Hermine May is a Romanian-born mezzo-soprano and faculty member at the University of Music and Drama in Rostock since 2020. She has established herself internationally through performances in dramatic opera repertoire, notably portraying roles like Carmen, Amneris, and Ortrud at prestigious venues such as La Scala di Milano and opera houses in Copenhagen and Shanghai. Her artistic collaborations include work with renowned conductors like Zubin Mehta, Raffael Frühbeck de Burgos, and Teodor Currentzis. She has achieved significant success on the concert platform, performing works by Mahler, Verdi, Brahms, and Wagner. Specializes in dramatic mezzo-soprano roles Active in international opera and concert stages Teaches vocal performance at the university level Collaborated with major orchestras and conductors
Donnacha M. Dennehy is a Professor of Music at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton Sound Kitchen. Previously a tenured lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, he was appointed a Global Scholar at Princeton University in Autumn 2012 and joined the music faculty in 2014. Dennehy founded Crash Ensemble, Ireland's renowned new music group, in 1997 after returning to Ireland from studies in the USA, France, and Holland. Dennehy's research interests focus on contemporary composition with particular emphasis on opera, experimental music theatre, overtone series exploration, and ensemble music. His work bridges traditional composition with innovative approaches to sound and performance, often incorporating elements of Irish musical tradition within contemporary frameworks. He has developed a distinctive compositional voice that has earned him international recognition. His compositions have been performed at major festivals and venues worldwide including the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Opera House London, Carnegie Hall New York, The Barbican London, and many others. Dennehy's work shows consistent exploration of narrative structures within contemporary classical music, with a particular interest in collaborations across artistic disciplines including theatre, visual arts, and literature. Scientific Awards: Elected to Aosdána (Ireland's Academy of Creative Artists), 2005 Fulbright Scholarship Irish Times Theatre Award for best opera (for The Last Hotel), 2015 International Rostrum of Composers 'recommended' for Crane, 2010 Dennehy has received numerous commissions from prestigious organizations including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, BBC, and RTE National Symphony Orchestra. His collaborations extend to renowned artists including Dawn Upshaw, Kronos Quartet, and writers Colm Tóibín and Enda Walsh. As Director of Princeton Sound Kitchen, he leads an ensemble dedicated to innovative contemporary music performance and creation. Dennehy's work with Crash Ensemble has been particularly influential in the new music scene, with their 2011 Nonesuch release of his music, Grá agus Bás, named by NPR as one of its '50 favorite albums' of 2011. His teaching at Princeton includes courses in composition, instrumentation, and music theory through performance.
Steven D. Zohn is the Laura H. Carnell Professor at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. He holds a PhD and MA in musicology from Cornell University and an AB in music from Vassar College. As a leading Telemann scholar, his research spans intersections of style and genre, print culture, reception history, domestic music-making, historical performance practices, and music as intellectual property. PhD, Musicology, Cornell University MA, Musicology, Cornell University AB, Music, Vassar College Zohn’s research emphasizes Telemann’s instrumental works, sacred vocal music, and cultural contexts, as well as Bach family studies and Enlightenment-era salon culture. His publications include influential books like Music for a Mixed Taste and Telemann Studies , alongside critical editions and articles in Journal of the American Musicological Society and Oxford Handbooks Online . In 2022, he received the Georg Philipp Telemann Award from Magdeburg for his contributions to Telemann research. Other accolades include the Noah Greenberg Award and the William H. Scheide Prize. He co-edits the Bach Perspectives series and serves on editorial boards, including Telemann’s Musikalische Werke . Zohn also performs on historical flutes with ensembles like Night Music and Philadelphia Bach Collegium, with recordings on Acis, Avie, and Chandos labels. His courses explore domestic musicking, Bach’s cantatas, and unaccompanied instrumental works.
