Clara Wenz

Clara Wenz is a researcher at the Institute for Music Research, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Würzburg. She holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from SOAS, University of London, and completed postdoctoral work at the Martin Buber Society of Fellows, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

• BA in Philosophy (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich)
• MA in Middle Eastern Studies with focus on music (SOAS, London)
• PhD in Ethnomusicology (SOAS, London, 2019)

Her research explores music in the WANA (West Asia/North Africa) region, Arab-Jewish musical histories, Jewish music in Franconia, and intersections of music with migration, conflict, and memory. She is currently pursuing habilitation on horses in contemporary Arab song through a musical-equestrian ethnography of raqs al-kheil.

Her publications and curatorial projects, such as Syrian Soundtracks in Würzburg (2023), analyze sonic legacies of displacement. Her 2023 monograph on electro-tarab and Syrian war experiences synthesizes fieldwork in Berlin, Beirut, Istanbul, and the Levant.

Scientific Recognition:

• Doctoral scholar (German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2015–2019)
• Martin Buber Society postdoc fellowship (2019–2021)
• Jubilee Foundation grant, University of Würzburg
• Mildred Loss and Sir Jack Lyons studentships (Jewish Music Institute, London)
• Member of the Junge Kolleg (Young Academy), Bavarian Academy of Sciences (since 2023)

Clara co-curated the Syrian Soundtracks in Würzburg exhibition and event series with Oliver Wiener. Her field research spans Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, and Germany.