Do you like improvising on your instrument or creating your own music?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
In the workshop for contemporary music and music technology, which takes place from 24 August to 31 August 2024 at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), you can explore various aspects of contemporary music creation. In five themed groups, participants will explore composing music for instruments, voice, electronics, film, new media, concert stage, dance or theatre.
The programme is aimed at all young musicians who already have advanced instrumental/vocal skills and musical expertise. However, it is not necessary to have experience in composing music. One of the aims of the workshop is to dissolve the separation that still exists between performing interpretation and creative composition. During the workshop, you can explore the creation of your own music in depth. Internationally active composers and music experts with digital media will lead the workshop and support participants in developing their own musical language. There will also be many opportunities to exchange ideas about different cultural traditions and to familiarise yourself with new musical styles and soundscapes. A presentation of the resulting compositions will conclude the workshop week.
On Tuesday, 27 August 2024, there will be a joint excursion on the topic of «Time and Space».
Mentorship
- Modul 1Autonome Musik (Fabian Künzli)
- Modul 2Musik für performative Künste (Till Löffler)
- Modul 3Film- und Medienkomposition (Mirjam Skal)
- Modul 4Klangräume (Vivian Wang, Mentorat in englischer Sprache)
- Modul 5Elektro-Akustische Komposition (Olav Lervik)
Admission criteria
Young musicians, composers and students aged 17 to 24.
Prizewinners of the SJMW competitions Classica, Jazz&Pop, FreeSpace and Composition. Interested prizewinners and music students from other European countries. A maximum of 36 participants (5–6 per module) will be admitted.
Application for registration
A short letter of motivation must be submitted with the registration and 3 module priorities must be indicated. Definitive admission and allocation will be made by the organisation.
The project was initiated by the Swiss Youth Music Competition Foundation and is financially supported by the FONDATION SUISA and the ACCENTUS Foundation. The Loc.Artium association is responsible for the organisation.
Mirjam Skal is a freelance media composer and orchestrator from Zurich. She received her Master’s degree in Composition for Film, Theatre and Media from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in 2022. In recent years, Mirjam has composed numerous soundtracks for short films, games, commercials and documentaries and regularly composes music for SRF (Swiss Radio and Television), for example for Bettina Oberli’s mini-series EMMA LÜGT, which was broadcast in 2022. In her compositions, Mirjam prefers to interweave synthetic textures with orchestral sounds, and she is also fascinated by special instruments such as the theremin and hurdy-gurdy. In 2021 Mirjam became part of the Berlinale Talents. In the same year, she received a mentorship from the Alliance for Women Film Composers (AWFC) by the renowned film composer Mychael Danna (LIFE OF PI). Following the mentorship, Mirjam was invited to co-compose the film DER GESANG DER FLUSSKREBSE. Mirjam’s music can currently be heard on television in the two new Zurich Tatort episodes 2024, directed by Mike Schaerer.
Vivian Wang works in Zurich and Singapore. She is a lecturer in the Master’s programme in Composition at Zurich University of the Arts. Composer, sound artist and musician Vivian Wang explores in-between spaces and develops works across a range of sonic interfaces in art, science, culture and space. She plays with prepared objects, synthesisers, samplers and electronics. She is a founding member of the avant-rock group The Observator. Wang’s immersive compositional works include Priests & Programmers, a 16-channel sound installation commissioned for the first Sharjah Architecture Triennial 2019, and Alt Human, an octophonic work premiered at Ekko Festival 2021 in Norway. Her recent practice continues to explore existential human states, the basis of her ongoing research in breath, listening and sound perception as well as interactive art that combines ambient sounds, field recordings and elemental approaches as source material.
Fabian Künzli is a full-time composer and is characterised by an impressive stylistic breadth. His work includes various compositions for orchestras, choirs, chamber ensembles, bands and soloists. A particular focus is on composing for family concerts, including musical fairy tales, educational projects, musicals, children’s operas and interactive projects. After studying composition and music theory at the Zurich University of the Arts, he obtained a Master of Arts in Music with a specialisation in composition in 2010 and completed his Master’s degree in music theory in 2012. Today he teaches as a lecturer for composition & arrangement in the field of music education at the Zurich University of the Arts.
Olav Lervik studied composition in Weimar and Stuttgart as well as composition for film, theatre and media in Zurich. He produces music and sound for film, games and interactive installations. He teaches composition for film, theatre and media at the Zurich University of the Arts. He has also composed numerous contemporary and electro-acoustic pieces.
Till Löffler is a composer, musician and lecturer in composition, music theory and scenic song design at the Zurich University of the Arts. He studied conducting, piano, percussion and early music theory and performance practice at the Mozarteum Salzburg. From 1994–2005 he worked at the Staatstheater Stuttgart as musical director, composer and stage director. In his career as a musical director and/or composer, he has worked for renowned German theatres (including the Bavarian State Theatre, Thalia Theatre Hamburg, Volksbühne Berlin)as well as well-known institutions such as the Neumarkt Theatre in Zurich, Basel Theatre, Schauspielhaus Zurich and Zurich Opera House.