Philip Kueppers has taken charge as the new director of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh from 1 February 2016 replacing Judith Mirschberger, who has recently departed for her new posting in Tunisia ending almost five years tenure here in Bangladesh.

Minister for Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor, and the German Ambassador along with the Goethe-Institut’s partners in the cultural sector gathered to see Mirschberger off this week and to welcome her successor, Philip Küppers.

Prior to his new assignment in Bangladesh, Philip Kueppers was working as a lecturer and researcher for the chair of Transcultural Music Studies at the LISZT University of Music, Weimar (Germany).

Philip Kueppers started his career with a professional training in audio engineering and for almost five years ran a recording studio in Berlin (Germany) in which he recorded numerous CDs. He then studied Musicology and International Relations at the Humboldt University Berlin, the University of Bath (England) and the SciencesPo Paris (France).

After his graduation he has worked in the area of ethnomusicology and has done fieldwork in many countries, including Azerbaijan, Brazil, the USA, Tanzania and Turkey. He also taught as a guest lecturer in Colombia.

For the last five years at the German Music University, he has taught many student classes and conducted research projects for the revitalisation of local traditional art. He was also the founder of the Afghanistan Music Research Centre and curated many musical events and archiving initiatives in Afghanistan.

Since 2013 he has served as a member of the advisory board for the tff, Germany’s largest world music festival and was elected Senator of the University of Music in Weimar.

Born in 1978 in Dortmund, Germany, Philip Kueppers is happily married and has one child.

In a welcome note, Philip Kueppers has expressed his happiness for being in a culturally diverse country like Bangladesh and is very excited to get to know the country and its people better.