Professor Johannes Schwarz serves as Acting Professor for Contemporary Chamber Music at the University of Music Würzburg since April 2025. He maintains active teaching positions at the Frankfurt and Stuttgart Academies of Music, and regularly conducts workshops at international festivals including those in Lucerne and Darmstadt. As principal bassoonist with Ensemble Modern since 2003, he has established himself as a versatile performer working across diverse musical genres and collaborative projects. Professor Schwarz's research interests span contemporary chamber music performance, bassoon technique innovation, and the integration of live electronics with acoustic instruments. His work bridges traditional classical performance practices with experimental approaches, including free improvisation, period instrument performance, and cross-genre collaborations that extend to heavy metal and electronic music. He has pioneered new techniques for bassoon performance that have expanded the instrument's expressive capabilities in contemporary contexts. His artistic output demonstrates a consistent focus on expanding the bassoon repertoire through commissions and collaborations with leading contemporary composers. The development of the comprehensive digital sound collection for bassoon in 2018 represents a significant contribution to contemporary bassoon performance practice, influencing new compositions worldwide. His performance projects often incorporate multimedia elements, as evidenced by his solo music theater production 'UNA SOLO' (2018/19) and the 2023 performance 'Blow the Mausoleum' in Dessau. During his career, Professor Schwarz has held significant leadership roles including artistic director of the International Ensemble Modern Academy (2013-2018) and organizer of the international chamber music course for the Klangspuren Festival in Innsbruck (2008-2022), where he collaborated with renowned composers such as George Benjamin, Unsuk Chin, and Sofia Gubaidulina.







