Several professors will join the faculty of the University of Music Würzburg (HfM) at the start of the 2024/25 winter semester:

Friedemann Brennecke, born in 1988, studied music theory and composition in Hamburg, Paris, Freiburg and Essen. He has taught at the universities in Mainz, Bremen, Münster, Düsseldorf and Essen and has been Professor of Music Theory at the University of Music Würzburg since the winter semester 2024/25. His research focuses on music of the 17th century, while in teaching he is particularly interested in historical and contemporary improvisation. As a composer, Brennecke has created chamber music, works for dance theater, historical instruments and a chamber opera.

Erika Geldsetzer has been a violinist with the renowned Fauré Quartet since 1995 and a lecturer in violin at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2014. She will take up her professorship for violin at the University of Music Würzburg at the start of the winter semester. She performs with the Fauré Quartet on major international stages, including London, New York and Tokyo, as well as at renowned festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Rheingau Music Festival. The quartet has released numerous award-winning recordings, including Deutsche Grammophon and Sony. In addition to her chamber music, Erika Geldsetzer gives solo concerts worldwide and regularly gives master classes.

The Slovenian conductor Andreja Šolar will be a professor of wind orchestra conducting at the University of Music Würzburg from fall 2024. Šolar studied conducting with renowned maestros such as Marko Letonja in Ljubljana and Jan Cober in the Netherlands. Her extensive international experience includes conducting symphony and wind orchestras throughout Europe, including the Brașov Philharmonic Orchestra, the MÁV Symphony Orchestra Budapest and the Banda Sinfónica Municipal de Madrid. In 2022, she won third prize and the special prize for best female conductor at the International Conducting Competition in Brașov. In addition to her teaching activities, she regularly gives seminars for wind orchestra conductors.