Revolutionising Music
Innovation

Welcome to Karajan Music Tech, the annual conference that brings together the brightest minds in music innovation. Join us as we explore the latest trends, technologies, and ideas shaping the future of the music industry.

2024 Programme

Get ready for the technology-focused program full of innovation that Karajan Music Tech 2024 has in store.

9:00 am
Welcome
With Matthias Röder, Max Beckham-Ortner, Nikolai Ardey

Welcome to our full day of music tech, creativity and science!

9:30 am
KeyNote
Mechanisms of Creativity in the Brain
With Arne Dietrich

Explore the neural mechanisms behind creativity in Arne Dietrich's enlightening talk, demystifying the brain's innovative and imaginative processes with scientific clarity.

10:00 am
Panel
Creativity, Neuroscience and AI: Exploring the intersection of human and artificial intelligence
With Lena Nieper, Maximos Kaliakatsos, Arne Dietrich, Ali Nikrang

Join our panel discussion on 'Creativity, Neuroscience, and AI' to delve into the evolving concept of creativity across neuroscience, art, and technology, examining how these fields intersect to drive artistic innovation and redefine our understanding of creative intelligence in humans and machines.

10:45 am
Immersive and Extended Reality and Classical Music
With Franziska Facile, Matthias Röder

Classical music and opera have always been immersive arts, drawing its audience into an alternative and oftentimes different world. How will new extended reality technology change this artform?

11:00 am
Panel
Innovation, Technology and Digitalization in TV Programming for the Performing Arts
With Max Beckham-Ortner, Frank Gerdes, Laetitia Huberti, Robert Zimmermann

Explore the fusion of innovation, technology, and digitalization in performing arts TV programming, as experts from the Karajan Institute and IMZ dissect how these advancements are reshaping content creation, distribution, and audience engagement, paving the way for a new era in arts broadcasting.

12:00 pm
Lunch
With

Grab a bite and meet new people, but don't forget to check back for the next program point!

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12:45 pm
KeyNote
Music Recommendation Systems: What is Fair from the Artists' Perspectives?
With Christine Bauer

Music recommendation systems are indispensable in today's music industry. They provide valuable support in navigating through the vast catalogs of music tracks. These systems suggest similar artists or recommend the next track for us to listen to. But how fair are these systems from the perspective of artists?

1:15 pm
Panel
Entrepreneurship, Technology and Music
With Anna Zo, Kathleen Alder, Antoine Leboyer, Matthias Strobel, Charlie Rapino

Dive into the future of the music industry with our panel on 'Entrepreneurship, Technology, and Music,' exploring the crucial intersection of an entrepreneurial mindset, technological advancements, and musical creativity, and how these elements together shape innovative strategies for artists in a digital world.

2:15 pm
KeyNote
Staging Realities: Towards an Audio-Visual Experimental Space
With Christopher Lindinger

Concepts such as Extended Reality (XR) and Virtual Reality (VR), which expand visual and auditory dimensions of experience, are increasingly gaining importance in the performing arts. The presentation initially provides an overview of previous projects in this area. Subsequently, it offers a perspective on the plans of the X-Reality Lab at the University of Mozarteum. The lab is conceived as an experimental space where performance art and extended audio-visual experiences are innovatively combined.

2:45 pm
Future of Mobility
With Nikolai Ardey, Kathrin Wilkens, Matthias Röder

What is the impact of AI on the field of mobility and how is generative AI creating the entertainment and edutainment offerings in automobiles today?

3:15 pm
Panel
Immersive Experiences, Creativity and Mobility
With Kathrin Wilkens, Jens Feldhaus, Gregor Schmalzried, Yung Spielburg, Elise de Bres

Ever since the advent of hifi systems in cars, the history of mobility and music are closely intertwined. This panel seeks to project this cultural connection into the future, shining a light on immersive technologies and the further development of creativity and mobility.

4:00 pm
Panel
Harmonizing Workplace, Orchestrating Success: The Interplay of Music and Technology in Enhancing Workplace Well-Being
With Valerie Brunner, Walter Werzowa, Ivan Rektor

Discover the harmony of productivity at 'Harmonizing Workplace, Orchestrating Success,' where the crossroads of neuroscience, musicology, and business strategy illuminate the profound impact of music and technology on workplace health, creativity, and overall well-being. Join our elite assembly of thought leaders for a series of enlightening presentations and dynamic panel discussions, unraveling the essential role that music and tech play in sculpting thriving professional environments and fostering holistic success.

4:45 pm
Short Presentations
Music Education and the Impact of Generative AI
With Maia Wiest, Elise de Bres, Claudio Vittori, Ilya Tolchenov

In this session we are looking at a selection of startups across various sectors within music. How is technology shaping the way we learn, experience and create music?

5:30 pm
KeyNote
The Limitless Orchestra and Music Traveler
With Aleksey Igudesman, Julia Rhee, Dominik Joelsohn

Renowned composer and violinist, Aleksey Igudesman introduces his newest project, the Limitless Orchestra and how it is using Tech and Creativity to inspire new love and admiration for music in musicians and audiences alike!

5:50 pm
KeyNote
Moises Horta: How I am Using AI in my Music
With Moises Horta

Our Artist-in_Residence, Moises Horta speaks about his latest project and what role artificial intelligence plays in his work.

6:05 pm
Moises Horta AI Music Performance
With Moises Horta

What would a music conference be without a performance of music?

6:35 pm
Get-together
With

Join us for networking, food and drinks and mingle with the brightest and nicest minds in Music Tech!

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programme

2024 Speakers

We have gathered top musical figures to speak at our event.

Julia Rhee
Music Traveler

Julia Rhee joined Sante Ventures as director in 2009 and founded Alpha Institutes, in 2008. In addition, she is the creator of The Chief Investment Officer Summit® conference series in partnership with CNBC Asia. Prior to Sante Ventures, she was with equity centric hedge fund division of Dominion fund management. Her entrepreneurial and creative career started at age 16 as a classical pianist in Vienna and later transitioned into the world of asset management and venture capital after her departure from the music industry. Julia earned her undergraduate degree from the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien, and a postgraduate degree in Performing Arts from Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique Paris, joint masters in business administration from Stern School of Business, HEC Paris and London School of Economics

Dominik Joelsohn
Music Traveler

Dominik Joelsohn stands as a distinguished co-founding member and Chief Operating Officer at Music Traveler. His impactful journey in the music industry began with a diverse array of projects before his pivotal role at Music Traveler.

Prior to his illustrious career in the music industry, Dominik Joelsohn displayed his intellectual prowess by earning a degree with distinction in architecture from the Vienna University of Technology. His architectural journey included notable contributions to renowned architecture firms in Munich and Vienna. His diverse professional background also spans experiences with esteemed companies like 'Porsche Holding' and 'Unicredit,' showcasing his adaptability and multi-faceted expertise.

Dominik’s trajectory is not only defined by his success in music and architecture but also by his unwavering commitment to excellence across diverse industries, marking him as a distinguished leader in his professional endeavors.

Aleksey Igudesman
Limitless Orchestra

Aleksey Igudesman is internationally known as a violinist, composer, conductor, actor and filmmaker. His numerous compositions are published by Universal Edition and are performed worldwide by soloists, ensembles and orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, often with Igudesman himself as solo violinist and conductor. Igudesman has written for and performed as a soloist on numerous movie soundtracks and has worked with Academy Award winning film composer Hans Zimmer on movies such as “Sherlock Holmes” which was nominated for an Oscar for best original score. In 2012, Igudesman. directed, produced and starred in the feature length mockumentary “Noseland”, featuring John Malkovich, Sir Roger Moore and Julian Rachlin. In recent years he was also directing other productions together with Hyung-ki Joo like ‘Breaking Beethoven’ or ‘Breaking Rachmaninoff’ staring artists like Billy Joel, John Malkovich or Yuja Wang.

Moises Horta

Moisés Horta Valenzuela (1988, he/him) is an artist, technologist and musician from México, working in the fields of computer music, Artificial Intelligence and the history and politics of emerging digital technologies. He has received the award of A.I. Newcomer 2023 by the Association of Informatics of Germany. As 𝔥𝔢𝔵𝔬𝔯𝔠𝔦𝔰𝔪𝔬𝔰 , he crafts an uncanny link between ancient and contemporary technologies through a critical lens in the context of contemporary electronic music and the sonic arts. His work has been presented in Ars Electronica, NeurIPS Machine Learning for creativity and design workshop, MUTEK México, Transart Festival, MUTEK: AI Art Lab Montréal, Elektron Musik Studion, CTM Festival Berlin, KTH: Royal Institute of Technology Stockholm, Intelligent Instruments Lab, Reykjavik, among others. He is currently working as an AI music technologist, developing new instruments utilizing Generative neural networks, independently organized workshops around creative AI art practices centered around sound and image synthesis and the demystification of neural networks. He is also developing SEMILLA.AI, an interface for interacting with generative neural sound synthesizers.

