Dear all,
We are searching for a 30-months postdoc in Interdisciplinary Concert Research.
If you want to play a key role in building a new, dynamic – and world-class – performance science research environment based on strong principles of kind, inclusive, and flexible leadership, then this job is for you.
Please get in touch with questions (nchansen@xxxxxxxxxx) – or go ahead and apply!
Best regards,
Niels
*** Apologies for cross-posting ***
Postdoctoral position in Interdisciplinary Concert Research
at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark
Deadline: 25 Jun 23:59 CEST
Expected start: 1 Sep 2025 (or as soon as possible thereafter)
Workplace: Interacting Minds Centre, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 78000, Aarhus C, Denmark
Duration: Fixed term full-time position, 1 Sep 2025 - 29 Feb 2028
Click here for full job ad
The research project Collective Applause in the Symphonic Concert Hall (CLAPS) at the School of Culture and Society, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University (AU), invites applications for a 30-months fixed-term postdoctoral position in Interdisciplinary Concert Research.
RESEARCH CONTEXT
We are looking for an innovative researcher with a background in music cognition, psychology, music technology, or musical data science, ideally with a specialisation in experimental concert research and/or collection and analysis of continuous audiovisual or physiological data.
The successful candidate will play a crucial role in CLAPS, led by Associate Professor Niels Chr. Hansen, and in establishing his Cognitive Musicology and Performance Science Lab (CoMPS), co-located at Aarhus University (AU) and The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg (RAMA).
CLAPS utilizes cutting-edge camera and microphone technology along with insights from social and experimental psychology to exploit applause behaviour as a hitherto untapped data source for investigating the socio-cognitive mechanisms of live music appreciation. Via systematic video recordings and questionnaire surveys of audience behaviour during three full concerts seasons with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (ASO), we aim to understand how and why audiences express enthusiasm through collective applause in the classical concert hall. Later stages of the project will involve smaller-scale concert experiments with advanced music performance students from RAMA.
THE POSITION
The successful applicant will be expected to:
- Collaborate on–and possibly take a lead on–the following project-related tasks:
- Establishing an efficient and robust pipeline for collecting video, audio, survey, and contextual data from weekly concerts in Symphonic Hall, Musikhuset Aarhus
- Developing applause-based candidate metrics of live concert experiences
- Devising new research questions and experimental hypotheses that can be answered and tested using our rich, multidimensional concert data
- Identifying musical and contextual factors that predict the magnitude and spatiotemporal dynamics of applause behaviour
- Mentor research assistants, thesis students, and interns as needed in collaboration with the project PI
- Present their research at international conferences
- Publish their findings in international, peer-reviewed journals in a timely fashion
- Share project-related code and data in open-access formats, in compliance with ethical principles and the General Data Protection Regulation
- Assist with the organization of research workshops, guest visits, and other hosted activities
- Exchange knowledge with various sectors of society and contribute actively to public debate in areas related to the position
- Contribute to grant applications for further research funding
The successful applicant will also be expected to participate actively, constructively, and kindly in the academic life of CoMPS and the School as a whole. In addition, they are expected to engage with a wider academic community and to continue their development as an internationally competitive researcher.
More info: https://international.au.dk/about/profile/vacant-positions/job/postdoctoral-position-in-interdisciplinary-concert-research-at-the-school-of-culture-and-society-aarhus-university
Niels Chr. Hansen (PhD, MSc, MMus, BA)
Associate Professor of Music Theory, History & Analysis, Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg, Denmark
Postdoctoral Researcher, MUSICONNECT (ERC) & The Rhythm of Life (RCF), Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body, & Brain, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Researcher, Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Denmark
Member, Danish Young Academy, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
Former Fellow, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark
Editor, Empirical Musicology Review
Vice President, European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music (ESCOM)
nchansen@xxxxxxxxxx | ph. +45 25338833