Karlheinz Essl is a composer, electronic musician, performer, media artist and software designer. He studied composition with Friedrich Cerha and musicology in Vienna, and was composer in residence at the Darmstadt Summer Courses and at IRCAM in Paris. Since 2007 he holds a professorship in electroacoustic composition at the Vienna University of Music. In addition to instrumental pieces and compositions involving live electronics, Essl develops generative composition software, improvisation concepts, sound installations and performances. Past projects include collaborations with artists such as Harald Naegeli (the “Sprayer of Zurich”) and Jonathan Meese, with writers Andreas Okopenko and Erwin Uhrmann, and with choreographer Andrea Nagl. In 2020 Essl became a member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus.