Heather Kurzbauer (JD/LLM/PhD) studied art history, sociology and music at Yale University, receiving her Bachelor’s degree cum laude and Master’s degree with Honors. She completed her law studies at the University of Amsterdam with additional diplomas from Columbia Law School. She obtained her PhD in law (University of Amsterdam June 2022) after successfully defending her thesis: Symphonic Metamorphoses: Variations on vulnerability: orchestral musicians’ employment in times of crisis.
An active lecturer on subjects bridging law, politics and the arts, she developed courses at Emerson College (Boston), Webster University-Leiden and Nyenrode Business University. Appointed to University of Amsterdam Law Faculty in 2004, she lectures on international law, comparative law, legal English, and serves on the Faculty Works Council. She was granted the Hijmans Research Scholarship in 2016. Dr. Kurzbauer served as Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration from 2000-2004. She was appointed Adjunct Professor of International Law at Case Western University (US), the Riga Graduate School of Law, the Peoples Friendship University Russia (RUDN) and Moscow State University in 2018.
Turning to music, she was a member of the 1st violin sections of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra/Radio Chamber Philharmonic (1987-2013) and joined Sinfonia Rotterdam in 2015. She is active as performer and lecturer at the Grand Teton Music Festival (www.gtmf.org). A commitment to hands-on music development projects inspired participation in programs in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
She has published hundreds of music/arts editorials and interviews as Corresponding Editor for Strad Magazine London and BBC Music Magazine. Her blogs on music-related subjects have captured an international following, available at: http://www.violinist.com. From Novosibirsk to mid-America, Dr. Kurzbauer is a welcome guest as lecturer, jury member, and critic at music festivals and competitions: Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium); Joseph Joachim International (Hanover); Spoleto Festival Dei Due Mondi; Indianapolis International; TransSiberian Arts Festival, and most recently, the Henryk Wieniawski Competition 2022.
Dr. Kurzbauer has been privileged to serve as keynote speaker/panelist at the following fora, sharing her vision on labor challenges in the cultural sector: International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) Washington DC 2016; Federation International Musicians (FIM) Montreal 2017; European Labor Law (FIM) Bucharest 2017; Jean Monnet Labour Law Congress 2018; International Federation of Actors (FIA) European Expert Group, Rotterdam 2018; International Freelance Musicians Conference, Copenhagen 2019, FIA
Freelance Conference, Thessaloniki 2019, and the EU Expert Group on Freelance Labor Conference, Dublin 2020. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Platform for Freelance Musicians (PvFM) and the Standing Committee for Mediation in Dutch Orchestras since 2020.
