Heather Kurzbauer

PhD in law, senior law lecturer, professional orchestral musician, advocate for freelance musicians. Heather Kurzbauer is passionate about orchestral musicians and the law. A graduate of Yale and the University of Amsterdam, she was a member of the first violin section of the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra for over two decades. As orchestras faced drastic cuts post financial crisis 2007-2008, she turned her attention to the vulnerabilities within the orchestral sector, with a particular focus on freelancers. She defended her thesis Symphonic Metamorphoses: variations on vulnerability orchestral musicians' employment at times of crisis in June 2022. At present, Dr. Kurzbauer is a senior law lecturer at the University of Amsterdam, a member of Sinfonia Rotterdam and actively involved in labor groups representing freelancers including the FNV and the Platform Freelance Musici.