My name is Elias Zahraddnik.
Enrolled at the mdw since: 2017. Alongside my studies here, I’ve spent many years teaching at various schools. And for the past couple of years, I’ve also been working at the mdw—as a technical employee at the Department of Popular Music and at the hmdw, where I’m responsible for events and infrastructure. I’ve also been and still remain active in various official bodies such as the studies commission for the IGP programme.
Area(s) of study: Music Education for Voice and Instruments (IGP) – Guitar (Popular Music) at the MA level.
Favourite place at the mdw and why: My favourite building is definitely the Future Art Lab; I’m especially fond of the Sound Theatre, the Concert Hall, and the recording studios on the lower level. My tip for quiet moments there is to step outside on the terraces on the first and second floors.
Beyond that, there’s lots more to be discovered at the mdw—like the acoustic laboratory of the Department of Music Acoustics – Wiener Klangstil, a fascinating room on the subterranean level of Wing M. And the entire Penzing location plus Schlosstheater Schönbrunn is definitely also worth a visit. But it was actually while studying within the age-old walls of the Rennweg location, right after I’d begun here, that I fell in love with the University.
What do you wish you’d known back when you started studying? That’s actually a question I ask myself again and again. The short version is: more self-confidence and the realisation that I’d earned the right to study here! I’d also say that, over the course of your studies and especially at the beginning, you get input from lots of different sources. And it was only gradually that I learned to find out for myself what could really bring me forward and where I wanted to dig deeper.
What do you feel is special about organising events at the mdw? The people with whom you run these events: engaging in exchange, discussing, and negotiating with them. Looking back, it really is great just what all we’ve made happen—because every event brings with it a new challenge, and overcoming such challenges is what’s really so satisfying.
What do you think characterises Vienna as an event location? What I value about Vienna how many events there are, its international flair, and especially the supportive efforts of the municipality—be it through formats like the Kultursommer and the Donauinselfest or ones like “Musik am Markt”. It doesn’t go without saying for a place to support so much art, but I think it’s essential that Vienna stick with it and do even more. And as for Austria, as a cultural nation, I hope above all that it will have more courage to initiate new things including further platforms that support and address young generations.
