Harburg in the Spotlight of Computer Music
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With 400 attendees, interactive performances, and an international science slam, Off-ICMC brought the latest research on computer-assisted music from the conference rooms of ICMC HAMBURG 2026 directly into the public spaces of Hamburg-Harburg.
From May 10 to 16, 2026, the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) took place in Hamburg-Harburg. This marked the first time in 26 years that the renowned conference on computer-assisted music returned to Germany. The ligeti zentrum complemented the official conference program with the Off-ICMC. Under the title “Music in Our Digital Age,” the free accompanying festival created a space for public concerts, workshops, interactive performances, and creative exchange with the international academic community. The Off-ICMC translated the official conference motto—“Innovation, Translation, Participation”—into questions relevant to everyday life: “What is music to you? What does it sound like today? Where does it begin, and where does it end?”
Participatory Music Research
To make the extensive program—consisting of five workshops, five performances, three concerts, and a science slam—accessible to as diverse an audience as possible, the Off-ICMC events took place in public spaces as well as at well-known institutions in Harburg. While the festival hub at Harburg Info served as the central meeting point for three days, workshops at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) explored topics such as the basics of programming and new perspectives on virtual reality. Meanwhile, Stellwerk Hamburg hosted interactive installations and performances in a club-like atmosphere.
Off-ICMC also ensured accessibility through multilingual audio formats and live translations. The Science Slam at the newly renovated Kultur Palast Harburg, for example, fostered international exchange on the main stage. Accompanied by a simultaneous interpreter, international artists and researchers presented their projects in a humorous and accessible manner. The audience selected the best presentation—an interactive lecture on musical chemistry by Walker Smith (USA), who will be a three-month resident at the ligeti zentrum in 2025.
Public and Media Response
Spread over six days, more than 400 visitors of all ages attended the Off-ICMC events. The organizers from the ligeti zentrum—Nadine Schwalb (Agency for Outreach and Social Participation), Joana Welteke (Sustainable Theater Lab), and Christian Tschirner (Sustainable Theater Lab)—look back on a successful week of programming. “With Off-ICMC, our interdisciplinary team succeeded in reaching people outside the traditional conference setting and actively bringing the topic of ‘computer music’ into public and non-academic spaces,” reports Nadine Schwalb. “What particularly stands out in my memory are the moments when conference attendees and people from Harburg came together—whether it was to techno music played on a digital accordion in the pedestrian zone or during the interactive music segment at the Science Slam, in which everyone could participate using their cell phones.”
Media coverage also underscored the public’s interest in the intersection of research, music, and society. Reports on the ligeti zentrum, the ICMC, and Off-ICMC appeared in outlets such as ByteFM, the Hamburger Abendblatt, the NDR Hamburg Journal, the Kulturjournal, and on NDR 90.3.
What’s Next
The ligeti zentrum will continue to build on this successful and high-profile outreach in the future. In addition to individual project presentations and events, the entire center will once again open its labs and offices to interested visitors on December 5, 2026, as part of an open house.