Ilya Tolchenov
Delphos Music

Ilya Tolchenov, CEO and co-founder at Delphos Music, is a composer, singer, mathematician and educator. Ilya has been building scalable and generative music tech for almost a decade and is an authority on working with symbolic music data. Together with a team of music professionals and tech innovators, Ilya is building Delphos - the composition copilot for professional music. It is a solution that allows a single musician to train a fully functional music generation model using exclusively their own music. Ilya's primary areas of research in this field relate to music data extraction and scalable composition techniques with AI.

Franziska Facile
Deutsche Grammophon
Charlie Rapino
Artist First

Charlie Rapino is a seasoned music industry professional with a diverse range of expertise. Currently serving as the Vice President of A&R International and Communication at Artist First, a 360° degrees company which is also Italy's biggest independent, Charlie also holds the position of Vice President of Relations for the Swiss-based WEB3Music Association. With a wealth of experience, Charlie has been appointed as a Non-Executive Board Advisor to the Wrm Fund and serves as a music industry consultant to the Ridley Scott Creative Group, notably contributing to the acclaimed Robbie Williams Netflix series.

Renowned for his groundbreaking work as an A&R executive and independent record producer, Charlie with his business partner Marco Sabiu played a pivotal role in launching Take That to stardom and has contributed to numerous world-wide pop hits during the vibrant music scene of the 90s. Having held executive positions at major players such as Sony Music International and Decca Records, Charlie's expertise extends across various facets of the industry. He has also provided advisory services to esteemed figures such as the legendary maestro Ennio Morricone.

Claudio Vittori
Flower of Sound

Music composer and digital artist with more than a decade of experience in creating immersive sound content. Since 2014 his constant study into neuroscience and research about soundscape environments brought Claudio to produce and compose spatialized audio. From his studies, spatial audio emerged as a more accurate way of recreating the natural way of listening also called real world listening and to enhance the impact on the auditory system and amplifying the emerging emotions. Over the last few years he has extended his research to other immersive disciplines such as virtual reality, augmented reality and ethnomusicology.

Elise de Bres
Flower of Sound

Elise is a creative publisher that ventured with Flower of Sound from books into music. She has a successful publishing company in the Netherlands that focuses on books about mindset and consciousness. Her interests always went beyond this field in how we can combine technology, sound and awareness to positively influence our lives. With Flower of Sound she focuses on extending these possibilities and sharing this message with the world to show the impact of sound and to bring together her entrepreneurial experience, work as a publisher and coach.

Ali Nikrang
Musikhochschule München / Ars Electronica

Ali Nikrang is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher at the intersection of music and artificial intelligence (AI). He is a professor of AI and musical creation at the University of Music and Theatre in Munich and an AI and Music researcher at the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz.

His background is in both technology and art. He studied computer science at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz and composition with a focus on new media at the University Mozarteum in Salzburg. He also holds the first diploma in piano performance from the same university.

His research focuses on the interaction between humans and AI systems in creative environments. It includes the investigation of creative outcomes of AI systems and how they can be guided, improved, and personalized through interaction with human users. As a classical musician and AI researcher, he has been involved in numerous projects combining artificial intelligence and music. He is the creator of the research tool Ricercar, an AI-based collaborative music composition system that can be used for composition in the field of classical music.

Yung Spielburg
Water and Music

Yung Spielburg is a Grammy-award winning producer and songwriter most well known for his work with Japanese multi-hyphenate, MIYAVI. He is also a core team member and collaborative research lead of the music and tech research and intelligence network, Water & Music. You might know him as the voice of the theme on The All In Podcast.

