Mag.art.
Christoph Pepe Auer
BA
Christoph Pepe Auer has taught Jazz and Pop at Mozarteum University Salzburg since 2015. Alongside his teaching, he is an internationally active saxophonist, bass clarinettist, composer and producer whose work spans jazz, improvisation and contemporary music. He is also the founder of the label and artist collective Session Work Records, one of Austria's leading jazz labels.
Auer studied jazz saxophone at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, graduating with distinction. He subsequently completed the Art & Economy programme in cultural management. In 2007, he founded Session Work Records, which has since released more than 130 albums featuring around 300 musicians from the Austrian and international jazz scene.
Recipient of the Hans Koller Prize as Newcomer of the Year, Auer has performed on tours around the world, including appearances at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing and the Jazz Standard in New York. His longstanding collaborations include projects with percussionist Manu Delago, musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra and the Jazz Bigband Graz.
With his project White Noise, first presented in 2019, Auer explored new sonic possibilities by combining acoustic instruments, particularly the bass clarinet, with electronic processing. The project expands the sound world of acoustic performance through sampling, layering and electronic production techniques, creating distinctive new musical textures.