Finally, I have an official professorship in Germany

I am very happy that, as of today, I can call myself a “professor” in Germany. After an application process that took about two and a half years, I signed all the official documents the day before yesterday and, as of October 1, 2025, I will be Professor of “Ensemble Conducting New Music” at the University of Arts in Bremen.

Although I have been associated with this institute for 13½ years, various circumstances have caused the status of my job to change several times. I started in 2012 as a “Künstlerischer Mitarbeiter” (artistic associate) employed in the new music department “Atelier Neue Musik”. After two and a half years, I became a “Lehrbeauftragter” (adjunct lecturer) there. The content of my work did not change. After the University of Arts decided that new music should be given more weight by adding a professorship, it took many years – partly due to the Corona period – before the new position of “Ensemble Conducting New Music” was advertised. After an extensive and careful international application process, it turned out that all the committees and authorities within the University and Bremen politics supported the application committee’s proposal to nominate me for this job.

At the age of 32, I started my first job in Germany as a “Lehrbeauftragter”, namely as conductor of the Münster Conservatory Orchestra. I enjoyed working there for 17 years. Overlapping with my work in Münster, in 2005 I was appointed to a “Vertretungsprofessur C4” (substitute professorship) position as conductor of the conservatory orchestra at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, later adding the leadership of Ensemble 21 for contemporary music. At the same time, I was “Universitätsmusikdirektor” (University Music Director) at the University of Hamburg for some time. After working in Hamburg for seven years, I moved to Bremen, where I have now been working for more than 13 years.

I have been working in Germany for exactly half my life now, a country where people care about culture, where being a musician is an appreciated profession, and where I will happily continue to work for a number of years to come.

I would like to thank the University of Arts in Bremen for their appreciation and trust in my work over the past years, as well as everyone who contributed to making this “promotion” possible.

During my inaugural concert, which will take place on November 27, 2025, at 8 p.m. in the concert hall of the Bremen Conservatory, I will conduct works by Boulez, Berio, and Pagh-Paan. Prof. Tanja Tetzlaff (cello), Prof. Christian Hommel (oboe), and Prof. Andreas Mäder (flute) will be performing as soloists. Admission is free. Everyone is welcome!