Walter Werzowa
HealthTunes

Walter Werzowa is an inventor of music, composer of number-one hits, music health entrepreneur, and tamer of Artificial Intelligences. A critically acclaimed composer and producer, he has worked on numerous movies by Schwarzenegger, Wenders, and Spielberg. He composed the Intel sound branding as well as that of T-Mobile. Walter has also finished Beethoven’s 10th symphony with the help of an AI. He had artistic collaborations with Robbie Williams and is the composer of the Austrian pop hit “Bring me Edelweiss.” Walter is the founder of HealthTunes, a non-profit that brings the power of music to the healthcare profession. He teaches film composition at Music University Vienna.

Valerie Brunner
Raiffeisenbank International AG

Valerie Brunner is member of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and together with her team, manages RBI’s relationships with Corporate and Institutional Clients.

Overall, Valerie has >30 years of banking experience, of which she spent 18 years in senior management positions.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Business Administration from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and an Executive MBA from INSEAD, Fontainebleau.

Besides Banking, Valerie is passionate about psychology and currently pursues the Master Study Program Psychotherapy Science at Sigmund Freud University, Vienna.

Robert Zimmermann
Deutsche Grammophon / Stage+

Robert Zimmermann, an entrepreneurial executive with a rich background in media, joined Deutsche Grammophon as Vice President Consumer Business in 2021. His career spans roles as a management consultant, film producer, and executive, highlighted by his tenure from 2008 to 2019 as Managing Director of Berlin Phil Media GmbH. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in the creation and management of the Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall and their in-house label. He successfully managed the production of over forty live concerts annually and significantly expanded the orchestra's digital archive to encompass more than 600 concerts. His achievements also include management and consulting projects for esteemed clients like the World Bank, Lufthansa, and various international banks. Additionally, his creative skills as a partner and film producer at eins54 Film became evident in award-winning music programs such as "Pierrot Lunaire: One Night One Life," Robert Schumann's "Dichterliebe," and the groundbreaking silent film adaptation of Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps," premiered at the Berlinale 2004 accompanied by the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle.

Nikolai Ardey
Volkswagen Group Innovation
Maximos Kaliakatsos
Hellenic Mediterranean University

Dr. Maximos Kaliakatsos-Papakostas is an Associate Professor in AI in Music at the Department of Music Technology and Acoustics, Hellenic Mediterranean University, where he serves as director of the MSc program “Master of Science in Sound and Music Technologies”. He holds a PhD in the Application of Computational Intelligence Methods in Music from the Department of Mathematics, University of Patras, having obtained a Master's Degree in Computational Mathematics and a degree in Mathematics from the same Department. His research interests concern the connection of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods with cognitive science methods through music. He has experience in participating and coordinating European and National research projects, in collaboration with universities in Greece and other European countries. He has also developed commercial audio and music applications, in collaboration with companies and artists in Greece and the USA. He is a collaborating faculty member at the ATHENA Research Center and the School of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.gr/citations?user=BFPQC60AAAAJ&hl=en

Max Beckham-Ortner
International Music + Media Centre

Max Beckham-Ortner is a highly skilled professional with a strong track record in project management, public relations, relationship management, international business development, and cultural management. His experience spans a variety of industries, including music and media, non-profit organizations, entertainment, and the arts. As Secretary General at the IMZ International Music + Media Centre, he demonstrates exceptional organizational and leadership skills, excelling in building sustainable networks, connecting different industries, and creating valuable business opportunities.

Matthias Röder
Karajan Institute

Dr. Matthias Röder is renowned as a music and technology strategist, holding a board member role at the Karajan Foundation, and being Managing Director at the Eliette and Herbert von Karajan Institute. Additionally, he contributes as a board of trustees member for the Mozarteum Foundation. As a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of The Mindshift, he focuses on consultancy in creative leadership and innovation management. In 2017, he initiated the Karajan Music Tech Conference, an event dedicated to advancing cutting-edge technologies in the realms of music, media, and audio. Earlier, in 2013, he started the Classical Music Hack Day series. Alongside his wife, Seda Röder, he co-established the Sonophilia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering creativity, critical thinking, and their positive impacts on innovation, social well-being, and personal fulfillment. His work has earned him numerous awards, including the “Game Changer” Award from the Chamber of Commerce Salzburg. A respected speaker and educator, Dr. Röder has taught at institutions like Harvard University, the Change & Innovation Management Program at the University of St. Gall, and Salzburg University. He holds a PhD in music from Harvard University and is an alumnus of the Mozarteum University Salzburg.

