Jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington is the new Top Professor at the HMTM

Carrington Terri Lyne 1 c Michael Goldman

Foto: Michael Goldman

Jazz drummer Terri Lyne Carrington is the new Top Professor at the HMTM

 

World-renowned jazz drummer, composer, producer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington is the new Top Professor at our university. This was announced today in Munich by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. Thanks to the Top Professorship Programme (SPP) as part of the Hightech Agenda Bavaria, Terri Lyne Carrington will teach at the HMTM’s Jazz Institute until the end of 2028. At the same time, various interdisciplinary projects will spread throughout the entire university. 

Minister of State Markus Blume said: »Jazz luminary, four-time Grammy Award winner, world-class artist: With Prof. Terri Lyne Carrington, one of the most influential personalities in modern jazz is coming to the University of Music and Theatre Munich as a Bavarian Top Professor. Terri Lyne Carrington is a master of her craft who shapes and redefines contemporary jazz in several roles at once: As a musician and producer, she has received numerous international awards, and as an educator, she is reaching a new generation of students at Berklee College of Music. Her teaching is as influential as her artistic projects. Together, these two aspects define her influence in jazz today. She is an enormous asset to Munich and Bavaria.«

Prof. Lydia Grün, President of the HMTM, explains: »Terri Lyne Carrington strengthens our Jazz Institute in a unique way and at exactly the right time. Her artistic innovation will be reflected both in ensemble work and in interdisciplinary, university-wide projects. Her experience in promoting gender equality in jazz will be a catalyst for the further development of our Jazz Institute and our university.«

Prof. Terri Lyne Carrington describes her teaching approach as follows: »At the heart of everything I do is mutual respect and collaboration, both on stage and in the classroom. When I teach young musicians, I share my knowledge and experiences, but I get as much back from them. Jazz is about creativity and freedom. Artistic innovation comes from new perspectives and expansive thinking. My work for greater gender justice in jazz in particular helps to create space for new stories and new sounds in jazz. That’s what drives me.«

Prof. Claus Reichstaller, Director of the Jazz Institute at HMTM, emphasises: »It is a great honour for us to welcome an artist as globally successful and highly acclaimed in the scene as Terri Lyne Carrington to our Jazz Institute and HMTM as a whole. As an international star, educator and producer, she will inspire our students and open up completely new perspectives for them, especially in the development of interdisciplinary projects. Thanks to her experience, we will be able to significantly deepen and expand our previous steps at the Jazz Institute for greater gender equality in the jazz scene. I am very much looking forward to our intensive collaboration!«

Drummer, composer, producer and educator: Prof. Terri Lyne Carrington

Drummer, composer, producer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington is an NEA Jazz Master, Doris Duke Artist and four-time Grammy winner. She is the founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, as well as the artistic director of the Next Jazz Legacy Programme (a collaboration with New Music USA). Throughout her career, she has performed with greats such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stan Getz, Esperanza Spalding and many other influential jazz personalities, and has contributed to more than 100 recordings.

Terri Lyne Carrington’s artistic achievements and commitment to education have earned her honorary doctorates from York University, the Manhattan School of Music and Berklee College of Music. Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science’s critically acclaimed release Waiting Game (2019) won the prestigious Edison Award for Music and earned a Grammy nomination. In autumn 2022, she released the groundbreaking songbook collection New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets By Women Composers, accompanied by the acclaimed album new STANDARDS vol.1 and the installation New Standards, as part of the Jazz Without Patriarchy Project. For her album ‘We Insist! 2025,’ which she recorded with Christie Dashiell, she is once again nominated for a Grammy in the ‘Best Jazz Vocal Album’ category in 2026.

The Top Professorship Programme as part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria

With the Top Professorship Programme (SPP) as part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts promotes research at the highest level. This enables professorships for outstanding national and international personalities. At art universities, the SPP is designed as a visiting professorship programme for which the universities could apply. The concepts submitted were evaluated by a panel of experts. The decision on the selection of the personalities to be appointed is made by the respective university.