Composing the Politics of Musical Creation: The Composer as the Mediator of Collaborative Work Interactions by Helga Arias

This dissertation investigates composer-performer collaboration through the lens of artistic research, guided by the development and implementation of the Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC). Designed specifically for this study, the IFMCC offers a framework for shaping interactions between composers and performers, with a focus on iterative decision-making, feedback, and shared authorship. The research addresses how collaborative composition alters creative roles, compositional processes, and performative outcomes. Three case studies form the core of the investigation: a residency with Ensemble Vortex; a remote collaboration with the International Contemporary Ensemble; and a participatory composition project situated in a pedagogical context at the Heidelberg University of Education. Each case reflects a distinct collaborative environment, ranging from professional ensembles to educational institutions. Grounded theory methods are employed to analyze audiovisual documentation, participant interviews, digital portfolios, and workshop data. The findings highlight the importance of group size, disciplinary diversity, and tacit knowledge in shaping collaborative flow and authorship. They further show how technology, when adapted responsively, can shift the composer’s role from author to facilitator, enabling more distributed creative agency. By comparing the model’s application across varied contexts, the study outlines how the IFMCC supports both compositional openness and structural coherence—distinguishing it from models based on open form or post-hoc feedback. The dissertation concludes with a proposed taxonomy of distributed authorship, a discussion of institutional limitations, and recommendations for implementing collaborative models in artistic and educational frameworks. Keywords: Keywords: Composer–Performer Collaboration, Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC), Collaborative Composition, Grounded Theory, Performative Practices, Participatory Composition, Artistic Research, Institutional Frameworks Abstract (Deutsch) Diese Dissertation untersucht die Zusammenarbeit von Komponist:innen und Interpret:innen aus der Perspektive der künstlerischen Forschung, geleitet durch die Entwicklung und Anwendung des Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC). Das eigens für diese Studie entworfene Modell bietet einen Rahmen zur Gestaltung von Interaktionen zwischen Komponist:innen und Interpret:innen, mit besonderem Fokus auf iterative Entscheidungsprozesse, Rückmeldungen und geteilte Autorschaft. Die Forschung behandelt die Frage, wie kollaboratives Komponieren kreative Rollen, kompositorische Prozesse und performative Ergebnisse verändert. Drei Fallstudien bilden den Kern der Untersuchung: ein Residenzprojekt mit dem Ensemble Vortex; eine Fernzusammenarbeit mit dem International Contemporary Ensemble; sowie ein partizipatives Kompositionsprojekt im pädagogischen Kontext an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg. Jede Fallstudie repräsentiert ein unterschiedliches kollaboratives Umfeld, das von professionellen Ensembles bis zu Bildungseinrichtungen reicht. Zur Analyse von audiovisuellem Material, Interviews, digitalen Portfolios und Workshop-Daten wurden Methoden der Grounded Theory herangezogen. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Bedeutung von Gruppengröße, disziplinärer Vielfalt und implizitem Wissen für den kollaborativen Prozess und die Autorschaft. Zudem zeigen sie, wie Technologie – bei flexibler Anpassung – die Rolle der Komponist:innen von der Autorenschaft zur Moderation verschieben kann, wodurch kreative Verantwortung stärker verteilt wird. Durch den Vergleich der Anwendung des Modells in verschiedenen Kontexten wird aufgezeigt, wie das IFMCC sowohl kompositorische Offenheit als auch strukturelle Kohärenz unterstützt – und sich dadurch von Modellen des offenen Formdenkens oder nachträglichen Feedbacks unterscheidet. Die Dissertation schließt mit einem Vorschlag für eine Taxonomie verteilter Autorschaft, einer Diskussion institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen sowie Empfehlungen zur Implementierung kollaborativer Modelle in künstlerischen und pädagogischen Strukturen. Schlüsselwörter: Kollaboration Komponist:innen-Interpret:innen, IFMCC, kollaboratives Komponieren, Grounded Theory, performative Praktiken, partizipative Komposition, künstlerische Forschung, institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen Schlüsselwörter: Kollaboration Komponist:innen-Interpret:innen, IFMCC, kollaboratives Komponieren, Grounded Theory, performative Praktiken, partizipative Komposition, künstlerische Forschung, institutionelle Rahmenbedingungen

Chapter 7 — Case Study #3: Lieder aus der Fremde
This third case study, Lieder aus der Fremde, investigates how the Iterative Feedback Model for Collaborative Composition (IFMCC) can operate within heterogeneous, pedagogical contexts. Developed at the Heidelberg University of Education in collaboration with Prof. Stefan Zöllner-Dressler, Florian Stricker, and Kathrin Schweizer, together with students from the Artistic Music Pedagogy module, the project explored co-creation across differing levels of musical experience and disciplinary background. Institutional partners included the Musikakademie Trossingen and the Donaueschinger Musiktage Festival, where the resulting interactive installation was premiered.

The study situates artistic collaboration within educational frameworks that prioritize process, reflection, and experimentation over fixed outcomes. By employing the IFMCC as a compositional and pedagogical scaffold, the project facilitated distributed authorship among students and instructors, translating artistic research principles into a participatory environment. The resulting installation—and its associated website—extend the IFMCC’s applicability beyond professional performance contexts, demonstrating how artistic research can foster reciprocal learning between composition, pedagogy, and collaborative experimentation.

The Website and Documentation

The documentation of Lieder aus der Fremde is hosted on a dedicated website that compiles the project’s diverse media materials: podcasts, student blogs, try-outs and performances, photographs, a tutorial, and the Max patch used in the installation.

Accessible at www.liederausderfremde.de, the site functions both as an archive and as an extension of the artistic research process. It mirrors the iterative and participatory structure of the project by presenting multiple viewpoints and voices—those of students, educators, and facilitators—who together shaped the installation’s conceptual, technical, and pedagogical dimensions.

Rather than offering a linear narrative, the website embodies the IFMCC’s recursive logic: its layered documentation enables users to navigate between process materials, reflective commentaries, and performative outcomes. In doing so, it transforms dissemination into an interactive and pedagogical act, inviting further engagement and reinterpretation.

Project Website — Lieder aus der Fremde
Participatory composition and pedagogical research project
Heidelberg University of Education · Musikakademie Trossingen · Donaueschinger Musiktage Festival

The website gathers podcasts, student blogs, try-outs, performances, images, and tutorials, documenting how the IFMCC supported co-creation in a heterogeneous educational context. It serves as an open platform for reflection, resource sharing, and the dissemination of collaborative artistic research outcomes.

🌐 www.liederausderfremde.de

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Helga Arias - Composing the Politics of Musical Creation: The Composer as the Mediator of Collaborative Work Interactions - 2025