BERLIN POSTCLASSICAL

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BERLIN POSTCLASSICAL *

COMPOSE, RECORD, AND RELEASE NEW MUSIC IN BERLIN

31 MAY - 8 JULY 2027

APPLICATION AVAILABLE DECEMBER 2026

A new, six-week creative lab for composers, composer/performers, and producers working at the intersection of classical, electronic, ambient, and experimental music. The course is led by composer and multidisciplinary artist Scott Ordway (Head of Composition, Rutgers University).

Berlin Postclassical is a new summer creative lab exploring the intersection of classical, electronic, ambient, and experimental music. It is an artistic community for musicians whose work falls between traditional categories.

The program, which is led by critically-acclaimed composer and multimedia artist Scott Ordway, is designed for composers, composer/performers, and producers at any stage of their engagement with electronic and/or multimedia practices who want to expand beyond traditional notation-based concert music to write, perform, record, and release their own multimedia work.

Throughout the course, each student will compose, record, mix, and master a new hybrid work blending electronic and acoustic elements. Dedicated recording sessions with Berlin-based professional musicians will be engineered by Alexander Brusencev (ABP Productions, Frankfurt), who will also lead in-class workshops on recording, mixing, and mastering.

Some participants may come from university or conservatory composition programs and want to expand their practice through technology, recording, and live performance. Others may come from music production or sound art backgrounds and seek deeper engagement with notation and acoustic instruments.

From 31 May to 8 July 2027, students will engage new repertoire, develop original work, build community, and live in Berlin, one of the world’s most vibrant centers for classical, electronic, and experimental music. The course takes place on the campus of Freie Universität Berlin as part of FUBiS, the International Summer and Winter University.

Applications open December 2026. Sign up above to be notified when the application goes live.

FACULTY

Scott Ordway

Scott Ordway is a composer and multimedia artist whose widely acclaimed work spans classical and electronic music, text, photography, and film.

Raised in Northern California, Ordway’s earliest musical communities were the vibrant Bay Area punk and post-hardcore scenes in the 1990s. He went on to pursue classical training as a composer before developing a multidisciplinary practice that includes acoustic and electronic music, original texts, and visual art. As a teacher, he leads the wildly poly-stylistic composition program in the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

His compositions have been described as “exquisite” (New York Times), “soul-stirring” (BBC), and “haunting and beautiful” (San Francisco Chronicle), and have been presented at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Stanford Live, Gaudeamus, and major festivals in the US, Europe, and Asia. His recent collaborations include Roomful of Teeth, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, BalletX, Lorelei Ensemble, and Grammy-winning soloists Sasha Cooke and Arlen Hlusko.

His recent projects increasingly integrate live electronics and solo performance, including his ongoing project Public Ceremony, which explores ritual, repetition, and ecstatic sound through solo and collaborative work.

www.scottordway.com

GUEST ARTISTS

Alexander Brusencev

Alexander Brusencev is a Frankfurt-based recording engineer and producer specializing in classical, opera, and electronic music. He is the founder of ABP Productions.

Studio Musicians

The roster of Berlin-based professional musicians will be announced later in 2026. Each student will be paired with one or more studio musicians for a dedicated recording session.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

ORIGINAL WORK - Each participant will develop an original acoustic/electronic composition in Ableton Live, augmented by recording sessions with Berlin-based professional musicians (see below).

SEMINARS & PRIVATE LESSONS - The seminar meets Monday (morning and afternoon sessions) and Thursday (morning and afternoon sessions). In addition to group meetings, each student will have private lessons with Scott Ordway.

LISTENING AND STUDY SESSIONS exploring adventurous contemporary music from outside the contemporary classical tradition (see Listening List below).

STUDENT PRESENTATIONS on existing work and works-in-progress.

TECHNICAL MODULES covering topics such as: recording and microphone techniques, sampling, drum racks and found sound percussion; and Ableton Live, including clip launching, live set architecture, and signal processing. Students will have access to portable Zoom recorders for use during the course.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS addressing public-facing artistic careers blending composition, performance, music production, and recording.

FINAL SHOWCASE of new works for class members and invited guests.

Above all, you will spend six weeks immersed in one of the world’s great artistic cities, surrounded by peers who are asking similar questions about their creative lives and futures.

RECORD WITH PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS

Each student will have two dedicated recording sessions with Berlin-based professional musicians and guest engineer Alexander Brusencev (founder, ABP Productions).

Sessions provide access to high-quality acoustic recordings that can be incorporated into final projects. This is not a traditional reading/recording of a notated concert piece. Instead, you will create a personal sample library of expressive solo lines, sustained tones, taps, clicks, scrapes, percussive sounds, or anything else you can think of. Think of this as material for sampling, layering, chopping up, processing, or blending with electronic sound.

All recorded material is owned by the students free and clear (you can use it however you want in the future).

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

Some students will bring more experience in composition, notation, and orchestration; others will bring more experience in recording, production, or sound synthesis; others may be performers who also create their own music.

All backgrounds are welcome.

This course may be a good fit if you are:

  • Enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate music program or are a motivated, curious independent musician. There are no age restrictions.

  • A concert composer interested in integrating synthesizers, electronics, recording, or studio production into your work.

  • An electronic musician or producer interested in working with acoustic instruments and performers.

  • A performer interested in amplification, processing, looping, improvisation, or interdisciplinary performance.

  • A composer looking for a community that shares influences beyond the traditional new music world.

APPLICATION MATERIALS & TIMELINE

TIMELINE

1 December 2026
Application opens

1 February 2027
Application deadline

15 February 2027
Admitted students notified

15 March 2027
Registration deadline

31 May – 8 July 2027
Program dates

APPLICATION MATERIALS

  1. Two work samples - acoustic, electronic, or hybrid works of any length. You may submit any combination of scores, recordings, or videos.

