Søren Schauser

Søren Schauser was born in Herning in 1965. Originally trained as a violinist and viola player, he began his career as a viola player on a contract with the Odense Symphony Orchestra, and subsequently in the European Union Baroque Orchestra, touring all over the world. Since then he has obtained a diploma in music pedagogy in the history of music and music theory, and a PhD in philosophy from the University of Southern Denmark (Thesis: Fem begyndelser hos Per Nørgård - ‘Five Beginnings in Per Nørgård’.)

“I’m interested in both the time-bound and the timeless side of music: The time-bound aspect is particularly manifested in the form of the work and the tonal language of the music itself. The timeless lies in the part-writing subtleties of the work and, in the case of vocal music, in the emotions of the characters. Both can give us important insights into our own times, and they make cultural activities crucial to maintaining a healthy society.”

Teaching

Søren has been affiliated with RDAM since 2013 as a teacher in theoretical subjects, for the last few years as an associate professor. Before that, he has amongst other things taught at the Carl Nielsen Academy of Music 1998-2008, and in musical analysis at the University of Copenhagen 1999-2011.

Artistic practice

Alongside teaching, Søren has worked as a writer for the newspapers Politiken and Dagbladet Information, and for the periodical Dansk Musiktidsskrift. From 1999-2011 he was a contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition, and he has for almost two decades been a critic and editorial writer at the newspaper Berlingske. He researches widely in the history of culture and ideas and has published a number of books.

Søren is a frequent lecturer and speaker. He is a regular guest on the national radio station P2 and Kulturen on P1, and most recently on the wide-ranging morning TV show Go’ Morgen Danmark (‘Good Morning Denmark’). He has also appeared as The Nutty Professor in Den Klassiske Musikquiz (The Classical Music Quiz) on the DR2 TV channel since its inception – one of the channel’s most popular shows ever.