Jean Beers

Jean Beers is Professor of Artistic Research and Head of the Institute for Keyboard, Composition and Conducting at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, MUK. A British-German concert pianist and composer, she defines her artistic work through interdisciplinarity, empathy, improvisation, and the expansion of traditional boundaries between chamber music, composition, multimedia performance, and artistic research.
Her research interests include ambiguity in music, interdisciplinary artistic practice, and the use of improvisation as a medium for communication between performers and audiences. Her artistic philosophy emphasizes curiosity and empathy as tools for breaking down borders between disciplines, cultures, and traditions, while encouraging students to develop the flexibility required by contemporary musical life.
Beers has performed internationally at venues including the Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall, Barcelona’s Palau de la Música, Vienna’s Ehrbarsaal, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. She holds a PhD in composition from King’s College London, and her doctoral research was published as Creating Ambiguity in Music in 2018. As founder and leader of ReALM and Ensemble Improvisation Experimentell, she has made significant contributions to contemporary performance, artistic research, and cross-cultural musical innovation.