  2. Statement of Interest. In 500 words or less, share what you hope to gain from the course and from spending six weeks in Berlin. Why does this course appeal to you? How does it fit into your current or future plans as an artist?

  3. CV or résumé.

• Letters of recommendation are not required.
• There is no application fee.

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Dates: 31 May – 8 July 2027 (six weeks)

Tuition: €1,850 plus €TBA course fee. For more details about registration, deposits, refunds, and other financial information, please see the official FUBiS FAQ.

Housing: Optional housing plans start at €830. See here for an overview of housing options and here for cost details. Students may also choose to rent accommodation in Berlin. After registration, students will have a chance to connect with other students in the course to find shared accommodation.

Location: Meetings take place on campus at the Freie Universität Berlin [map]. Campus is easily accessible by U-Bahn and S-Bahn.

Class meetings: 12 hours per week: Monday (morning and afternoon sessions) and Thursday (morning and afternoon sessions). Meetings will be a mixture of group seminars and private lessons.

LIVING IN BERLIN

With 17 hours of daylight in the summer, Berlin comes alive with outdoor cafés, street markets, music festivals, informal hangouts on the river and canals, and a vibrant international student culture.

In addition, the city offers:

  • Seven professional orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic.

  • Three professional opera companies, including the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Komische Oper Berlin.

  • Countless contemporary ensembles, presenters, venues, recording studios, record labels, and independent artists.

  • Thirty professional theater and dance companies.

  • One of the world’s most influential electronic music cultures in which students can experience techno, house, ambient, and electronic music on the world’s best sound systems.

  • Among Europe’s richest concentrations of contemporary art museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces.

  • A uniquely international creative community where artists and students from around the world come to experiment, collaborate, and build new work.

  • Each student will create work using equipment they can bring with them and which is appropriate for their creative workflow. Typically, this will include a laptop with Ableton Live, headphones, and a small portable MIDI controller. If you have other gear (clip launcher, control surface, etc) you are welcome to bring it as well.

  • Lodging options are available via FUBiS, or you can rent your own apartment in Berlin.

  • Our focus is on artists and artistic ecosystems operating outside of traditional academic spaces: touring electronic artists, independent record labels, public-facing festivals. We will study major figures in the classical/electronic hybrid space such as Nils Frahm, Max Richter, and Ólafur Arnalds alongside many lesser-known and emerging artists continuing to develop and define the genre.

    Just as importantly, we will investigate the professional ecosystems that sustain these careers. By the end of the course, students will discover new applications for the skills they’ve built in music school as well as new models for artistic careers beyond the academy.

  • The language of instruction is English. Students should be able to speak and read English at the upper intermediate level (B2) or higher. Outside of class, Berlin is a very international city and English is widely spoken.

  • Nope! While the course warmly welcomes artists who are already adept at studio production, live electronic performance, etc, it is also a space for concert composers to begin making music that explores different aesthetic territory.

  • Nope! We welcome applicants coming from the recording / production side of things. The course will give you the opportunity to deepen your engagement with acoustic instruments, live performers, and composers from different backgrounds.

  • Yes! Each participant is expected to create an original composition as part of the course, but performers who create their own music (notated, improvised, recorded, etc) are very welcome to apply. A few examples:

    • You’re a performer who is beginning to experiment with looping pedals and improvised performance

    • You’re a performer who has written music for your own instrument but want to try writing for others

    • You’re a performer who wants to re-imagine classical repertoire with electronic elements or production techniques

    • You’re a performer with a creative, outside-the-box idea that you don’t have an outlet for in your music school or conservatory.

  • No. The course will introduce Ableton Live for those new to electronic music, but if your workflow already centers around another DAW you are welcome to stick with it.

FAQ

LISTENING LIST

Some of the music we’ll study:

Aphex Twin. Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994, Warp Records)

Arnalds, Olafur. re:member (2018, Decca)

Barbieri, Caterina. Ecstatic Computation (2019, light-years)
Barbieri, Caterina. Patterns of Consciousness (2017, light-years)

Basinski, William. The Disintegration Loops (2002)

Daijing, Pan. Jade (2021, PAN)

Eno, Brian. Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

Frahm, Nils. Felt (2011, Erased Tapes)
Frahm, Nils. All Melody (2018, Erased Tapes)

Guðnadóttir, Hildur. Where to From (2025, Deutsche Grammophon)

Heinali. Hildegard (2025, Unsound)
Heinali. Madrigals (2020, Injazero Records)

Ikeda, Ryoji. ultrasonics (2022, NOTON)

Jóhannsson, Jóhann. Englabörn (2018, Deutsche Grammophon)
Jóhannsson, Jóhann. Orphée (2016, Deutsche Grammophon)

Kiasmos. Kiasmos (2014, Erased Tapes)

Malone, Kali. The Sacrificial Code (2019, Ideologic Organ)
Malone, Kali. Does Spring Hide Its Joy (2023, Ideologic Organ)

Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto. Revep (2005, NOTON)
Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto. Vrioon (2002, NOTON)

O'Halloran, Dustin. Lumiere (2011, Splinter Records)
O'Halloran, Dustin. Silfur (2021, Deutsche Grammophon)

Ordway, Scott. Public Ceremony EP01 (2026)

Rani, Hania. Esja (2018, Gondwana Records)
Rani, Hania. Ghosts (2023, Gondwana Records)

Richter, Max. From Sleep (2015, Deutsche Grammophon)

Rival Consoles. Howl (2015, Erased Tapes)

Sakamoto, Ryuichi. async (2017, KAB America)

Ssan, Aho. Limen (2022, Subverse)

Vogt, Matthias. A Dream Fulfilled (2023, Anjunachill)