ConTempEar
The Mozarteum and the University of Salzburg have launched an initiative to teach contemporary music.
On October 21, 2014, the new program areas at the "Focus on Science and Art" (a cooperation between the University of Salzburg and the Mozarteum University Salzburg) were officially opened at the Kunstquartier Salzburg.
In addition to "Contemporary Art and Cultural Production" and "Art Polemics - Polemical Art", the new program area "ConTempOhr. Mediating contemporary music" was also launched. The programme area aims to provide new impetus for contemporary music in Salzburg, among other things by researching and developing new mediation projects as well as training and professionalizing future music mediators. ConTempOhr now has three years to develop into an international platform. Artistic practice and academic research are to enter into synergies.
Martin Losert (saxophone, deputy director of ConTempOhr) played a free improvisation with Jörg Schweinbenz (piano) at the opening ceremony, which lasted almost two hours. Simone Heilgendorff (viola, director of ConTempOhr) performed compositions by Xiaoyeng Chen and Julio Estrada with her colleagues from the Kairos Quartet (Berlin).
As part of the new cooperative study focus "Arts and Public Spheres", ConTempOhr is offering relevant courses this winter semester, e.g. on experimental music concepts. ConTempOhr also organizes workshops. In February, the conference of the Platform Music Education Austria (PMÖ), the first national cooperation took place.