Isolde Schmid-Reiter serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film and Media Studies at the University of Vienna, where she specializes in performance theory and media analysis within the performing arts discipline. Her research spans Theatre Studies, Film Studies, and Media Studies with focused expertise in Performance Analysis, Music Theatre, and Opera Studies. She examines staging practices, audience reception, and interdisciplinary connections between theatrical forms and media technologies, particularly investigating how terror narratives manifest in film (e.g., Val Lewton productions) and how opera interfaces with academic discourse. Dr. Schmid-Reiter teaches core courses including Performance and Staging Analysis across multiple semesters (2024W, 2025W, 2025S), Conversations about Music Theatre (2025W), Val Lewton - The Reality of Terror (2025S), and Opera Dialogues: Academia meets practice (2025S). Her pedagogical approach bridges theoretical frameworks with practical applications in musical theatre and opera. Office hours are held Wednesdays 12-13 at Hofburg, Batthyanystiege, Room 0101, with contact via isolde.schmid-reiter@univie.ac.at or +43-1-4277-48432.
Isidora Miranda serves as an Assistant Professor of the Practice in Musicology and Ethnomusicology at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. Her scholarly work centers on the history of music and theater in the Philippines during the early twentieth century, with particular attention to cultural nationalism and the construction of racial and gendered identities through performance under U.S. colonial rule. Her academic credentials include a Bachelor of Music from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Music in violin performance and musicology from Western Illinois University, and a Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Miranda's research interests are deeply rooted in Musicology and Ethnomusicology , with specialized focus on Philippine music history , colonial-era theater , and gender studies . She examines how performance practices, especially the Tagalog zarzuela, became sites of cultural resistance and identity formation. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges historical musicology, postcolonial theory, and Southeast Asian studies. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory in Southeast Asian music scholarship, particularly Philippine theater and opera of the early 1900s. Her work on figures like Atang de la Rama and the zarzuela genre has significantly contributed to understanding the interplay of art, politics, and identity in colonial contexts. Her distinguished record of scholarly recognition includes: American Musicological Society's resident fellowship at the Newberry Library Mellon Research Fellowship on Original Sources by the Council for Library and Information Resources 2022 American Council of Learned Societies Fellowship Dr. Miranda has secured substantial research funding through these competitive fellowships, which have enabled her archival work and book project on Tagalog zarzuela. Beyond academia, she maintains an active performance career as a violinist with ensembles spanning classical, klezmer, and Brazilian forró traditions, reflecting her commitment to embodied musical knowledge. Though not leading a formal research laboratory, her collaborative projects with musical groups and her integration of performance practice into scholarship exemplify a holistic approach to music studies.
Matthew Shlomowitz is Professor of Composition at the University of Southampton, actively engaged in contemporary music creation and scholarly work. His position places him at the forefront of innovative compositional practices, with collaborations spanning international ensembles and performers including Rubiks Collective, Ensemble Nikel, and major orchestras worldwide. Shlomowitz's research explores contemporary composition with particular focus on notions of artistic voice, music theatre including performance-lectures, neoclassicism, polytonality, and instrumental music with recorded sound. His work investigates technical approaches within music composition, historical textures, and forms that have fallen out of circulation within contemporary music making, seeking new potentialities for these techniques. His publications reveal a consistent exploration of polytonality across multiple volumes, theatrical works spanning monodramas to collaborative pieces, and scholarly examinations of artistic identity in contemporary music. The works demonstrate his interdisciplinary approach that bridges composition, performance art, and musicology, with particular emphasis on the relationship between historical techniques and contemporary practice. Scientific Awards: Johann-Joseph-Fux-Opernkomposition prize by Land Steiermark (2015) Professor Shlomowitz currently supervises multiple PhD students in Music at the University of Southampton, including James Douglas Howell, Linhao Li, Max Syed-Tollan, and Timothy Cape. He has taught on prestigious short courses internationally including Darmstadt Summer Courses (Germany), Impuls Academy (Austria), Time of Music (Finland), Tzlil Meudcan Summer Course (Israel), and Ensemble Offspring Hatched Academy (Australia). Beyond his academic work, he co-directs the new music group Plus Minus Ensemble and hosts the Soundmaking podcast, creating platforms for contemporary musical discourse and performance.