Matthias Strobel
Music Tech Germany

Matthias Strobel is the President of MusicTech Germany, the Federal Association for Music Technology in Germany, Vice-President of Music Tech Europe, the European umbrella association of national music technology associations in Europ, and founder of Wicked Artists, a booking agency for exceptionally creative technology and new media artists. He is Germany’s main point of contact for music technology innovation and his network of entrepreneurs, industry executives, researchers, and his connections to (inter)national policy makers, and media representatives make him one of Europe’s renowned experts in that area.

Matthias Strobel serves as a consultant, mentor, and independent manager to help accelerate avant-garde approaches from startups. Determined to further the innovative potential – and thus future success – of artists and entrepreneurs, he uses his experience and leverages his network to help create the music ecosystem of tomorrow. He gives lectures about music technology at Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the University of New York and facilitates events on innovation for the music ecosystem to foster the knowledge transfer between visionaries from all intersections of the creative industries. His curates conferences and runs his own event series, the Berlin Music Tech Meetups which has grown into a community of more than 2.100 music tech enthusiasts from Berlin.

Lena Nieper
University of Bayreuth

Lena Nieper is a researcher and science project manager at Faisal Lab at the University of Bayreuth. In her current role she focuses on fostering an ecosystem of AI researchers and entrepreneurs at Speinshart Symposia as part of the Hightech Agenda Bavaria. With a background in musicology and cultural studies from the University of Frankfurt she has contributed to memory studies (Music as a Medium of Memory, Transcript) by introducing key concept to musicology. Prior to her current role, she gained expertise as a communication consultant at MSL and Serviceplan.

Laetitia Huberti
International Music + Media Centre

Laetitia Huberti has been working in the cultural and public service media sectors for 18 years, and her career has taken her from the Performing Arts Center Flagey in Brussels to the Belgian Public RAdio & Television, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Since 2014, Laetitia joined RTBF where she managed the classical radio station Musiq'3 for 4 years, while actively contributing to the transformation of the organization towards a "public centric" model. In 2018, she became the Head of Editorial Strategy of a portfolio of thematic medias including 3 radios and 1 television: La Première, Musiq'3, Classic21 & La Trois-TV. Her current role is to define the vision and editorial strategy for these medias, and lead the team. In February 2024, she assumed the role of President at IMZ International Music + Media Centre.

Kathrin Wilkens
Volkswagen Group Innovation

Together with her interdisciplinary team Kathrin is developing concepts and prototypes for new customer experiences and innovative interaction technologies. She identifies the potential of break-through technologies as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and spatial computing in the field of customer interaction in a digital car environment and promotes these insights to several brands within the Volkswagen Group.

Kathrin studied Electrical Engineering and Business Administration in Kiel and did her PhD on statistical data processing. Since 12 years she is with Volkswagen AG and has been responsible for several innovation projects in the field of Digital Customer Experiences.

Gregor Schmalzried
Freelancer

Gregor Schmalzried writes and advises on tech and digital storytelling, including for German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk, business magazine Brand Eins, and in his personal newsletter, coolgenug.de. He is the author and producer of the fiction podcasts Mia Insomnia (ARD) and Flüsterwelt (Podstars by OMR). For his work, he received the Goldene Blogger award in 2022 and was recognized in the "30 under 30" list by medium magazin in 2021.

Christopher Lindinger
Universität Mozarteum Salzburg

Christopher Lindinger is an Austrian innovation researcher, computer scientist, and cultural manager who has served as the Vice-Rector for Innovation at the Johannes Kepler University Linz in recent years. He was among the founding members of the Ars Electronica Futurelab in 1997 and played a key role as co-director in shaping the research and innovation agendas. Since 2023, he holds the newly established professorship for Art & Digitality at the University of Mozarteum Salzburg. Lindinger is also a member of the founding convent of the Interdisciplinary Transformation University Linz (IT:U).

Christine Bauer
Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Interfaces (AIHI) at the Paris Lodron University Salzburg

Christine Bauer holds the position of EXDIGIT Professor of Interactive Intelligent Systems at the Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Interfaces at Paris Lodron University Salzburg, Austria.

