Postdoctoral position in Interdisciplinary Concert Research at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University

The research project 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.

The appointment begins on 1 September 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter.
Workplace: Jens Chr. Skous Vej 7, 8000 Aarhus C.

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 the Collective Applause in the Symphonic Concert Hall (CLAPS) research project, led by Associate Professor Niels Chr. Hansen. They will join the newly established 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 behavior 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 behavior during three full concerts seasons with ASO, we aim to understand how and why audiences express enthusiasm through collective applause in the classical concert hall. Later stages of the project involve smaller-scale concert experiments with advanced music performance students from RAMA.

The official place of work will be The Nobel Park on AU’s Aarhus campus, but due to the radically interdisciplinary nature of the project, the candidate will be expected to be present several days of the week in Musikhuset Aarhus in the city centre. Musikhuset Aarhus is Scandinavia’s largest concert hall complex, housing, amongst others, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and RAMA.

Other key project collaborators include colleagues from RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion at University of Oslo (Norway) and Centre of Excellence in Music, Mind, Body, & Brain at University of Jyväskylä (Finland). The successful candidate will be expected to partake in one or more joint research visits to these two leading Nordic music research centers.
CLAPS is funded via a Sapere-Aude DFF-Research Leader starting grant from Independent Research Fund Denmark awarded to the Principal Investigator. You can read more about the project here: https://dff.dk/en/our-funded-projects/meet-the-researchers/research-leaders/eksterne-personer-en/research-leaders-2024/niels-christian-hansen/plysninger, bør der i mails ikke forekomme personfølsomme data som fx. CPR-numre, helbredsoplysninger, brugernavn, adgangskoder mv. Til dette formål kan der sendes digital post til virksomheden.

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