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Exchange between Bangkok and Vienna
At the beginning of the new academic year, one enjoys looking back on projects of the past semester that were very enriching. I would thus like to report on my visit to the Mahidol College of Music in Bangkok, Thailand, along with Christian Altenburger last February and, as project director, at the same time express…
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A Creative Journey in Poznań with Erasmus+
This spring, I had the incredible opportunity to participate in the Erasmus+ Staff Mobility programme, teaching at the Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, Poland. I was invited by the fantastic teacher, composer, and conductor Michał Janocha to work together with his students and their orchestra. This experience was divided into two exciting phases, each…
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European Jazz Workshop at the Conservatory in Parma
On the initiative of Prof. Markus Harm, the Department of Popular Music (ipop) at the mdw took part in the European Jazz Workshop this year for the first time. The European Jazz Workshop is part of a “Blended Intensive Program” through Erasmus+. The project was launched several years ago on the initiative of the Norwegian…
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New Concert Formats for a Diverse Audience
At the invitation of Prof. Sonja Stibi, I made my second visit to Munich’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HMTM) from 16 to 18 May as part of an Erasmus Teaching Mobility. The Teaching Mobility took place together with students from Munich and Vienna as part of the inter-university course titled “Theorie und Praxis von…
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Teaching Music Mediation in Quebec
For the second time after 2023, I taught at the Summer School on Music Mediation at the Université de Montréal as part of an Erasmus Teaching Mobility project. This intensive week was held from 6 to 10 May at the Cité-des-Hospitalières, formerly Montreal’s oldest hospital, which the city now makes available to cultural and social…
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“With music and images, the concertgoers can be accompanied through various moods and emotions”
“Learning and playing the violin is a good way to learn something about life and acquire new experiences,” says Saimi Kortelainen. She studies the violin at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo and in May 2024 participated in the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme at the mdw. In this programme, students from various universities complete…
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New ideas and stimulation for my work
My Erasmus adventure took me for two very intense and enriching days to the German-French border. After an eight-hour and fairly unproblematic train journey from Vienna to Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg), I was able to experience for myself the beauty of this small city. The most striking impression of the Karlsruhe University of Music I had (and…
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The mdw’s Motus Quartet in Taiwan
“We accepted immediately and enthusiastically, of course!” A last-minute invitation to give a concert in Taipei was a great thrill for Tim de Vries, mdw student and violinist of the Motus Quartet. The quartet was given the opportunity to accompany their professor and Vice Rector for International Affairs and Art at the mdw, Johannes Meissl,…
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The gleaming bustling city with a vibrant and growing music life located on the edge of the desert
On a recent trip for the mdw, I had a two day stopover in Doha, Qatar where I had the opportunity to get to know a little about the rich culture and history of the country and to visit the Qatar Music Academy. The modern, elegant metropolis of Doha has burst forth in just a…
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The chance to network with people from all around the world
The 13th annual SEADOM, Southeast Asian Directors of Music, Congress took place at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from March 7-9, 2024. The Congress hotels were located at the Sunway Pyramid, Malayia’s first themed shopping mall, a sprawling complex which, with a retail floor area exceeding 400,000 m2, is literally twice the size of…
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Compositions from the Rich Folkloristic Treasures of Ukraine
“Life changes so quickly for me. A year ago, I never would have thought I would now already be about to have my second premiere performance.” The Ukrainian composer and pianist Sofiia Lozina, born in 2004, has studied composition at the mdw since 2023. Prior to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, she studied music…
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Masterclass and Concert at the Music Academy Krakow
The master class and concert at the Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie were very nice and enriching experiences. On the first evening, I played four of the five Beethoven cello sonatas (which we also performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus two weeks later) together with my colleague, cellist Matthias Gredler, in a more than…
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Inclusion Through Eurhythmics, Music and Movement
After being involved in the three-year Erasmus+ project “Eurhythmics in Education and Artistic Practice” (EEAP) from 2020 to 2023, I was invited in January 2024 by my colleague Prof. Eva Nivbrant Wedin to return to the KMH – Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm to teach eurhythmics and music pedagogy students in the field of inclusion. The…
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Harmonising Melodies and Memories: A Musical Journey Through Chile
In November 2023, I embarked on a captivating concert tour coupled with enriching teaching engagements across the breathtaking landscapes of Chile. This musical journey led me through the vibrant cities of Santiago, La Serena, Concepcion, and Valparaiso, where I had the opportunity to perform with my ensemble, the AUREUM Saxophone Quartet, in diverse concert places,…
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EUROPAFRICA: Bridging Cultures Through Music in Tunisia
Nestled within the vibrant tapestry of North Africa lies Tunisia, a land steeped in history, culture, and the enchanting strains of music. In a narrative as captivating as the melodies that grace the country’s air, a cohort of exceptional musicians from the Motus Quartet, joined by the violinist Vasilisa Koroleva and accompanied by Prof. Fedor…
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Broadening one’s musical and personal horizons
“It was a dream for me as a composer to travel to Japan and see my piece performed there.” The mdw student Noëmi Haffner was the first young female composer to be nominated by the mdw to participate in the Kyoto International Music Students Festival. For more than thirty years, this renowned festival has offered…
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Harpist Elisabeth Plank teaching in Katowice
I was invited by Anna Scheller and Elżbieta Korelus to teach and perform at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland (19–21 January 2024); it was my first time to teach as part of the Erasmus+ scheme, and it couldn’t have been a better experience.As I had been to Katowice already twice before—performing…
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Creative Dialogue 2023
This year, four composers, four kannel players, and six string players from various countries were invited to collaborate with the British composer Julian Anderson, the Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen, and the Finnish kannel player Eija Kankaanranta. The composers wrote pieces for strings and kannel, kokle, and kanklės (traditional instruments), and the instrumentalists played new compositions…
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About Us
The mdw is internationally and globally networked, with students from over 70 nations and some 190 partner universities from every continent. This vibrant exchange benefits students, teachers, and administrative staff, who travel to our partner institutions or come to the mdw from there. In the International Blog, they share their varied experiences – and why it is so important as members of the mdw community to immerse oneself in the life of another university.
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Even those who do not travel can experience the internationality of the mdw, whether it is through participation in the digital exchange with other universities or through the varied backgrounds of the mdw students and teachers, who incorporate this into their daily activities at the mdw. The stories about personal and professional enrichment, new contacts, and unforgettable impressions can be enjoyed by readers in the International Blog.
Are you interested in sharing your story? Then write to Isabella Gaisbauer, Vice Rectorate for International Affairs and Art: gaisbauer@mdw.ac.at