More about the Programme
Benjamin Brinner – Vocal Painting
Vocal Painting (VOPA) was developed by the Danish professor and choir conductor Jim Daus Hjernøe. Using a dynamic sign language, singers are encouraged to improvise and share musical responsibility in real time. The concept is commonly used for vocal improvisation in popular music styles.
In this workshop, we will explore some of the basic principles and signs of Vocal Painting and investigate the extent to which this method can be applied to classical improvisation.
Sandi Štor – Hearing, Understanding, and Creating: Developing the Musical Mind Through Jazz Solfège
This project presents jazz solfège as a discipline for developing musical awareness, listening skills, understanding, and creativity through integrated musicianship training.
One of the central motivations behind the project is the idea that solfège, unlike instrumental practice, places all musicians in a shared environment focused primarily on the development of perception, reasoning, imagination, memory, intuition, hearing, and musical understanding. Inspired by the Slovenian secondary-school solfège curriculum, contemporary jazz practice, and practical experience as a jazz performer, arranger, conductor, and mentor, the project seeks to integrate theoretical understanding, harmonic perception, singing, improvisation, and practical musical application within a single pedagogical framework.
The Jazz Solfège textbook series develops rhythm, parlato, melodic exercises, interval training, improvisation, harmonic understanding, modal thinking, and elements of arranging through a gradual, hearing-based approach. Particular attention is given to the relationship between hearing and harmonic context, as well as to the integration of classical and jazz perspectives within a broader musical foundation.
The pedagogical system is currently structured across four interconnected Jazz Solfège textbooks, progressing from fundamental musicianship skills to advanced harmonic, modal, polymodal, improvisational, and creative concepts within jazz education.
Aljoscha Ristow – How Musical Performance Imitates (Human) Nature
In 1619, the astronomer and polymath Johannes Kepler described music as an imitation of creation, reflecting the proportions underlying the structure of the world. This idea can be traced back to the ancient conception that music exists not only in its sounding form (musica instrumentalis), but can also be expressed through the harmony within the human body (musica humana) and the harmonious motion of the planets (musica mundana).
In contemporary performance practice, such analogies between music and (human) nature remain more influential than one might assume. In practical situations such as rehearsals or ensemble coaching sessions, metaphors referring to basic human or natural principles are often readily applied. Human emotion, for example, has shaped musical expression since the Affektenlehre of the Baroque period; musical phrasing has been compared to principles of speech and grammar for centuries; the natural principle of gravity is frequently used as a metaphor for cadences and suspensions; and aspects of tempo and metre can be related to walking, breathing, or the human heartbeat.
In this lecture, I will explore which aspects of musical analysis are most likely to shape musical performance and to what extent these are reflected in human- and nature-related metaphors. Drawing on examples from my elective course Chamber Music: Analysis & Interpretation, I will demonstrate how a deeper analytical understanding of repertoire can lead to more conscious performance decisions. Furthermore, I will propose strategies for exploring the connection between analysis and performance within regular music theory courses in the Bachelor’s programme.
Mario Calzada – The Democratic Orchestra: An Intersection Between Jazz and Contemporary Classical Music
In this talk, I will discuss the ideas that led me to develop the Democratic Orchestra. Improvisation, freedom, resistance, inclusion, and community are among the key driving forces behind this project.
My presentation addresses contemporary aesthetics and their relationship to politics, the importance of learning and teaching freedom, and the impact of these ideas on musical practice.
The project was designed for an international ensemble of young musicians from diverse backgrounds, including both jazz-trained and classically trained performers.
My research also addresses questions of notation—when, what, and how to notate—as well as the role of technology in contemporary performance. Furthermore, it explores improvisation as a social ecosystem capable of influencing perspectives and shaping how people experience music.
Francesca Fantini – Connecting Interpretation with Improvisation: Revitalising Chamber Music Practice through Interpreters’ Creative Agency
Historically, composition, improvisation, and interpretation coexisted as interconnected practices of musical creation within the European classical tradition. From the late nineteenth century onwards, however, improvisation became increasingly marginalised, and performers came to be regarded primarily as mediators between the score and the audience. This historical shift encouraged a more static conception of the musical work and diminished the interpreter’s creative agency.
This presentation reconsiders chamber music practice as a context in which the principles of improvisation remain embedded, requiring responsiveness, co-presence, and mutual attunement among performers. By comparing the fundamental principles of chamber music with those of improvisational practice, the talk explores how interpreters can reclaim a more generative and co-creative role in contemporary performance.
The case study focuses on contemporary chamber music as fertile ground for free improvisation. The presentation proposes an embodied and process-oriented approach to interpretation. The discussion will be complemented by a 15-minute musical demonstration, in which the embodiment of repertoire and interpretative skills will be explored through a free improvisation performance.
Rik Bastiaens – Applied Piano for Vocalists
This lecture presents a systematic approach that guides vocalists from limited piano skills towards using the piano as a practical and supportive tool in their own music-making and teaching.
I will provide insight into the three-step programme I use to equip singers with the essential skills needed to support their professional practice. The lecture demonstrates how basic piano technique can be combined from the outset with in-depth score reading and understanding. It also explores strategies for simplifying a score and reconstructing the music at a level of complexity that remains both manageable and musically effective.
Sven Heinze – Relative Solmisation in the Teaching of Modal Interchange
In this presentation and workshop, I will demonstrate how relative solmisation can be used to experience and internalise the harmonic effects of modal interchange.
Following an introduction to the underlying concept, we will sing bass lines and chord scales based on the chord progression of Lady Bird, enabling participants to perceive modal colour changes aurally rather than merely conceptually.
Finally, I will present a broader application of this approach in the context of altered diatonic modes, including harmonic minor, melodic minor, harmonic major, and melodic major.
Concert Vadim Neselovskyi - Perseverantia
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