project of sylff fellow Gregor Böttcher - October 2025

The SYLFF Scholarship of the Tokyo Foundation supports outstanding students of the mdw in focusing on their artistic development.

As part of his scholarship, Gregor Böttcher, a student of orchestral conducting, realized the concert project “Feminist Fairy Tales - A Concert Project for Gender Equality.”

In a magical soundscape, feminist narratives met music by female composers whose works had long been overlooked. The concert drew on traditional narratives and artistically questioned them, creating a space for reflection and dialogue on existing gender roles and structural inequalities. The goal was to inspire a more just future and raise awareness of gender equality through the interplay of literature and music.

The project was implemented with great success.

Erasmus+ Information Session - oCTOBER 2025

On October 15, 2025, our Erasmus+ information session took place, offering administrative staff and teaching faculty the opportunity to learn more about the wide range of exchange opportunities available at the mdw. Following brief presentations on teaching mobilities (in Europe and beyond), staff training mobilities, international research funding, IN.TUNE, and the Global Conservatoire, participants were able to obtain more detailed information from the respective contact persons and ask questions.

It was wonderful to see such strong interest in exchange opportunities, and we are already looking forward to supporting future mobilities and collaborations!

Welcome Days - September 2025

From 24 to 26 September 2025, the mdw welcomed its new exchange students with a varied program. In addition to an information session organized by the International Office, the students enjoyed campus tours, a musical get-together, a guided city tour of Vienna and an evening at a traditional Heuriger. With many new impressions and encounters, the incoming students are now starting their semester or year at the mdw!

AEC IRC MEETING 2025, BUDAPEST - SEPTEMBER 2025

In mid-September, staff members from the International Office of the mdw attended the annual meeting of the AEC for International Relations Coordinators, held at the Liszt Academy in Budapest.

Under the motto “The Great Mobility Compass – Exploration, Navigation, and Direction in the Future of Internationalisation”, the event celebrated its 25th anniversary and focused on current challenges and future perspectives of international cooperation in the field of higher music education.

The diverse programme included lectures, panel discussions, and several workshops addressing topics such as digitalisation and AI in an international context, EU funding structures and application procedures, as well as student wellbeing. In addition, the meeting offered numerous networking opportunities and provided a valuable space for personal exchange with colleagues from various partner institutions.

SIR ELTON JOHN GLOBAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME - JUNE 2025

Through the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme, the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London carries out international projects and student exchange programmes with selected partner institutions.

The RAM students Theo Hayward (viola) and Will Priest (double bass) were at the mdw in June 2025 for the orchestra project of the Webern Symphony Orchestra (WSO) as part of the Sir Elton John Global Exchange Programme. A week of intensive rehearsals with the mdw students, held at venues including the atmospheric Kuppelsaal of the TU Wien, was followed by the culmination of the event: the concert by the WSO at Vienna’s Konzerthaus on 10 June 2025 with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major.

The full report can be found on the mdw's International Blog.

COOPERATION PROJECTS IN JAPAN: EXPO OSAKA AND KYOTO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FESTIVAL

In May, mdw students traveled to two Japanese cities as part of various collaborative projects: Sandro Kemter (vocals) was nominated to participate in the "Designing Voices for our Lives" project at EXPO 2025. Four other students (Magdalena Rychetsky - viola, Jamie Petutschnig - soprano, Christoph Propst - trumpet, Florian Pöttler - percussion) represented the mdw at the Kyoto International Student Festival 2025.

ORCHESTRA PROJECT in TunISIA - COOPERATIOn WITH HASDRUBAL FOUNDATION

From 24-30 April, the mdw's third cooperation project with the Hasdrubal Foundation took place in Hammamet (Tunisia). On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Tunisia and Austria, 40 musicians from the mdw ("Webern Sinfonietta") worked together with Tunisian musicians - under the musical direction of Fedor Rudin - to develop a musical programme on the theme of the ‘Viennese Waltz’, which they performed at the Tunis Opera House, among other venues. The concert was also broadcast live on Tunisian national television.

GLOBAL CONSERVATOIRE: TRANSNATIONAL MEETING @RCM

The 6th transnational meeting of the ‘Global Conservatoire’ project took place from 23 - 24 April at the Royal College of Music in London. Representatives of all partner institutions (MSM, RDAM, RCM, mdw, CvA) came together in various working groups (GC Project Group, GC Study Admin Group, GC Tech Group etc.) with the Board of Rectors and GC teaching staff to promote the exchange of ideas and discuss new collaboration initiatives. Among other things, a 3-point connection via MVTP was successfully trialled.

