The doctoral student and conductor Afshin Khaef will defend his professional doctoral degree in music (Artium Doctor – Art. D) on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at 10:00, in auditory 231 of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music.
The practice-based thesis “Conducting Under Constraints: Gestural economy, time limitation and interpretation priority” investigates orchestral conducting as an embodied and adaptive practice shaped by the tension between analytical preparation and the practical realities of rehearsal and performance. It asks how a conductor’s prepared analytical and interpretive intentions are transformed through gestural economy and real-time decision-making when limited time, uneven preparation, unstable coordination, acoustic or material conditions, and institutional demands restrict what can be achieved. Rather than treating interpretation as something transferred directly from score study to performance, the dissertation examines how musical intentions are tested and reshaped through gesture, selective verbal intervention, rehearsal triage, ensemble response, and artistic judgement.
The theoretical research is closely linked to three artistic projects by the doctoral student: a multilingual choir performance “A Call for Freedom” at Avicii Arena; a concert at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with an orchestra specially created for this project; and a program “Bells of Victory” with the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra at the Berwaldhallen concert hall in Stockholm.
The supervisor of the doctoral student's artistic project is Jānis Puriņš, Associate Professor and faculty member at the JVLMA Department of Orchestra Conducting, while the supervisor of his theoretical study is Associate Professor Krists Auznieks, Head of the JVLMA Department of Composition. Afshin Khaef’s theoretical study is available here and at the JVLMA library.
The Joint Professional Doctoral Study Programme in Arts “Arts” by three Latvian higher education institutions of art — the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, the Art Academy of Latvia, and the Latvian Academy of Culture celebrated its fifth anniversary with an international conference in May 2026. To date, 30 professional doctoral degrees have been awarded through the program across various artistic disciplines. Previously, it was only possible to obtain an academic doctoral degree in the arts in Latvia.