Nanette Nielsen is a Professor at the Department of Musicology, University of Oslo (UiO), and a core member of the RITMO Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Rhythm, Time, and Movement. She has been affiliated with UiO since 2015, following academic roles at the University of Nottingham (2009–2015) and the University of East Anglia (2005–2009). Education: BA in Musicology and Philosophy, University of Copenhagen MMUS and PhD, Royal Holloway, University of London Her research bridges music and philosophy, focusing on ethics, aesthetics, and phenomenology in 20th- and 21st-century contexts. She explores film music, rhythm and temporality in musical experience, popular music, Scandinavian music, and opera/music criticism during the Weimar Republic. Recent publications reflect an interdisciplinary lens combining 4E/4A cognition (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Extended + Affect, Agency, Affordance, Autonomy) with music phenomenology. Key themes include audience engagement, dynamic listening, and music as a cognitive scaffold. Scientific Awards: 2014 Jerome Roche Prize for her article on Ernst Krenek's Jonny spielt auf She leads research projects such as Bodies in Concert and contributes to groups like Engagement and Absorption and Nordic Sounds: Critical Music Research Group .
Professor Daniel Rettenwander is a Full Professor at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), leading the Battery Materials Team within FACET. He also directs the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Solid-state Batteries and serves as Principle Scientist at the Center for Transport Technologies (Battery Technologies) at AIT Austrian Institute of Technology. His research focuses on advanced solid-state battery materials, particularly solid-state electrolytes and cathode materials for next-generation electric vehicle batteries. Key research interests include the development of high-performance solid electrolytes, interface engineering in batteries, and overcoming challenges in solid-state battery design such as dendrite formation and interfacial degradation. His work bridges fundamental materials science with applied electrochemical engineering, addressing critical barriers to commercializing solid-state batteries. Notable achievements include over 75 peer-reviewed publications, numerous awards including the Emerging Investigator awards (Chem. Comm., Journal of Physics: Energy), and leadership in major EU and national grants. His team’s work has been highlighted in media outlets like Gemini and Krone.at, emphasizing breakthroughs in battery materials science. Funding includes projects like OPERA (HORIZON-CL5-2022), SOLIMEC (M-ERA.NET), and CDG-supported initiatives. He supervises a dynamic team of PhD candidates and postdocs, advancing interdisciplinary research at the intersection of materials chemistry and energy storage technologies.
Associate Professor Antony Moulis is a faculty member at the University of Queensland's School of Architecture, Design and Planning, where he also serves as Deputy Head of School. He holds a Bachelor of Design Studies and a Bachelor degree from UQ. His research focuses on productive cities, urban retrofit, and global architectural knowledge transfer, with notable contributions to books like House, Precinct, Territory (2023) and Le Corbusier in the Antipodes (2021). He collaborates with industry on projects addressing micro-urban resilience, energy transitions, and cross-cultural architectural exchanges. Research interests include urban infill housing strategies, architectural techniques from the 20th to 21st century, and the global influence of figures like Le Corbusier. He led UQ's participation in the Water Sensitive Cities CRC, focusing on green infrastructure and urban intensification. Awards include the 2025 Architecture Australia Prize for Unbuilt Work and multiple Queensland Architecture Awards for collaborative designs like the Blue Bower and One Room Tower. His work spans academic and professional journals, with over 50 articles and 4 books. He has supervised numerous research projects and contributed to exhibitions at venues like the Seoul Biennale. Moulis is a past President of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ), and actively engages in architectural historiography and design pedagogy.
Todd Levy is an Adjunct Professor of Clarinet in the Music Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a renowned performer with principal clarinet roles in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO), The Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, and frequent collaborations with major orchestras including The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra. A three-time Grammy Award winner, Levy has performed at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and the Mostly Mozart Festival, and has worked with conductors such as James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach, and Seiji Ozawa. Education: MM & BM in Clarinet from The Juilliard School His research interests focus on advanced clarinet performance techniques, contemporary repertoire interpretation, and chamber music collaboration. He has premiered works by composers including John Harbison and Joan Tower, and his recordings span labels like Deutsche Grammophon and Avie Records. Levy also co-directs Chamber Music Milwaukee and is a Vandoren/Selmer artist. His discography includes major works like the Brahms Clarinet Sonatas and The Clarinet Collection series. Notable collaborations include performances with the Guarneri Quartet, Juilliard Quartet, and violinist Pinchas Zukerman. Awards: 3× Grammy Awards, Naumburg Award (Aspen Wind Quintet) Teaching focuses on clarinet pedagogy and ensemble performance, with over 20 recorded chamber music CDs to his credit. Active in both academic and professional musical communities, he combines performance excellence with educational outreach.
