Joe Zawinul was born in Vienna on 7 July 1932 and grew up not far from the mdw Campus in Vienna’s 3rd district. He eventually came to number among the 20th century’s most influential jazz musicians. And now, the big.mdw.band—the University’s big band at the Department of Popular Music—has taken what would have been Zawinul’s 90th birthday as an opportunity to engage with his music and life’s work in a three-semester concert trilogy.

Providing audiences and musicians with good live sound reproduction represents an important area of work for Tonmeisters and is one focus of the mdw’s exceptionally multifaceted Tonmeister Education degree programme. And for the first time since this programme’s move to the new Future Art Lab (FAL) at the mdw campus, it was possible to implement live sound setups as part of teaching.

This mdw alumnus launched his pianistic career at age seven. It was as a teenager that he began noticing initial difficulties with the motor function of his left hand—and at age 32, he was ultimately diagnosed with a disorder known as “focal dystonia”.

Ever since their founding in early 2021, Godot Komplex have been working on new concert formats for classical music. The declared goal of this collective is to integrate the audience into the performance and enable them to experience spaces outside their view of the stage. And as the winners of the competition “Let’s Get Digital”, these dedicated artists are now taking their first step towards a hybrid concert format.

What do Judy Garland, Georg Kreisler, and Doris Day have in common? These artists were all born in 1922, as was our jubilarian!

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.

On 29 September, just before the semester begins, a new concert format will be celebrating its début in the Wiener Konzerthaus’s Berio Hall. This evening will see an interactive, trans-genre concert experience featuring classical music and electronic soundscapes connect the analogue world with the digital realm for the very first time.

Looking beyond the Catholic realm, such as with interreligious projects like the musical setting of the Diary of Anne Frank by James Whitbourn, is a major concern of this enthusiastic church musician and organist. She’s looking to address diversity and provide motivation for new and exciting projects.

Community Outreach was one of the main ideas behind this dedicated conductor’s return to Asia after graduating from the mdw. He now works with formations including the Macao Youth Symphony Orchestra, offers various kinds of training, and designs educational programmes for the musical youth of his home country.