Stephanus Muller

I am a South African music scholar and writer who has written about South African twentieth-century composition, exile, archiving, language politics, music and apartheid and university institutional transformation.

Music studies in South Africa has, over the last two decades, sought to liberate methodological approaches from (sub)disciplinary enclaves. I have been closely involved in this process through my roles in the establishment of the South African Society for Research in Music (SASRIM) in 2006, the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS) at Stellenbosch University in 2005 and the Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation at Stellenbosch University in 2016. Institutionally, my work with DOMUS led, amongst others, to the research project on the EOAN opera company in Cape Town, which culminated in an oral history (EOAN – Our Story) and a film (An Inconsolable Memory). Among the research produced by the AOI, is the digitally curated journal herri (see https://herri.org.za/9/). My own research and work with postgraduate students have pioneered creative-led approaches to research in composition, visual arts and performance, and in my own work in biography and fiction.

Major Publications

Eoan – Our Story (Johannesburg: Fourthwall, 2013). This oral history was compiled by a book committee comprising scholars and members of the Eoan community, following years of interviews with singers and other stakeholders in the first opera company in Cape Town, the Eoan Group. The making of the book was filmed by Aryan Kaganof and the documentary, An Inconsolable Memory (2016) can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/111217435 .

Nagmusiek (Johannesburg: Fourthwall, 2014). This book was the result of a decade-long archival and research project about the composer Arnold van Wyk. See: https://fourthwallbooks.com/product/nagmusiek/. The book was awarded prizes for fiction and non-fiction, and set out to address the challenge of biographical writing in Afrikaans, about Afrikaans artists active during apartheid, in the era of democracy.

The Journey to the South (Stellenbosch: Africa SunMedia, 2019). This short manifesto concerns issues of ethics and academic freedom of speech. The text is a collaboration with artist Manfred Zylla. For a precis of the text and some of Zylla’s art, see: https://herri.org.za/3/stephanus-muller-manfred-zylla/. For a review, see: https://herri.org.za/6/aris-sitas/
Relevant Teaching and Research Activities
I have supervised and co-supervised a number of artistic-led doctorates. These include the work of visual artist, Nicola Deane (see: https://herri.org.za/5/sections/phd-nicola-deane/), Esther Marie Pauw (https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/2f36db3b-21fe-436c-b3aa-5868079ef176), Visser Liebenberg (https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/4c69f242-994e-4c19-bac5-8c1e01cedaa1) and Hans Huyssen (https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/957bc018-6ec3-4080-bcd7-fc160c950565).
Relevant Collaborative Activities
I have collaborated with artists Manfred Zylla (The Journey to the South), Aryan Kaganof (the films Say it with flowers, An Inconsolable Memory), Roelof van Wyk (the book Jong Afrikaner, https://fourthwallbooks.com/product/jong-afrikaner-a-self-portrait/ ).

I have also hosted research projects by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (Delinking Encounters), the Volkswagen Stiftung (The Hidden Years Music Archive), the Decay without Mourning Project (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond), the German Heritage Foundation (Genadendal Music Archive Project) and the Sterkfontein Composers Meeting
Relevant Research Activities
Africa Open Institute is a postgraduate research institute, and all teaching that happens in the institute services our cohort of Masters and doctoral students. Currently, AOI runs a seminar on the Spheres Trilogy of Peter Sloterdijk (led by Willemien Froneman) and the institute will be launching an interdisciplinary Masters and doctoral degree in 2024.
The Africa Open Improvising Collective
The Africa Open Improvising collective was established in March 2020 and exists as a gathering place for musicians exploring aspects of free sonic improvisation. The collective is affiliated to the Africa Open Institute for Music, Research and Innovation, at Stellenbosch University.

See https://herri.org.za/9/esther-marie-pauw/ for the work done by the AOI Improvising ensemble.