Her research is primarily focused on the study of interactive intelligent systems. This involves an integration of intelligent technology research, the exploration of human interactions with these systems, and their interplay. Adopting a human-centered computing perspective, her work prioritizes addressing the needs of humans and society through technology. Context and context-adaptivity are central themes in her research.

Christine's recent work has been particularly concentrated on context-aware recommender systems, with a special emphasis on applications in the music industry. Her research also delves into the fairness of algorithmic decision-making and employs multi-method approaches for evaluation.

She co-organizes the “Perspectives on the Evaluation of Recommender Systems (PERSPECTIVES)” workshop series. Committed to promoting equality, Christine actively participates in initiatives like Women in Music Information Retrieval and the Allyship program at CHI.

Arne Bathke
University of Salzburg

Born in Hamburg, grew up in Northern Germany and Norway. Studied mathematics in Göttingen, spent study time abroad in Italy and the USA, doctoral degree in 2000. Afterwards, statistics professor at the University of Kentucky, where he was also inaugural director of the Applied Statistics Laboratory, a comprehensive statistics consulting facility on campus. Since 2012 statistics professor at the University of Salzburg where he has also been elected to different administrative positions (Dean since 2015). Among other initiatives, first Data Science MSc program at an Austrian university (2016) and MINT:labs (2018) where school children can experience MINT (=STEM) topics in hands-on workshops at the university. Arne Bathke’s research deals with developing and evaluating new statistical methods, and he has given numerous invited talks, lectures and workshops on five continents. On the other hand, he is also interested in the application and improvement of statistical procedures in interdisciplinary cooperations with colleagues from other fields, from medicine, biology, and ecology to education and economics, as well as in the Austrian Future Operations Platform. About half of his more than 100 publications in international journals result from such cooperation projects. Among other awards, named “Henry Clay Ambassador” by the Mayor of Lexington (Kentucky) for his civil engagement, and two university-wide awards for excellence in teaching and advising. Recently elected into the European Academy of the Sciences and the Arts. Has been President of the International Biometric Society - Region Österreich-Schweiz (IBS-ROeS), is on the board of the Austrian Statistical Association (ÖSG), Editor-in-Chief of Biometrical Journal, the flagship journal of the International Biometric Society Regions Germany, Austria-Switzerland, and Italy, on the editorial board of three other international statistics journals (International Journal of Biostatistics, Journal of the American Statistical Association, The American Statistician). Organizer of an annual Biostatistics Summer School, has organized and co-organized several meetings, workshops, and conferences.

Anna Zo
Music Tech Europe

Anna Zò is operations manager at Music Innovation Hub, responsible of MusicTech-related activities, project leader of the EU-funded acceleration program for music startups Music Tech Europe Academy and co-director of Linecheck Music Meeting and Festival. Co-founder of Next Stage Challenge Hackathon and Music Tech Europe Network, Anna is part of the team that has developed the new BA/BSc in Music Business at SAE Institute Milan, where she is also active as Lecturer as well as at Bocconi University. With a strong focus on CCIs and a business background (Master Graduate in CCIs Management), she has also been managing projects in different cultural fields, such as visual arts (in London) and cinema (in Paris).

Jens Feldhaus
Volkswagen Innovation Group

Jens Feldhaus is the senior sound engineer at the VW Group Innovation in Wolfsburg, Germany. He works on concepts and designs of future in-car infotainment systems as part of an interdisciplinary team, looking into the hardware and software of audio systems in car cabins. The understanding of the passengers' personal perception and interaction with sound is a main part of his work.

Frank Gerdes
Servus TV

Frank Gerdes has been a part of ServusTV's cultural department in Austria since July 2009, taking on the role of Head of the department in 2010. Operating from Salzburg, he plays a key role in developing and producing television programs for the channel. This includes a range of award-winning documentaries like "Traces to Nowhere – The Conductor Carlos Kleiber" (2010) and "Karajan – The Second Life" (2012). Before joining ServusTV, Gerdes was engaged in project development at EuroArts Music International. There, he was involved in the creation and production of various cultural TV programs, including performance projects and documentaries, as well as major international projects such as "24 hours Mozart" and "24 hours Bach".

Maia Wiest
Pianini App

Maia Wiest, Founder and CEO of pianini, is a notable figure in music education innovation. With a background as a music enthusiast and composer, she's renowned for modernizing music teaching. Maia established successful piano academies in Hong Kong and Shanghai, demonstrating her practical expertise.

