c u r r e n t n e w s
Welcome to winter semester 2026
The Department of Composition Studies and Music Production wishes all staff and students a good start to the semester.
Open Port Award for 'Flamboyance'
Paul MEISTER, along with the theater group 'Flamboyance' and their production Sonnenstrahl im Kopfsalat, has been awarded the 2026 Open Port Prize.
The prize for young directors and dramaturgs was awarded as part of the PAD Festival (Performing Arts & Digitality) in Wiesbaden by the German Academy of Performing Arts in collaboration with the Academy for Theater and Digitality, and includes a one-month research residency at the Academy for Theater and Digitality.
'Flamboyance' is a student-run ensemble composed of students from the Mozarteum in Salzburg: Rahel Hofbauer (director), Charlotte Streicher (set designer), Aaron Herold (actor and sound designer), and Paul Meister (sound director), Tonmeisters student at the mdw.
From the jury’s statement:
“In their emotional and imaginative production SONNENSTRAHL IM KOPFSALAT. EIN KLANGTHEATERSTÜCK NACH HOLGER SCHOBER, they expand the boundaries of theater to allow us to experience what it means to accompany a person as they gradually fade away. The narrative is driven by the mechanisms of an organism afflicted with dementia. An unpredictable experimental setup that guides us through a brain in the process of decay. The original theatrical text is reconfigured, expanded, and interwoven with new technologies. To achieve this, the production creates an immersive stage space, integrates performers with three-dimensional sound design, draws connections between text and scenography, and combines spirited acting with precise technical execution.”
We extend our warmest congratulations!
Michael Jarrell receives Austrian Art Prize 2026
Professor Jarrell will receive the 2026 Austrian Art Prize for Music, one of the Ministry of Culture's highest honors.
"Michael Jarrell’s music is characterized by exceptional technical precision, virtuosity in the handling of sound and texture, a keen sense of musical dramaturgy, and an unmistakable approach to musical time. Equally significant is his more than three-decade-long teaching career at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). There, he shaped generations of composers who, under his guidance, not only mastered the craft of composition but also developed their own distinctive artistic styles. His former students are active worldwide today and, as recognized artistic figures, are shaping the musical life of our time. In addition, Michael Jarrell serves as a juror for numerous composition competitions and regularly teaches at international summer academies and master classes." [translated from German]
The awards ceremony will take place on November 26, 2026, in Vienna. We extend our warmest congratulations!
Wien Modern:
ELISION x mdw I
// concert
MA Contemporary Music (Ensemble)
@Joseph-Haydn-Saal
(05.11., 19h)
The Australian-international supergroup Elision—a powerhouse of the exciting scenes centered around Liza Lim—will be performing in Vienna for a good week. Together with young musicians from Vienna, Elision, Wien Modern, and the mdw invite you on musical journeys of discovery spanning Australia, Mexico, and Europe.
works by:
Aaron CASSIDY, Charlie SDRAULIG,
Liza LIM, Kate MILLIGAN, Richard BARRETT
Wien Modern:
ELISION x mdw II
// concert
MA Contemporary Music (Ensemble)
@Musikverein
(08.11., 20h)
The Australian-international supergroup Elision—a powerhouse of the exciting scenes centered around Liza Lim—will be performing in Vienna for a good week. Together with young musicians from Vienna, Elision, Wien Modern, and the mdw invite you on musical journeys of discovery spanning Australia, Mexico, and Europe.
works by:
Franco DONATONI, Liza LIM,
Francesca VERUNELLI, Julio ESTRADA
Professional Studio Acoustics – Design and Implementation
// Workshop with Dirk NOY
& Hans LÖFFLER
@Arthouse-Kino
(20.11., 14h)
How are professional recording studios designed and built from an acoustic perspective? What roles do building acoustics, room acoustics, and electroacoustics play—and how can design and theory be tested in practice?
The Department of Composition Studies and Music Production (IKT) at the mdw and the OeTMV invite you to a workshop with Dirk NOY, partner and managing director of the European branch of WSDG and Director of Applied Science & Engineering, as well as Hans LÖFFLER from Team Löffler. The focus will be on the key acoustic and structural engineering issues involved in the design and construction of professional production environments. Following a concise introduction, participants will delve deeper into the topics through hands-on exercises in the Future Art Lab—ranging from structural and acoustic solutions to room and electroacoustic measurement techniques.
Registration required.
Limited space available.
Bernd Oppl | Liminal Spaces
// closing event & conzert
@Galerie Korridor
(04.12., 19h)
New works for harp and e-harp of students from mdw.
Works by:
Mikael Birchmeier EPPRECHT, Vera DERICI, Wenyinan HE, Minghe LIU, Denis MUKHIN, Jakob PETER, Han QIAO, Zurisadai RIVAS ESCORIHUELA, Nadin VARGA, Jialu YANG, Zijia ZHU
Direction:
Wolfgang SUPPAN & Julia PURGINA
Harp: Veronica KLAVZAR
WATER ECOLOGIES
OF CHANGE
// study concert media composition
@Klangtheater
(04.12., 19h30)
How can water, ecological changes, and their multifaceted relationships with our environment be made tangible through sound and space?
Under the title Water Ecologies of Change, media composition students at the mdw present new multimedia compositions that explore water as a habitat, a resource, an artistic medium, and a symbol of change.
The works are being created as part of a collaboration lab led by Ricardo TOVAR MATEUS, in collaboration with Elena GABBRIELLI (flute) and Álvaro COLLAO LEÓN (saxophone).