Barbara Lüneburg does PhD-research at Brunel University London on

"Investigation on the performer’s role as an interface between instrument and composer and between composition and audience in contemporary music."

Barbara Lüneburg has worked as a performer in the field of contemporary music for almost two decades. During that time she has premiered numerous pieces of which many were written specifically for her.
She has increasingly become interested in the multifaceted role of the performer: firstly in the contact and communication with the composer sometimes turning into close collaboration, secondly in the process of the interpretation of the score, which is then – thirdly – presented to an audience in a concert situation or through a CD release.

With this PhD she intends to thoroughly investigate the role that a performer has within this entire process. In order to be able to do so, she has to analyse the process from the moment, she meets the composer until the premiere.
Therefore, she has started to commission composers to write electro-acoustic pieces for her for violin/viola or e-violin that they develop together in close collaborative situations.
Within this framework Barbara Lüneburg compiles a.o. a huge archive on information about these different instruments and their possible use in compositions as well as information on how to compose for high strings in general and in specific.

further information at www.barbara-lueneburg.com

Marko Ciciliani does PhD-research at Brunel University London on

"The Use of Light as an Extension of Musical Parameters in Composition"

“This century belongs to light”, Lazlo Moholy-Nagy said as early as 1927. During that period synaesthesia and specifically the combination of music and light sparked a lot of interest amongst artists. Fallen into oblivion after WWII, synaesthesia had its revival in the 1980s. Since then, it has also attracted the attention of neurologists, who in recent years revealed, that also in non-synaesthets there are more neural interconnections between the senses, than it was thus far assumed. This revelation casts an
interesting light on attempts to create multisensory artistic work in general.
In my work as a composer I am less interested in a synaesthetic experience
in the sense of a fixed linkage between sound and light, but rather as a homogenous but variable connection between the two. In my opinion, there are similarities between sound and light that make it possible to intertwine
them in more intimate ways, than would be possible with any other medium
when combined with music: Both sound and light are projected from singular sources. Both are strongly affected by the environment they are placed in. The character of sound and acoustics is shaped by the various reflections and
absorptions of the materials and surfaces found in a space, while the colours and reflective characteristics of the materials determine the appearance of light. Both are emitted into the space three-dimensionally.
Music and Art of Light are both abstract forms of art. In my work I am transferring musical ideas into light designs in order to create an additional channel of sensual communication. By doing this the combinations of light and sound enables me to explore countless possible relationships.

further information about Marko Ciciliani at www.ciciliani.com

Burkhard Friedrich works in the field of 'Didactics of composition' and is regularly invited as a "composer in residence" to public schools.
During a time period of about 6 months he works with pupils (age 17-19) at a composition, which will be also premiered by the group itself. Preliminary knowledge of music in the group is desirable, but not a condition. Moreover Burkhard Friedrich delivers lectures with the title"Composing and Musical Education- An Attempt of an Approach" at Conservatories. Here he describes his long-lasting experiences with the topic 'Composing with Adolescents'.
On the other hand he outlines seminaries, in which students of composition, school music and music pedagogic will be introduced to the field 'Didactics of Composition'

2nd prize for "A voyage into the music of the 21st century"
In April 2004 the project "A voyage into the music of the 21st century" initiated and developed by Burkhard Friedrich in cooperation with the Landesmusikrat Hamburg won the 2nd prize within the "Competition of the Deutsche Musikrat and Yamaha-foundation for outstanding music-pedagogical innovation".

further information on his work at www.burkhard-friedrich.com

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