Her visionary project, pianini, seamlessly blends children's gaming with piano learning and comprehensive music education. This digital platform revolutionizes the way young students engage with and understand music. Maia's commitment to accessible and enjoyable music education has positioned her as a leading authority in the field, shaping the future of music learning for the next generation.

Kathleen Alder
WildKat PR

Kathleen Alder, born in Hamburg and raised in a very musical household, established the creative agency WildKat at the age of 24 in 2008. With initial offices in London and Berlin, it's expanding to LA, New York, Paris, and soon Hong Kong, after receiving significant funding from Edition Capital. WildKat offers a range of services including PR, marketing, and branding for clients like Bamberg Symphony and the Korean Embassy's Cultural Institute.

In 2015, Kathleen launched the Noted fellowship to support emerging arts administrators, and in 2018, joined the Voice Foundation as a Trustee, contributing to its 25th anniversary and fundraising campaigns. She's recognized in PR Weeks’ 29 under 29 and was a Women of the Future Award nominee. Fluent in English, German, French, and Spanish, Kathleen started PostKultur in 2020, delivering curated cultural experiences in boxes, supporting artists and projects.

Ivan Rektor
Central European Institute of Technology–CEITEC, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Dr. Ivan Rektor is a Professor at Masaryk University in Brno/Czechia and leads the Movement Disorders Centre and the Neuroscience Centre at CEITEC (Central European Institute of Technology). He also coordinates the Brain and Mind Research Program and heads the Multimodal and Functional Imaging Research Group.

Educated at the University of Brno, Dr. Rektor has extensively researched movement disorders, epilepsy, and cognitive neurophysiology, including work on a baboon myoclonus in France and intracerebral recordings in Paris. He chaired the Neurology Department at Masaryk University from 1992 to 2012 and served as vice-rector from 2006 to 2011.

A founding member of the Czech Medical Academy and editor-in-chief of 'Neurologie pro praxi', Dr. Rektor is also on several editorial boards. He has organized numerous neurology and epilepsy conferences and courses across Europe and Asia. A member of various neurological societies, he chaired the Danube Symposium for Neurological Sciences and was President of the European Society for Clinical Neuropharmacology. Awarded for his contributions to epileptology, he chaired the European Congress in Clinical Neurophysiology in Brno in 2015.

Arne Dietrich
American University of Beirut

Dr. Dietrich is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the American University of Beirut, in Lebanon. He is a cognitive neuroscientist and his work focuses on the neural basis of (1) creativity and flow, (2) psychological changes induced by physical exercise, and (3) altered states of consciousness.

He is most known for the transient hypofrontality theory (THT), the dismantling of neuroimaging studies of creativity, as well as evolution and prediction models of creative thinking. He is the author of two books (‘Introduction to Consciousness’ and ‘How Creativity Happens in the Brain’) and over 60 scientific articles. Arne Dietrich has given a large number invited talks and keynote addresses around the world and his work has been featured prominently in the international press, including the BBC, CNN, Guardian, New York Times, Scientific American, Times, The Atlantic, and National Geographic.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2j5jPhMAAAAJ&hl=en

Antoine Leboyer
Venture Lab for Software and Artificial Intelligence at Technical University of Munich

Antoine Leboyer is the Managing Director of the Munich Technical University Venture Lab for Software and Artificial Intelligence which supports over a hundred university-led startups. Following various positions in the technology sector, he was from 2008 to 2020 President and CEO of the Swiss software group GSX until its acquisition by Martello Technology.

He has served as board member of various software companies worldwide as well as Geneva’s Liberal Synagogue. He currently sits on the board of Munich based Hyperganic. He holds an engineering degree from France's Central-Supélec and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He co-wrote “Building Routes to Customers” and is the producer of the TUM Venture Lab podcast “Entrepreneurial Realities" which has received countless VCs, founders, and members of the Academic world.

He is also a reviewer for ConcertoNet and Seen and Heard International, two leading classical music magazines. He first attended the Salzburg Festival in 1981 where he heard Herbert von Karajan conducts Bruckner’s Te Deum and has regularly visited the festival since. Antoine and his wife Margot, a Mozarteum alumni and a professional Soprano, have two children.

Speakers