mdw Artist Portraits 2027
In 2027, 6 high-quality artist portraits mdw Artist Portraits will be produced by the Career Center with advanced mdw students. A selection procedure is planned to determine the artists. The artistic disciplines rotate every year.
For the year 2027, artists from the following disciplines will be selected:
- Conducting (choral or orchestral conducting)
- Contemporary Arts Practice
- Voice (Classical): voice type Countertenor or Tenor
- Percussion (instrumental studies and/or Music Education (IGP))
- Viola (instrumental studies and/or Music Education (IGP))
Application deadline: Sunday, 1 November 2026
Detailed information on the selection procedure and requirements
Call for Applications: SOUNDING VISIONS AWARD 2026
Competition for innovative concert formats, 3rd edition
The Sounding Visions Award 2026 invites musicians to develop visionary concert formats that open up new ways of listening to, thinking about and experiencing music. The competition takes place at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz and is aimed at artists who wish to challenge traditional concert formats and place music within innovative, inter- and transdisciplinary contexts.
Aim of the competition
The Sounding Visions Award supports artistic concepts that:
- rethink the curation of musical Programmes
- develop innovative performance Formats
- reflect on social, aesthetic or technological issues
- foster a productive dialogue between music and other disciplines
Projects that combine music with other art forms – such as dance, drama, performance art, media art, visual arts, literature or digital formats – are particularly encouraged.
Collaboration with students from other Austrian art universities (such as the University of Applied Arts Vienna, the University of Art and Design Linz, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and many others) is expressly encouraged. This also includes collaboration with students from the relevant arts departments at music universities (such as the Anton Bruckner Private University – Department of Dance or Drama).
Eligibility criteria
- Students who are enrolled at an Austrian university of music, university of the arts, private university or private college at the time of application,
- as well as graduates of the aforementioned institutions who graduated no more than two years prior to the application date.
The following are eligible:
- all instruments and vocals
- artists from other art forms in the spirit of transdisciplinarity
- applications from soloists or groups with a maximum of five members
The Sounding Visions Award focuses on new musical formats. Accordingly, in the case of interdisciplinary projects, at least one member of the group must be a performing musician.
Selection Process
Once the submission deadline has passed, the jury will select six finalists or ensembles from all the entries. These will be given the opportunity to present the concert format they have developed to the public during the final in Linz.
Schedule & Dates
Submission deadline: 15 May 2026
Announcement of the six finalists: June 2026
Rehearsals in Linz: 1 October 2026
Final (public): 2 October 2026
Venue: Great Hall of the Anton Bruckner Private University Linz
Prizes
The IGNM will award cash prizes totalling 5500 euros; the winners will also be offered further performance opportunities.
Submission
The following must be submitted:
- Proof of enrolment or degree certificate
- Artistic biographies of all participants and photographs of the Artists
- A detailed concert programme lasting 30–45 minutes (including composers, titles of works and durations)
- Concept description: either in writing or as a short video presenting the Concept
- A recent, unedited video recording featuring a work or excerpts from the programme. Important note: Audio and video files must be provided exclusively as a permanent link to a platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion or similar. The link must remain valid until the end of October 2026. The videos are for the jury’s use only and will not be published by the jury or made available to third parties.
- If the programme requires electronics, technical support, specialist lighting or similar: please attach a rough technical rider
- Contact details
Applications may be submitted in German or English.
Submissions must be made digitally by 23:59 on 15 May 2026 at the latest: REGISTRATION FORM
You can find all additional information here online or as a PDF.
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