Dr. Shaun Brown is the Director of Performance and Voice Performance Fellow at The University of Queensland's School of Music, within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas and a Master's from UQ. His career spans over three decades with Opera Queensland, where he has performed in over 50 productions, including Don Giovanni, Carmen, and Così fan Tutte. Internationally, he has collaborated with institutions like Opéra de Lyon and the Center for Contemporary Opera in New York. His research focuses on vocal performance practices, particularly Erich Korngold's early Lieder. Notable performances include roles in Britten’s War Requiem, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, and Handel’s Messiah. Recent engagements include OQ’s Festival of Outback Opera productions and recitals with Brisbane Music Festival. He actively participates in workshops, masterclasses, and community arts initiatives. Education: Doctor of Musical Arts, University of North Texas Masters (Coursework), The University of Queensland Research interests emphasize historical vocal performance techniques, interpretation of 20th-century Lieder, and contemporary opera. His 2016 thesis on Korngold’s works highlights interdisciplinary approaches to vocal pedagogy and musical analysis. Though no explicit awards are listed, his critical acclaim and long-term institutional contributions reflect professional recognition. He oversees performance training at UQ, mentoring emerging artists through Opera Queensland’s Young Artist program. Collaborations include Brisbane Chorale, Queensland Youth Orchestras, and festivals like Jimbour’s Outback Opera. Key venues include Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Lyric Theatre, and St John's Cathedral, showcasing his versatility across operatic, concert, and recital formats.
Dr Andrew Killick is a Reader in Ethnomusicology at the University of Sheffield’s School of Languages, Arts and Societies, and Director of the MA in Traditional and World Music (distance learning). His research focuses on Korean traditional music, global notation systems, and world music analysis. He holds a BMus from the University of Edinburgh, an MA from the University of Hawaii, and a PhD from the University of Washington, with extensive fieldwork in Korea. His work emphasizes holistic musicological approaches, including the development of Global Notation , a universal music transcription system. He has published widely on topics such as Korean musical theatre (Ch’angguk), Hwang Byungki’s compositions, and cross-cultural musical analysis. Killick has supervised over 20 PhD students, covering diverse topics from Nigerian popular music to Cretan flute adaptations. Key research areas include ethnomusicological methodology, the interconnectedness of global musical traditions, and the role of notation in preserving cultural heritage. His recent projects explore how musical ideas spread through cultural contact and aim to challenge Eurocentric narratives in world music studies. Education: PhD in Music (Ethnomusicology), University of Washington, 1998 MA in Music (Ethnomusicology), University of Hawaii, 1990 BMus in Music, University of Edinburgh, 1984 Professional Roles: Co-editor, Yearbook for Traditional Music (2007–2010) President, Association for Korean Music Research (2000–2002) Notable Publications: Hwang Byungki: Traditional Music and the Contemporary Composer (2013) In Search of Korean Traditional Opera: Discourses of Ch’angguk (2010) Co-author of Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Vol. 7: East Asia (2002) Labs/Initiatives: Founder of Global Notation , a project promoting culturally inclusive music transcription
Dr. Christine Matzke is a Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Bayreuth's Faculty of Languages and Literatures. She joined in 2011 after teaching at Goethe-University Frankfurt and Humboldt-Universität Berlin. Her research focuses on African theatre (especially Eritrean), postcolonial crime fiction, and medical humanities. She has held editorial roles for African Theatre and Matatu , and is active in academic societies like AfTA and IFTR. Her academic journey includes a PhD from the University of Leeds (2003) and studies at Goethe-University and Queen Mary, University of London. She has authored/co-edited volumes on African theatre history, crime fiction, and diaspora studies. Recent works include entries in Kindlers Literatur Lexikon and co-editing African Theatre 19: Opera & Music Theatre (2020). Research interests span Eritrean performing arts, Shakespeare adaptations, and transnational cultural studies. She collaborates internationally on projects like analyzing a 1960s German-Nigerian TV production. Her publications reflect interdisciplinary engagement with theatre historiography, colonial legacies, and performance in conflict zones.
