معرفی
Simon Høffding is an Associate Professor at the Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), and Senior Researcher at the University of Oslo's RITMO Centre. His interdisciplinary work bridges phenomenology, cognitive science, and musicology to investigate artistic expertise and aesthetic experience through mixed-methods approaches.
Høffding's research focuses on musical absorption phenomena, combining qualitative phenomenological interviews with physiological measures (eyetracking, motion capture, cardiac synchronization) in concert settings. His foundational 2019 monograph A Phenomenology of Musical Absorption established frameworks for studying artists' loss of self-time-place awareness, developed through a decade-long collaboration with The Danish String Quartet.
His recent publications (2023-2025) reveal three key trends: (1) Naturalistic concert audience studies using the MusicLab Copenhagen dataset, (2) Enactivist approaches to music therapy development, and (3) Physiological correlates of shared absorption in ensemble performance. This work demonstrates increasing methodological sophistication through real-world application of mixed-methods designs.
Notable recognitions include:
- DR P2's Event of the Year (2022) for "Årets klassiske begivenhed"
- Article of the Year award (2022)
Høffding serves as editor for Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences and Journal of Consciousness Studies, while leading the MusicLab Copenhagen initiative that secures grants for interdisciplinary projects. His current work develops a "science concert" integrating research with performance, with future directions targeting clinical applications in music therapy from 2021 onward.
He directs the MusicLab Copenhagen research collective, which coordinates European collaborations using motion capture and physiological monitoring to study audience experiences during live performances, with the Danish String Quartet as core artistic partners in experimental designs.
