Research Assistant Music & Drama 70 (Composition & Music Theory)

Research Assistant Music & Drama 70% (Composition & Music Theory)

LUCA School of Arts

Location: Campus Lemmens Leuven

LUCA School of Arts is a creative hub for almost 5000 people: more than 4000 students and 800 colleagues. LUCA offers them an educational and research environment to further develop their creative talent. We do this through higher education courses in the broad domain of the arts and through artistic research embedded within an associated Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven. LUCA has campuses in four cities: Ghent Brussels Leuven and Genk.

LUCA School of Arts is a member of the KU Leuven Association.

We believe that art and design have an impact on society and the world in many ways. Respect and integrity are our guiding principles diversity and sustainability are our assets and quality is our driving force.

We are currently working on the role of LUCA as an actor in society on opening up our multi-campus reality to a network on the evolution of the five original training institutes into a joint laboratory and on responding to training and research questions from the outside world.

The Artistic Practices expertise network of LUCA School of Arts offers a position for a candidate interested in pursuing a doctoral research project in the arts embedded within the Composition & Music Theory expert team.

Assignment

You will develop an artistic research project that investigates multilayering in music as a contemporary continuation and reinterpretation of contrapuntal thinking. This research approaches counterpoint not merely as a historical or technical frame of reference but as an epistemological model of thought. Counterpoint is thereby understood as a means of generating knowledge and meaning through musical organisation. This approach aligns with twentieth-century and contemporary musical practices in which identity recognisability and differentiation are central concepts.

The musical core of the research lies in the compositional organisation of simultaneous layers in time and form with particular attention to polyrhythm polymetre and polyformal structures (formal layering) textural layering and the ways in which these parameters contribute to perception and cognitive tension for both listener and performer. Multilayering is thus understood as a dynamic field of tension between the identity of individual layers and their mutual interaction resulting in a rich stratified musical fabric.

From this musical polyphony the project investigates how multilayering can function as a transferable model that can also be meaningfully deployed in multi- and interdisciplinary contexts. Music may in this respect assume a leading role or relate to other disciplines on an equal footing. The developed model then functions as an organising framework that provides structure and coherence to the interdisciplinary dialogue without a priori privileging any single discipline. While the performative arts constitute a logical interdisciplinary constellation in this perspective the application remains explicitly open to a wide range of disciplines.

The doctoral project pursues two closely interrelated objectives:

1. the deepening and rethinking of multilayering in relation to contrapuntal thinking conceived as a contemporary translation thereof whereby counterpoint is approached not merely as a historical-technical practice but as a framework for musical organisation; the research connects a reflection on contrapuntal principles with experimental and conceptual approaches to simultaneity and systematically investigates the underlying structural perceptual and compositional mechanisms which are artistically explored and elaborated;
2. the transposition and further articulation of the multilayered framework developed in the first objective into a transferable compositional and conceptual framework capable of structuring inter- and multidisciplinary artistic practices and of being implemented and critically evaluated within composition education at LUCA School of Arts.

The artistic output consists of a compositional portfolio and associated interdisciplinary performances which function as the primary research practice.
In addition the trajectory results in an autonomous research output in which systematic reflection on the artistic practice is undertaken with the aim of making the generated insights explicit analysing them and positioning them within the context of doctoral research.

The doctorate will be supervised within the Co-creation in Music cluster under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Pieter Schuermans (LUCA School of Arts/ KU Leuven).

In addition your assignment includes a teaching component of 20% for example within composition music-theoretical courses analysis research methodology or through supportive and organisational tasks within the programme.

Your appointment as a researcher can only commence once your PhD proposal has been approved by the Doctoral Committee in the Arts (LUCA KU Leuven).

Responsibilities

Responsibilities within the 50% research assignment

• You develop and realise an artistic research project on multilayering in music as a contemporary continuation of contrapuntal thinking as described above.
• You investigate how identities perceptions and interactions between musical layers can be shaped and explored within a compositional practice.
• You explore how this musical polyphony can be transposed into multi- and interdisciplinary contexts and document this through artistic output reflection and theoretical-methodological underpinning.
• You further elaborate the doctoral proposal into a dossier to be submitted to the Doctoral Committee in the Arts in close collaboration with your supervisor.
• You actively participate in the activities of the Co-creation in Music cluster (seminars exchanges presentations) and in the broader research life within LUCA and KU Leuven.
• You regularly present the progress of your research at internal and external forums both nationally and internationally.

Responsibilities within the 20% teaching assignment

• You provide a limited teaching contribution for example within composition music-theoretical courses analysis research methodology or related domains.
• You supervise students in their artistic development using your own research and practice as a source of inspiration for teaching and mentorship.
• Where applicable you take on supportive and organisational tasks within the programme always in dialogue with the team coordinator and involved lecturers.

Candidate Profile

• You hold a masters degree in music (preferably in composition music theory music creation or a related field).
• You have demonstrable compositional skills and a strong interest in artistic research.
• You have an affinity with concepts such as counterpoint texture multilayering perception and interdisciplinarity and are willing to deepen these in a research-oriented manner.
• You are capable of independently developing and documenting an artistic research project both through artistic output and through written and oral reflection.
• You have strong communication skills and can express yourself fluently in Dutch and English in accordance with the language requirements of Flemish higher education. At the start of your teaching assignment you must hold CEFR level B1 in the language of instruction (Dutch).
• You collaborate constructively within an interdisciplinary team and actively contribute to an open research and learning environment.
• You have good organisational skills and can manage deadlines planning and the combination of research and teaching.
• You are willing to further develop your professional practice and expertise and take initiative within research groups seminars and presentations.
• You endorse the mission vision and core values of LUCA School of Arts and contribute to an inclusive respectful and dynamic artistic-academic climate.
• You are willing to participate occasionally in international collaborations or working visits.

Offer

At LUCA you will work in an environment where respect and integrity define our basic attitude where sustainability and diversity are seen as strengths and where quality is our driving the coming years LUCA aims to position itself as an active societal actor transform its educational institute into a laboratory complement its offer with demand-driven initiatives and unlock its multi-campus reality as a network.

LUCA School of Arts seeks to create an environment in which all talents can fully develop regardless of gender age cultural background nationality or disability. We therefore welcome all talented individuals who recognise the added value of diversity and wish to help shape an inclusive organisation.

We offer a fixed-term appointment (70% mandate) for a period of two years in the position of assistant (salary scale 502) starting on 1 September 2026. Subject to a positive evaluation the appointment can be renewed twice for two years. More information on salary scales can be found on the website of the Flemish Department of Education ().

Selection Procedure

Applications must include a dossier consisting of:

• a motivation letter
• a developed research proposal (template for doctoral research proposal in the arts: CV
• a diploma certificate (and if applicable an equivalence statement)

Applications can be submitted up to and including 15 May 2026 via CV Warehouse. Only complete applications will be considered.

A first selection will be made based on the submitted dossiers.
You may be invited for an interview in the week of 1 June 2026. During the interview shortlisted candidates will be asked to present their research project and their vision on education and research to the selection committee. Subsequently the selected candidate will be asked to further develop the proposal together with the supervisor and submit it to the doctoral committee.

Interested

For more information please contact Dr. Pieter Schuermans Director of Artistic Practice Expertise:

For further information on the application procedure please contact

#WeArt