Vorstand

Dr. Franz Kumpl – Obmann des Österreichischen Maultrommelvereins,
Chairman of the International Jew’s Harp Society

Dr. Franz Kumpl - Chairman of the Austrian & the International Jew's Harp Societies

At the age of 10, I got the first Jew’s harp from a friend of my father, a catholic priest who came from Molln, the Austrian centre of Jew’s harp production. I finished music school and studies of psychology, philosophy, Russian and German philology, as well as social management at Austrian universities. Travelling whenever time and money allowed, I got used to always carrying my Jew’s harps with me. I belonged to the politically left-wing “sex and drugs and rock ‘n roll- generation”, co-organising the first rock festivals in Salzburg and living in a commune.

I continued my fascination for other cultures by working in the inter-cultural sphere in a three-fold way: Firstly teaching, from 1983-86 teaching German culture at Tokyo Gaidai in Japan, 1987-89 at Lomonosov University MGU in Moscow, and since 1990 teaching Russian culture at Vienna and Salzburg Universities. Secondly, since 1990 developing and managing social projects in the CIS-countries for the humanitarian NGO CARE, for UN-organisations and for the European Community; and thirdly, on an unpaid basis and because “we are not in it just for money” – initiating and implementing cultural activities like production of CDs, documentary movies, exhibitions and festivals.

During the 2nd IJHF in 1991, I happened to be in Yakutsk for organising the distribution of 10 tons of baby milk powder. I was travelling with my harps and spent maximum time at the concerts and with the participants on the festival boat. Ivan Alexeev nominated me their representative in Austria and that was when my linkage with the Jew’s harp became serious. Inspired by the Wright-brothers, my brother Werner and me loved to improvise together and I still actively use the harp in the music sessions with friends, yet it quickly became clear that my abilities as an organiser are much more needed for the growing Jew’s harp community which was just about to learn about each other, having for a long time been quite isolated in their respective cultures and countries. The realisation of my dream to organise the 3rd IJHF in Molln/ Austria took about 7 years to come true, during which I organised concerts of Yakutian khomusists in Austria, established and headed the Oesterreichischer Maultrommelverein and found a compatriot in Manfred Russmann for realising the 3rd IJHF in Molln in 1998, whose main achievement was to outbalance East and West and to establish the IJHS, the president of which I have the honour to be since than.

Right now I am implementing as Project manager a big European Community-funded project on “Social integration and rehabilitation of disabled people” in the Russian Federation, establishing with Russian and European experts various models and
pilot projects for disabled people.

CONTACT/ KONTAKT:

Dr. Franz Kumpl

Am Hundsturm 13/14
A-1050 Wien, AUSTRIA

Tel: 0043-(0)1-54 567 94
Mail: post (at) maultrommelverein.at

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