It was a student job with concert organiser Jeunesse that laid the cornerstone of her passion for music mediation work with children and adolescents—and today, this mdw alumna is responsible for education as part of the Concert Planning & Administration staff at the Wiener Konzerthaus. At the moment, she’s busy organising the final event of KlangBildKlang together with her alma mater.

It was in 2020 that mdw alumna Josipa Bainac-Hausknecht first worked at the Exilarte Center for Banned Music. The topic of music in exile, still as current as ever, occupies an important place in this Croatia native’s academic and artistic doings.

As a trained instrumental teacher, mdw alumna and music school director Johanna Ensbacher is an expert on the cultivation of young talents. In her conversation with mdw Magazine, she revealed the important role played in this by youth orchestras and the challenges faced by Austria’s music schools.

The versatile hip hop artist and mdw alumna Ursi Wögerer, a.k.a. Miss BunPun, seeks to use her music to raise awareness of themes like queerness, empowerment, and body positivity/neutrality. As is the case with her current single “Take Me as I Am”, where she once again unites serious themes with positive vibes.

Iva Zabkar composed her very first works back when she was a school student—and she’s since succeeded in turning her passion into her profession, having now spent 16 years composing for films and other media while also working as a sound designer.

In keeping with the motto “change as a driving force”, this successful and authentic singer, bandleader, and composer—a courageous, powerful woman whose art overcomes divisions in more ways than one—is fighting for better working conditions in her profession and for social justice.