Postdigital Lutherie

The Tangible Music Lab at the University of Art and Design Linz, in collaboration with the Institute of Computer Music at the Anton Bruckner University Linz, is offering an academic master program on Postdigital Lutherie dedicated to the design and performance of postdigital musical instruments.

Led by Prof. Martin Kaltenbrunner and Prof. Volkmar Klien this international english program explores the multidisciplinary aspects of design & technology and composition & performance as well as the artistic & theoretical foundations of New Instruments for Musical Expression (NIME).

The design of musical instruments is already looking back to a long cultural and artistic tradition throughout the millennia. With the development of electronic music during the last century we have experienced a radical paradigmatic shift, which accelerated during the past decades through the further advances in digitalization of music and the following virtualization of instruments. Postdigital Lutherie intends to reflect these developments by reconnecting the various aspects of acoustic, electronic and digital design of musical instruments again within tangible sonic artifacts for musical expression. This opens new design perspectives and artistic possibilities for established cultural techniques and musical practices in the context of an ongoing digitalization.

Structure and Scope

Postdigital Lutherie is an academic four-semester master program (120 ECTS) in English language, which reflects the overall topic of musical instrument design from the various perspectives in Design & Technology, Composition & Performance as well as Media- and Art Theories. These three core columns (each 15 ECTS) are supported by the central Artistic Subject (30 ECTS) and a block of Free Electives (15 ECTS), and are concluded with a practical and theoretical Master Project (30 ECTS). Admission to the program requires a diploma or bachelor degree in a related subject, candidates are required to successfully pass an entrance interview.

Admission

Admission will open during April and the entrance exams  for 2024 will take place in early July and early September 2024. Please get in contact with Martin Kaltenbrunner for further information.