Guest Professorship on Music
The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation Professorship at the Freie Universität Berlin
On the occasion of its 50th birthday, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation announced an guest professorship. In the application process, Freie Universität Berlin prevailed over ten competitors with its promising concept. In the winter semester of 2023/24, the professorship will begin its work at the FU Berlin, focusing on anchoring New Music in musicological discourse and more closely linking theory and practice.
The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation offered the professorship on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. A total of eleven universities from German-speaking countries applied. The Freie Universität Berlin has now been awarded the professorship. The professorship in musicology, which is endowed for a period of five years, will be established at the Institute of Theatre Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Humanities in the winter semester of 2023/24. The aim of the endowed professorship is to anchor New Music more firmly in academic discourse, to promote the examination of New Music at universities and music colleges and to promote research-based teaching. To this end, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation is providing a total of 1.25 million euros.
The FU's concept was convincing due to its interlocking of theory and practice on the one hand, and its focus in the field of knowledge culture on the other. "Today, academic reflection on contemporary music faces enormous challenges," says board of trustees member Prof. Dr Ulrich Mosch. With its concept, the FU is creating a "central interface" that serves the lively renewal of discourse. The professorship will give decisive impetus to the subject of musicology, which will be re-established at the FU in 2021. She will actively contribute to the design of the newly created Master's programme Music, Sound, Performance. The tasks of the endowed professorship include teaching and research projects on key works of New Music, the establishment of a collaborative and interactive platform on performance traditions of New Music and curating artist residencies.
"The endowed professorship will work closely with the new music scene and its numerous ensembles and composers, thus building bridges between musicological research and music practice".
Prof. Dr. Camilla Bork, Musicologist, FU Berlin
The Professorship is part of the anniversary activities of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. In its 50th year, the Music Foundation is organising discussions and concerts in Munich, Berlin, Lucerne and Zurich and is publishing its own series of essays dealing with the history of the Foundation and the music of the past 50 years. The composers Christian Mason and Lisa Streich have also contributed commissioned works for the anniversary. With the endowed professorship, the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation would also like to have an impact on the academic landscape and facilitate a closer connection between current artistic practice and academic work.