Prof. Dr. Moritz Heffter

Moritz Heffter studied music theory and school music at the Freiburg University of Music (D) and Latin at Albert Ludwig University, Freiburg (D).

He has been a member of the academic staff of the Freiburg University of Music since 2012. The subject of his PhD thesis was 17th century music theory, in particular early triad concepts, and specifically the triga harmonica concept developed by Henricus Baryphonus. Prof. Heffter previously taught at the Institute for Early Music at the Trossingen University of Music, the HfK Bremen, the Department of Musicology at the Freiburg University of Music, and the HfM Karlsruhe.

The focus of his current work is the digital humanities, specifically the development and refinement of tools for use in both research and teaching. In recent years, a number of apps have been created which aim to support and supplement music theory teaching.

Prof. Heffter conducts and sings with a number of choral ensembles.

Prof. Johannes Kreidler

Johannes Kreidler (1980) studied composition, electronic music and music theory in Freiburg (D) and The Hague, under leading lights like Mathias Spahlinger and Orm Finnendahl. In 2012 he won the Kranichstein Music Prize awarded by the Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik [Darmstadt Summer University for New Music]. In 2019 he joined the FHNW Academy of Music in Basel as a professor of Composition and Music Theory.

Performances (selected): Donaueschinger Musiktage, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, Ultraschall Berlin, MaerzMusik Berlin, Foreign Affairs Berlin, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Eclat Stuttgart, La Biennale di Veneziag, Gaudeamus Music Week Amsterdam, Warschauer Herbst, Biennale de Musique en Scène Lyon, Ultima Festival Oslo, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Musica Straßburg, MusicAcoustica Festival Peking, Liquid Architecture Melbourne

Publications: Musik mit Musik – Texte 2005-2011, and Sätze über musikalische Konzeptkunst. Texte 2012-2018

Prof. Qiming Yuan

Qiming Yuan was born in Shanghai into a family of musicians. His musical education began at a very early age, first learning to play the violin before moving on to the piano and later the trombone. When he was 11, he entered a music academy in Shanghai, where he specialised in the trombone. Before long, he discovered a passion for composition and began taking classes. Radio Shanghai broadcast his first work for piano, which Qiming Yuan performed himself. Soon afterwards, he became the youngest student of composition under Prof. F. Goldmann at the Berlin University of Arts (UdK). His studies also included orchestral conducting under Prof. H. M. Rabenstein and Prof. M. Husmann. As an exchange student in Copenhagen, he studied composition under Hans Abrahamsen. He was one of 200 entrants at the Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors, and was named among the 10 finalists. His keen interest in connecting with music on a deeper level led him to study music theory under Prof. Fladt. Having graduated from the UdK Berlin in composition, orchestral conducting and music theory, he taught at the HfM Weimar and the HfM Dresden. In 2009 he was appointed Professor of Music Theory at the FHNW Academy of Music in Basel. Alongside his teaching commitments, he successfully completed a postgraduate course in Jazz Piano at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). He has taught composition at the HfMT Cologne since 2017. He has also published many research papers and presented widely in Europe and Asia. His current work focuses on the relationship between cognition, interpretation and perception; the rhythmical function in music; the philosophy of music; historical events and music.

Prof. Michel Roth

Michel Roth, born 1976 in Altdorf, lives in Lucerne. He is professor of composition and music theory at the FHNW Academy of Music Basel and a member of its research department. As long-time director of the Lucerne Studio for Contemporary Music, he worked with Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann and Peter Eötvös, among others. Many radio and CD productions document his work, for which he has received numerous prizes and grants. His works can be heard regularly at international music festivals, including the opera "Im Bau" (2012, Theater Basel, Zurich, Barcelona) and the depressive operetta "Die Künstliche Mutter" (2016, Lucerne Festival, Gare du Nord Basel). He also researches and publishes on music-theoretical and interdisciplinary topics with a focus on game theory and indeterminacy (e.g. David Tudor), collaborative art (e.g. Dieter Roth and his "Rarely Heard Music") and organology (e.g. trombone and percussion playing techniques).