With family roots in Poland and Ukraine, Lars Seniuk (born 1989) grew up on the outskirts of Hamburg. Although his parents were neither academics nor musicians, he was fortunate enough to receive classical trumpet training from Prof. Hans-Jörg Packeiser and preparatory studies in jazz trumpet from Prof. Ingolf Burkhardt at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. This support, which he received despite his socioeconomic status and immigrant background, formed the basis for his later involvement as a director of NGOs and as a passionate university lecturer and mentor of young talent – key areas of activity and concerns within his own career.
Even as a teenager and in his early twenties, Lars Seniuk enjoyed an international career as a trumpet soloist and conductor. By his mid-twenties, the musician, described as a “high-flyer” (Hessian Broadcasting, SWR) and a “jack-of-all-trades” (Deutschlandfunk), also emerged as a sought-after composer in classical, contemporary, and jazz music.
At the age of 29, after teaching conducting, composition, pedagogy, and trumpet at the music academies in Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Weimar, he accepted a professorship and institute directorship at the MUK Vienna. In 2024, at the age of 34, the Dresden University of Music elected him its rector. He is thus considered the second-youngest rector of a university in European history.
In addition to his role as rector, he leads international research projects, gives masterclasses worldwide for composers, conductors and brass players, gives lectures on topics from art, research and management and is involved in a variety of ways in art and society, including by founding and leading NGOs in the field of refugee aid or as a supporter of other first generation students.