and trust are given space. During the ten-day bootcamp of the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA), more than 80 young musical talents from across Europe work together not only within the orchestra but also in creative workshop formats — as shown here. These experimental moments are an integral part of the EYOA: they foster mutual understanding, expand musical expression, and strengthen cohesion within the ensemble. As an international bootcamp for young talent, EYOA continues to evolve in 2026 into a festival that, alongside its symphonic core, also highlights new ensemble and workshop formats. Photo: EYOA
EYOA – cultural excursions
Shared experiences are just as much a part of European Youth Orchestra Academy( EYOA) as rehearsals and concerts. As part of the workshop and accompanying program, more than 80 young musical talents from across Europe explore Mannheim and the surrounding region — here during a ride on the city’s historic tram. These moments away from the stage are essential: through exchange, shared experiences, and time spent together, friendships and networks emerge that extend far beyond the ten intense days of the bootcamp — often lasting a lifetime. This very spirit defines the EYOA and flows into its further development in 2026 as a festival uniting music, encounter, and the European idea. Photo: EYOA
Sunshine, history, and shared experiences: Beyond rehearsals and concerts, the young musicians of the European Youth Orchestra Academy (EYOA) also discover Europe beyond the stage. A visit to Heidelberg’s old town with its view of the world-famous castle is part of the accompanying program of the ten-day EYOA bootcamp in Mannheim, in which around 80 highly talented young musicians from across Europe take part each year. These shared moments foster exchange, trust, and a strong sense of togetherness — and make EYOA more than a musical project. They create memories and connections that extend far beyond the bootcamp itself and shape the spirit of an international program dedicated to the European idea, which will continue to evolve in 2026 into a festival where music, encounters, and European perspectives come together.
Rain jackets instead of concert attire – but still in high spirits: even on a rainy day, the talented young musicians of the European Youth Orchestra Academy experience Europe beyond the stage. The joint visit to Heidelberg's old town with a view of the world-famous castle is part of the extensive accompanying programme of the ten-day EYOA boot camp in Mannheim, which around 80 young talents get to enjoy every year. Experiences like these strengthen cohesion, promote exchange and make the EYOA more than just a musical project. They create lasting memories and connections – and shape the spirit of an international boot camp dedicated to the European idea, which in 2026 will continue to develop into a festival where music, encounters and European perspectives come together.
EYOA LOGO
Logo
Logo European Youth Orchestra Academy
dark & light
© EYOA [Download in hoher Auflösung]