Dr James S. Helgeson, a final-year postgraduate for his second PhD, in music composition supervised by Prof. Mark Bowden (Royal College of Music) has been appointed Professor of Musicology and Composition at a German university, the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, where he has taught since 2018. His first degree, from the Curtis Institute of Music, was followed by a BA at Oberlin College/Conservatory.
Dr James S. Helgeson, a final-year postgraduate for his second PhD, in music composition supervised by Prof. Mark Bowden (Royal College of Music) has been appointed Professor of Musicology and Composition at a German university, the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, where he has taught since 2018. His first degree, from the Curtis Institute of Music, was followed by a BA at Oberlin College/Conservatory. In Paris, he studied at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (rue d’Ulm) and the Université de Paris-VII. His first PhD is from Princeton University. In addition to being a composer, he is a Renaissance specialist, working at the intersections of music, literature, and philosophy. Prior to his appointment to Professor at the Barenboim-Said Akademie, he held positions as an Associate Professor at Columbia University, and a Fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge. He also taught at the University of Nottingham and at Princeton. He is a founding member, and composer, of the experimental artist collective, AGOSTO, and his compositions have been performed internationally, such as at Ostrava New Music Days, soundSCAPE, and by the Chroma Ensemble (London).