Composer Noh SeungJu, who was born in Seoul (South Korea) and is currently resident in Salzburg, has been awarded the 2025 Music Grant by the State of Salzburg. Congratulations!
The scholarship, worth €12,000, supports his project ‘Airchive – Die Luft, die sich erinnert’ (Airchive – The Air That Remembers), which deals with the acoustic recording and artistic translation of space. A total of 14 projects were evaluated by the expert jury, consisting of Daniela Neumayer (Saalfelden Jazz Festival), Mia Zabelka (composer and violinist) and Horst Hofer (Lungau Big Band). The decision was unanimous in favour of Noh SeungJu, whose works have already received multiple awards and been performed internationally.
SeungJu sees the scholarship as an opportunity to further develop his work: ‘This scholarship enables me to translate this research into location-based fieldwork and composition. I intend to share the resulting recordings and pieces with the general public, musicians and students in order to further develop the practice of listening as shared attention and joy.’
As part of his project, the artist invites interested parties to actively participate in acoustic space measurements. In doing so, he aims to raise awareness of sound spaces and the perception of ambient sounds.
Born in Seoul in 1997 and now living in Salzburg, composer Noh SeungJu focuses his particular interest within the parameters of composition on rhythm and its interconnection with the architecture of large-scale temporal form. He completed his master's degree in composition at the Mozarteum University Salzburg (under Prof. Johannes Maria Staud) and is currently pursuing a doctorate in the artistic doctoral programme there (supervised by Prof. Laure M. Hiendl and Prof. Johannes Maria Staud). At the same time, he is completing a postgraduate course (PGL) in composition (under Prof. Johannes Maria Staud) and works as a teaching assistant in aesthetics at the Mozarteum.
His most notable awards include the Bernhard Paumgartner Medal, selection for the Lucerne Festival Composer Seminar with a performance by Ensemble Modern, and second prize at the Bartók World Competition (composition). He has collaborated with Ensemble Modern, the IEMA Ensemble, the TIMF Ensemble, and Ensemble Multilatéral, among others.
