Several lecturers have strengthened the faculty of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg (HfM) since the summer and winter semesters:

Reza Askari was appointed professor of jazz bass for the winter semester. He is one of the most sought-after bassists in contemporary jazz and improvised music and, in addition to his multi-faceted work as a sideman in various national and international formations, has released three albums as a bandleader with his ensemble Roar. Currently, he is also dealing with socially relevant issues in a musically critical way.

Since May of this year, Hannes Brugger has been teaching electroacoustic music and composition with new media at the HfM. In addition to his activities as an instrumentalist, the percussionist devotes himself to electroacoustic music, live electronics and computer music. He expands his professional spectrum by working on digital interfaces of music. With his experience in the fields of performance, stage technology and computer science, he realises elaborate live electronic as well as audiovisual setups.

Prof. Dr. Katharina Deserno was appointed to the professorship of Instrumental and Vocal Pedagogy as part of a "lighthouse" appointment for the winter semester. Katharina Deserno is a music pedagogue­gin, musicologist and cellist. In addition to the artistic-pedagogical Bachelor's degree, she will also supervise the new Master's degree programmes on inclusive music education and community music at the HfM. Publications on topics such as recognition and difference in instrumental and vocal pedagogy and gender studies, CDs for Kaleidos and Wergo, international lecturing and concert activities. Previous teaching positions at the HfMDK Frankfurt, HfM Mainz, HfMT Cologne.

Dr. Regina Götz is a school musician for grammar school teaching (bassoon as main subject) and a qualified psychologist. Parallel to her studies, she trained as a breathing therapist and teacher AFA® according to Prof. Middendorf. In the last ten years she has worked in university teaching and in various research projects on psychological and musical issues at the JMU Würzburg. She wrote her doctoral thesis on the interdisciplinary, developmental psychological topic of Musical Family Learning Environments. Transfer effects on phonological information processing in kindergarten age, taking structural characteristics of origin into account. In the winter semester, Dr Götz took over responsibility for the Music & Health Department at the HfM Würzburg.

Prof. Dr Hannes Ritschel has been appointed to a professorship in Organ Art - Creativity Concepts - AI created as part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria. The professorship focuses on the exploration of creativity in a musical context, including the use of artificial intelligence. In addition to tapping into new sources of inspiration, new interaction concepts are also being developed for the Hyper Organ at the Hochschule für Musik, which expand organ playing with digital tools and multimedia content. As an organist and computer scientist with a doctorate, Hannes Ritschel also coordinates a joint research project with the Würzburg-Schweinfurt University of Applied Sciences.

Dominik Wagner takes over the professorship for double bass. As an ECHO and Opus-Klassik prize winner, the Vienna-born double bassist Dominik Wagner presents his instrument in new facets internationally. His activities as a soloist have taken him to the great halls of Europe such as the Musikverein Vienna, the Philharmonie Berlin or the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg as well as to internationally renowned halls such as Carnegie Hall New York. He has won prizes in almost all double bass competitions and is a scholarship holder of the Anne Sophie Mutter Foundation. Wagner is also a sought-after teacher and regularly gives master classes in Europe and the USA.