MASTERCLASS PLAYTIME

From 10-11 March 2025, the mdw hosted the masterclass ‘Playtime! - Interdisciplinary Design of Concerts’ on new performance formats with Anselm Dalferth took place at the mdw. Four mdw ensembles were selected for active participation. In the masterclass, the participants' perspectives were expanded using practical examples that understand a concert as an aesthetic-social piece of art. At the end of the masterclass, the ensembles presented the (artistic) works/performances they had created to an audience.

SYLFF FELLOWS 2024/25

The Tokyo Foundation supports excellent students from selected universities worldwide through its scholarship program SYLFF. The mdw awards a total of 3 annual scholarships. 

From among the numerous applications, three excellent students were selected for the SYLFF scholarship for the 2024/25 academic year by two specially appointed expert juries and the mdw SYLFF Steering Committee in December 2024:

GREGOR BÖTTCHER - Major in Orchestral Conducting, Department of Conducting
REZA RASOULI - Master of Arts in Directing, Film Academy 
JAGODA SZMYTKA - Doctor Artium Program, ARC

Due to the high endowment of the scholarship, these students also submitted their own project concepts as part of their application documents, which will be realised in the academic year 24/25.

Further information can be found here.

DANUBE SOUNDS: MUSICAL ENCOUNTERS IN THE DANUBE REGION

In conjunction with Austria’s EUSDR presidency from 1 November 2023 to 31 December 2024, the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs (BMEIA) joined forces with the mdw to initiate a multilateral cooperative project with a number of mdw partner universities as well as Austrian Cultural Forum locations throughout the Danube Region. The result was a concert series that was realised near to and along the Danube in the six cities of Belgrade, Budapest, Bucharest, Karlsruhe, Munich, and Vienna between October and December 2024. The final Danube Sounds concert then brought representatives of all participating institutions to the Ehrbar Saal in Vienna on December 16th.

Further information can be found at the mdw web magazine.

Info WEBINar: STudy abroad opportunities for the academic year 25/26

mdw students have the chance to study or conduct research at over 150 partner universities worldwide, gaining invaluable international experience. This informative webinar will cover all key FAQs about studying abroad in the 2025/26 academic year, including: What are the requirements? How and where can I apply? What is a Learning Agreement? Are there scholarships?

Time & Place
15. Nov, 11:00 ZOOM

ERASMUS+ INFO EVENT

Presentation of international exchange and cooperation opportunities (mobilities, projects, cooperation partnerships) for faculty, researchers, and administrative staff of the mdw.

Time & Place
16. Oct, 11:00 spiel|mach|t|raum

Welcome days - September 2024

During this year’s Welcome Days, our new incoming students from around the world were warmly welcomed to the mdw. Over the course of three exciting days, they attended info sessions where they learned essential details about studying and living in Vienna, explored the key spots on campus during a tour, and had the chance to connect with fellow students at a social gathering. The event concluded with a guided city tour of Vienna, allowing the students to discover the city’s cultural highlights. We are excited to welcome them to our community and wish them a successful start!

BIP - KlangBildKlang - Mai 2024

Students from four music universities presented a multimedia concert experience at the end of the Erasmus+ BIP (Blended Intensive Programme) on transdisciplinary concert dramaturgy. A co-operation project with the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Royal Conservatoire The Hague and the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Budapest, in cooperation with the Shirabe Festival.

MUSIQUE SPECTRALE - Mai 2024

As part of a co-operation project with the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), the Parisian Ensemble Next and the mdw's Webern Ensemble Vienna, under the artistic direction of Jean-Bernard Matter, have presented ATTHIS for soprano and eight instruments by Georg Friedrich Haas and Vortex Temporum for piano and five instruments by Gérard Grisey.

The mdw’s Motus Quartet in Taiwan

Gastbesuch bei der National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU).
Johannes Meissl und das Motus Quartet wurden zu einer Masterclasss nach Taiwan eingeladen. Mehr dazu von Tim de Vries im International Blog der mdw.

Bridging Cultures in Tunisia

Kooperationsprojekt mit der Hasdrubal Foundation in Tunesien. Das Motus Quartet der mdw und Fedor Rudin, Professor für Orchestererziehung wurden nach Hammamet eingeladen. Mehr dazu von Anna Kühleitner im International Blog.