DIRECTORS
Haftor Medbøe is Professor Emeritus of Jazz and Improvised Music with 40 years of theoretical and practical experience gained from his twin careers as academic and creative musician. He has recorded 15 albums of original music in collaborations with artists from across the UK and Europe and has composed musical scores for film, television, theatre, contemporary dance and installation art.
As an academic, he has designed and delivered programmes in creative musicianship spanning composition, improvisation, music history and business entrepreneurship.
His academic research focuses on the creative communities of jazz and improvised music and has been published and presented internationally.
His musical career has embraced community engagement through work in prisons, with young people at risk, and project-participants dealing with challenges to mental or physical health.
He holds a position on the Board of Directors, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Chair of the Scottish Jazz Archive and co-Editor in Chief of Jazz Research Journal, Equinox Publishing.
Marieke Meischke has been walking and exploring the worldwide field of jazz and improvised music, for 35 years.
As a lyricist she is coach for students at ArtEZ Music Conservatory and for advanced musicians internationally.
She works as showcase-festival producer/programmer/curator/artistic director, currently for Jazz Maastricht & JazzOutFest and previously for Orange Jazz Days, Music Meeting Festival, FlatFest and So What's Next? and is a frequent board/jury member for Brainteaser Orchestra, NU Art Orchestra, German Jazz Prize, Dutch Edison, Boy Edgar Prize and jazzahead!, to name a few.
She works as an advisor at the Dutch Performing Arts Fund, as editor for Jazz in Europe Magazine and Jazzism Magazine and practices as a certified confidential counsellor in the cultural sector, supported by being a trained Voice Dialogue facilitator.
She is co-founder of Jazz Sisters United, a safe place for women in the music industry, for support, advice and inspiration.
As a librettist she is collaborating with music theater production Drinkable River, where jazz, hip-hop and classical music meet in a climate concerned event.