Rhonda S. Hackworth is an Associate Professor of Music Education at the University of Mississippi, where she serves as Head of Music Education and Graduate Program Coordinator. She holds a Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and an M.M. in Vocal Performance. Current role: Associate Professor of Music Education Key responsibilities: Graduate Program Coordinator, thesis/dissertation director Previous institutions: Rutgers University, Syracuse University, University of Missouri-Kansas City Research Interests Dr. Hackworth specializes in vocal health for music educators and students, with a secondary focus on music perception. Her work examines vocal hygiene practices, the impact of teaching experience on vocal health, and musical tension in Debussy’s compositions. She has published extensively in journals like the Journal of Research in Music Education and International Journal of Music Education , and her research spans both empirical studies and literature reviews. Publications Trends Her scholarship bridges music education and vocal health, particularly addressing how pedagogical practices affect vocal wellness. Subfields include behavioral intervention strategies, multilingual text analysis in vocal works, and choral participation models. Professional Engagement Dr. Hackworth presents research at international and national conferences, with presentations in Greece, China, and Italy. She also performs as an alto soloist in concert, opera, and musical theater settings.
Christof Weiß is a Professor for Computational Humanities at the CAIDAS / Institute of Computer Science, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), Germany. He serves as Head of the DFG-funded Emmy Noether group on Computational Analysis of Music Audio Recordings: A Cross-Version Approach. His academic journey includes previous positions as Visiting Researcher at University Télécom Paris (2021), Visiting Lecturer at Karlsruhe University of Music (2020, 2021), and Research Assistant at International Audio Laboratories Erlangen (2015-2022) and Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology (2012-2015). His educational background encompasses a PhD in Media Technology from University of Technology Ilmenau (2017), Concert Diploma in Composition from Würzburg University of Music (2012), Physics Diploma from University of Würzburg (2012), and Music Diploma in Composition from Würzburg University of Music (2011). This unique combination of technical and artistic training forms the foundation of his interdisciplinary research approach. Weiß's research operates at the critical intersection of computer science and musicology, developing novel computational methods for analyzing musical structures in audio recordings. His work bridges technical audio processing with musicological insights, creating methodologies for tonal analysis, key estimation, and cross-version comparison of musical performances. His approach combines deep learning techniques with music theory to extract meaningful patterns from large music corpora, enabling new forms of musicological corpus studies that were previously impossible. His recent publications reveal a clear research trajectory toward integrating advanced machine learning with fundamental musicological questions. The consistent theme across his work involves analyzing classical music structures through computational lenses, with particular emphasis on cross-version consistency in performances, tonal complexity measurement, and developing datasets that support computational musicology. His publications span both highly technical audio processing journals and musicology-focused venues, demonstrating his commitment to bridging these disciplines. Best paper award at the 4th conference on Computational Humanities Research (CHR), 2023 KlarText award for science communication of the Klaus Tschira Foundation, 2018 2nd prize at Festival Pablo Casals composition competition, Prades (France), 2013 Youth Cultural Advancement Award (Kulturförderpreis) of the city of Amberg, Germany, 2011 As principal investigator of the DFG Emmy Noether group, Weiß leads a multidisciplinary research team investigating computational analysis of music audio recordings through a cross-version approach. His research has secured significant funding including the prestigious Emmy Noether program, supporting doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working on various aspects of music information retrieval and computational humanities. His collaborative network spans institutions across Europe, including University Télécom Paris, Queen Mary University of London, and multiple German research centers. Weiß leads the Computational Humanities research group at CAIDAS, which focuses on developing computational methodologies for music analysis with particular emphasis on classical repertoire. The lab creates specialized datasets (including the Wagner Ring Dataset and Schubert Winterreise Dataset), develops algorithms for structural music analysis, and applies these tools to address musicological questions that require computational scale and precision. Their work bridges the gap between technical audio processing capabilities and humanities research questions, creating new pathways for understanding musical structure and evolution.
