Department of Music

The University Choir is open to all students and staff, and – subject to prior consultation – to members of the public as well, and places the emphasis on communal choral singing. Johannes Antoni and advanced students take turns preparing various pieces from the choral repertoire – ranging from Baroque to pop, and from unison canons to polyphonic choral works. Furthermore, working together provides plenty of inspiration and recommendations for choral work and music lessons at school. We rehearse on Fridays from 10:00 am to 11:45 am in room 3.309. Are you interested?

Sing & Swing is a small but excellent vocal ensemble led by Sandra Danyella, which performs either as a mixed group or as an all-female ensemble, depending on the project or the repertoire. To develop into a harmonious ensemble, we aim for members to stay with us for as long as possible, spanning several semesters. Do you enjoy using your voice musically? Then why not come along to the first two rehearsals at the start of the semester? After that, you can decide whether to join permanently. Sandra Danyella looks forward to seeing you! The ensemble currently rehearses on Mondays from 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm in room 3.309.

Our combo is open to all singers and instrumentalists who fancy trying out something new musically. We choose the pieces together – your ideas are very much welcome! Rehearsals take place on Tuesdays from 1:45 pm to 3:15 pm in room 3.309. The ensemble is led by Marco Vincenzi.

Our big band rehearses on Tuesdays from 3:45 pm to 5:15 pm in room 3.309. Here you can expect arranged songs from the big band repertoire – from Count Basie to Adele. A knowledge of musical notation is essential. We usually plan to perform at the summer festival and at the graduation ceremony in November. The ensemble is led by Marco Vincenzi.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned concert professional – in our university’s instrumental ensemble, we manage to bring together different needs and levels of experience to create concert-quality music together. This might be classical music, but it doesn’t have to be! Depending on the line-up and preferences, we organise our term programme so that there’s something for everyone.

We rehearse every Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm in room 3.309 with our conductor, Melina Petzold.

• Start of PhD programme: 2021 (previously at the University of Vechta)
• Planned completion: end of 2026

Content: In recent years, the organ and organ music have received a great deal of attention. There has also been an increase in the number of outreach projects and outreach concerts being organised and developed by organists, church musicians and music educators. But what do these initiatives mean for the future of the organ? This question lies at the heart of the doctoral research project.

• Start of PhD: 2025 (preliminary work at the University of Vechta)
• Planned completion: 2027

Enabling musical and cultural participation for people with dementia – the potential of various musical group settings from the perspective of participants (working title) (co-supervised by Prof. Dr Claudia Meyer)

• Working title: An investigation into different forms of co-creativity when tackling design tasks in music lessons
• Sub-project 10 within the AQUA-d Research and Early-Career College
• Second supervisor: Prof. Dr Marcus Syring, University of Tübingen
• October 2025 to September 2028 (expected)

Content: New tools in the field of generative artificial intelligence open up novel and accessible approaches to the creative engagement with music. Furthermore, real-time processing offers particular potential for improvisational processes in which humans and machines interact collaboratively. This research project aims to investigate the interaction processes between learners and generative AI during improvisation in school music lessons, with a particular focus on the role of human creativity in musical composition processes.

• Full working title: Music programmes at the Uchtspringe forensic psychiatric hospital (Saxony-Anhalt): Factors influencing the strengthening of resources and the promotion of participation, social learning and cultural education
• Principal supervisor: Prof. Dr Daniel Mark Eberhard, KU Eichtätt
• Start of PhD: Winter semester 2022
• Planned completion: Summer semester 2025

Content: When working with offenders with mental health conditions, it is essential to adopt an inclusive approach whilst taking existing security measures into account. To date, there has been no foundational academic research on music-based interventions in forensic psychiatric care. This research project, to be carried out at the Saxony-Anhalt Forensic Psychiatric Centre in Stendal-Uchtspringe, aims to fill this gap. Drawing on examples of ‘good practice’, a qualitative case study will examine how music programmes for offenders with mental health conditions must be designed in order to promote the personal and social resources of those in care as comprehensively as possible, based on the right to cultural education and participation.

• Full working title: Canto ergo sum – The evaluation of creative potential and the conceptualisation of inclusive, intra-group participatory singing programmes with and for people in their third and fourth stages of life, with and without age-related conditions – in particular dementia syndromes
• Second supervisor: Prof. Dr Ute Konrad, Berlin University of the Arts (UdK)
• Working title: Canto ergo sum – The evaluation of design potentials and the 
• conceptualisation of inclusive, intra-group participatory singing programmes with and for people in their third and fourth stages of life, with and without age-related conditions – in particular dementia syndromes 
• Start date: May 2024
• Planned completion: Mid-quarter 2027

Content: This research project investigates how a singing programme for a diverse group of older adults, both with and without age-related conditions, can be designed in a resource-oriented manner and promote participants’ quality of life at the bio-psycho-social level. Furthermore, based on the design-based research approach, the study will investigate the extent to which the use of digital elements can facilitate lower-threshold access to the programme.