The Institute of Composition and Music Theory

About us

Head:
prof. AMP dr hab. Monika Kędziora
e-mail: mkedziora@amuz.edu.pl

Deputy Head:
dr hab. Agnieszka Zdrojek-Suchodolska
e-mail: azdrojeksuchodolska@amuz.edu.pl

 

Contact

room D120 | Mon – Fri | 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
phone (+48) 61 856 89 32
mgr Jagoda Musiał | e-mail: jmusial@amuz.edu.pl
mgr Zofia Zwierzchowska | e-mail: zzwierzchowska@amuz.edu.pl

 

The Institute of Composition and Music Theory is one of the four institutes that make up the Faculty of Composition, Conducting, Vocal Studies, Music Theory and Artistic Education of the Academy of Music in Poznań.

The Institute comprises four substantive units:

 

The Department of Composition

Head: prof. dr hab. Artur Kroschel
e-mail: akroschel@amuz.edu.pl

The unit associates both outstanding and renowned composers of contemporary music, including music that takes advantage of contemporary multimedia, and young pedagogues at the beginning of their teaching and artistic path. The main tasks of the Department are focused around organizing of concerts of teachers’ and students’ compositions and other related events such as competitions, lectures, workshops, and master classes, including the International Composers’ Forum in Poznań. The Department closely collaborates with the Poznań branch of the Polish Composers’ Union, the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Poznań Music Spring”, as well as universities and institutions in Poland and abroad. This makes it possible for the unit to fulfill its basic objectives: dissemination of contemporary music and cultivation of artistic achievements of previous generations of artists associated with the Academy. Another important area of the unit’s activity is supporting students in their undertakings, including supervision of the Artistic-Academic Circle of Students of Composition and Music Theory.

 

The Department of Music Theory

Head: dr Julia Gołębiowska
e-mail: jgolebiowska@amuz.edu.pl

The Department was established in 2015; previously – since 1993 – it operated as the Section of Music Theory founded on the initiative of dr Janina Tatarska. The unit is made up of music theorists, musicologists, historians, and music psychologists – teachers of the Academy of Music in Poznań. The main tasks of the Department include initiating and conducting research works connected with the development of music theory as a subject, supervising the research of the unit’s members, organizing academic conferences, symposiums, workshops, and lectures – the flagship work is “Musica practica, musica theoretica” – a cyclical international conference that has been held for nearly twenty years now. The subject matter of artistic-academic projects and research conducted by the Department’s members is focused around the music of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, especially Polish music, as well as studies on the musical culture of Poznań. The Department also supervises the publication of the unit’s periodical “De musica commentarii” and academic activities of the students of the Faculty.

 

The Department of Eurhythmics and Piano Improvisation

Head: dr hab. Agnieszka Chenczke-Orłowska
e-mail: achenczkeorlowska@amuz.edu.pl

The main tasks of the Department are concentrated around educating its members as well as organizing and conducting artistic, academic, and teaching work in the field of Eurhythmics. The unit exercises substantive supervision over main subjects within the specialty of Eurhythmics, determines the curriculum and examination requirements. As part of their academic activity, the Department’s members participate in academic conferences and sessions, taking up in their research the topics of eurhythmics, dance, choreography, and issues related to rhythmic therapy. The unit also organizes concerts to present both movement compositions of musical works from different eras, as well as piano improvisations.

 

The Section of Creation, Perception and Music Notation

Head: dr hab. Katarzyna Taborowska-Kaszuba
e-mail: ktaborowska@amuz.edu.pl

The Section was established in 2016 as a continuation of the works of the Inter-Faculty Ear Training Section, which operated in the years 2012-2016 under the supervision of dr Anna Kędzierska, preceded by the Ear Training Unit, which functioned from 1995 under the supervision of mgr Lidia Kierończyk. The unit is made up of the staff of different institutes, mainly composers and music theorists. They conduct academic, research and consulting activity in the area of broadly understood ear training, classical and contemporary harmony teaching, and improvisation. The main objectives of the Department include developing academic research projects and publishing research results, including teaching materials (the unit’s output takes in articles and notes), organizing courses, workshops and scientific-methodical conferences, and presenting the academic achievements of the Unit’s members.

 

The Section of Film and Theater Music

Head: prof. Zbigniew Kozub
e-mail: zkozub@amuz.edu.pl

The Section of Film and Theater Music trains composers focused on the composition and production of film and theater music using the latest technologies to create music and multimedia forms along with the application of computer tools in performance practice. The course combines classical music education with practical compositional, technological and narrative skills necessary for work in feature films, documentaries, animation and advertising. Students learn how to build musical dramaturgy, work with musical themes and motifs, and adapt music to the editing and rhythm of a picture. Learning how to use music software (including DAWs, plug-ins, samplers) plays an important role. An essential element is the ability to write scores for an orchestra, both classical and hybrid (combining acoustic and electronic instruments). In addition to practice, students also explore the history of film music and the aesthetics and functions of music in film. The Section collaborates with the Department of Animation at the University of Fine Arts in Poznań, which gives students the opportunity to consult with directors and animators and soundtrack student film shorts.