Empty Voices? Research and art exploring the expressive range of a very special instrument
11/10/2026Speaking, singing, whispering, shouting, groaning, breathing: the facets of the human voice are boundless and familiar to us all. Performer and researcher Dr Dorothea Schürch helps us rediscover everyday speech practices.
How do body, soul, technique, breath, sound and language intertwine in the voice? On Friday 20 November 2026, the Würzburg Research Department for Contemporary Music and the Study Collection of Musical Instruments and Media are inviting Dr Dorothea Schürch, an expert in both the arts and the sciences, to give a performance-lecture and lead a workshop at the Residenz.
The event is of interdisciplinary academic and artistic interest and is also open to the interested public!
Dr Dorothea Schürch (born 1960) is a singer, performer, improviser and researcher. She studied Contemporary Arts Practice at the Bern University of the Arts and Research on the Arts at the University of Bern, and completed her PhD on avant-garde vocal practices in 1950s Paris. Through her own method of audio scoring, she explores the voice by listening to it, analysing it and interpreting it artistically. In her extensive archive , *Tape Recorder and Voice*, she has woven together a dense international network of vocal experiments, artists, recordings, publications and personal impressions, which bears witness to the wealth of experiences from which she draws inspiration
At 10 am, her performance-lecture offers an insight into fascinating worlds of the voice. Schürch guides us through experiences of vocal physiology, idiosyncratic concepts of letters, the ‘alphabet lettrique’, ‘poésie physique’ and much more, raising the question of whether the voice can ever be empty.
From 12 noon, Dorothea Schürch will lead a performative workshop for all participants. Personal experience and practice are indispensable, particularly for researchers, if one is to understand the voice and its cultural, artistic, communicative, structural and sonic dimensions.
The event will take place at the Study Collection of Musical Instruments and Media in the Residenz (Residenzplatz 2A, South Wing, 2nd inner courtyard).
Anyone interested is asked to register with Professor Elena Ungeheuer. This will ensure that drinks and light refreshments are available for everyone.
