- Photo: Lara Grønbugt
Julian Söderberg (b. 1999) is a doctoral research fellow affiliated with the NordART research centre, undertaking the project Performing the Contemporary, which examines social practice within the contemporary art music field in Oslo. He holds degrees in musicology from the University of Oslo and composition from the Norwegian Academy of Music.
Söderberg began his musical activities in bands and improvising ensembles, which sparked his interest in composition and affective intensity in music. These interests were soon followed up with studies in composition, first at the University of Oslo, then at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Professor Asbjørn Schaathun. Today his musical practice spans from punk and freely improvised music to contemporary art music expressions and extended modes of composition.
His scholarly interests are primarily focused on the intersection between musical and social practice. In his master's thesis The Sacred as a Mirror of the Profane, supervised by Kyle Devine, he examined boundary work around the (sub)cultural sacred in three musical scenes in Oslo. In the doctoral project Performing the Contemporary, this work is continued through an investigation of how – and in accordance with which principles – social performances within the contemporary art music field in Oslo are regulated and structured.
