Prof. Dr. Alexandra van Gastel-Jud

Job title/activity of the person
Head of Basel Academy of Music, Klassik

Contact

Phone: +41 61 264 57 70 (Direct)
E-Mail: klassik.hsm@fhnw.ch

Address

Hochschule für Musik Basel, Klassik
Leonhardsstrasse 6
4009 Basel

Key data

Activities

Institut Klassik: Head of Basel Academy of Music, Klassik

Institut Klassik

Diversity and stylistic breadth in teaching and research set us apart. Our internationally renowned lecturers challenge and encourage our students both in their instrumental/vocal skills and in sharpening their individual artistic profiles. The courses at the Institute range from audio design to solo performance; from stage and movement to choral conducting or open creation, from music education to (new) music theory. We offer our students sources of inspiration and opportunities for networking within the community.

Short biography

Alexandra van Gastel-Jud completed her musical training in piano between 2000 and 2007 at the FHNW Basel Academy of Music (Teaching Diploma in Piano) and at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (Concert Diploma in Piano) under Adrian Oetiker and Brigitte Meyer. She went on to study philosophy and musicology at the University of Zurich, graduating in 2013 with a Master of Arts degree with a thesis on Kant.

Alongside her concert career and work as a piano teacher, she gained professional experience in the field of opera dramaturgy at the Zurich Opera House and the Komische Oper Berlin. In 2012, whilst still a student, she was appointed as a dramaturg for musical theatre at the Theatre St. Gallen. From the 2014/15 season onwards, she served as principal dramaturg at said theatre, overseeing opera, musical and dance productions as well as projects for children and young people.

From 2015 to 2024, she was Head of the Institute for Classical and Church Music at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts – Music. Her work is complemented by a role on the Board of Trustees of the Marianne and Curt Dienemann Foundation and her involvement on the Advisory Board of the 21st Century Orchestra.

In the summer of 2023, she was awarded a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Zurich with a thesis entitled «Zur Unmittelbarkeit des Ästhetischen» (‘On the Immediacy of the Aesthetic’), exploring the specifically aesthetic nature of aesthetic experience through the theories of Immanuel Kant, Arthur Schopenhauer and John Dewey, and applying this to the experience of music.

Since November 2024, she has been Head of the Classical Music Department (Institut Klassik) at the FHNW Basel Academy of Music.