short vita

Priv.-Doz. Dr Jakub Sawicki brings together music psychology and artistic practice. As a systematic musicologist and Privatdozent at the University of Hamburg, his current research focuses on the cognitive and neural processes involved in music-making. At the heart of his work is the question of how musical perception, expectation, synchronisation and creative decision-making interact during improvisation.

He teaches improvisation at Berlin University of the Arts. His other teaching and research affiliations include the Music Academy Basel, the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig and the University of Auckland. He received the Springer Outstanding Thesis Prize for his doctoral dissertation. Published by Springer in 2025, his monograph Music Psychology — Balance of Relations examines musical experience and music-making from the perspective of complexity theory.

As a pianist, organist at Berlin Cathedral, improviser, and conductor of choirs and orchestras, Jakub Sawicki has contributed to numerous concerts, radio broadcasts and CD productions. He has worked with ensembles including the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the Berlin Philharmonic. His recordings have been released by Sony Classical and Naxos. Further areas of focus in his artistic work include improvisation, silent-film concerts and interdisciplinary projects.

Publications

J. Sawicki, Music Psychology – Balance of Relations, Current Research in Systematic Musicology, Springer (2025), https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-97003-0