• Correspondent, The Violin Channel (www.thevioilinchannel.com)
• Member Dutch Fair Practice team freelancers rights (ACCT)
• Chairperson, Supervisory Board Platform voor Freelance Musici (PvFM)
• Fulbright Specialists program
• Adjunct Law lecturer, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio USA
• Adjunct Lecturer Arbitration Law, Riga Graduate School of Law, Riga, Latvia
• Adjunct Lecturer, RUDN University Moscow
• www.violinist.com    blogger
• former Corresponding Editor, Strad Magazine, London

Heather Kurzbauer studied art history, sociology, and music at Yale University. She holds a Bachelors Degree cum laude and Masters Degree with Honors from that institution. Ms. Kurzbauer received her law degree from the University of Amsterdam Law Faculty and  received diplomas from Columbia Law School (Honors) in 1999. She obtained her PhD after successfully defending her thesis: Symphonic Metamorphoses: Variations on vulnerability: orchestral musicians' employment in times of crisis in June 2022. Recently, her thesis was accepted for publication by Kluwer Law International.

An active lecturer on subjects bridging law, media, politics, and the arts, Dr. Kurzbauer has developed courses at Emerson College (Boston), Webster University and Nyenrode Business University. Appointed to the UvA's Law Faculty in 2004, she lectures on comparative law, legal and academic English, and serves on the Faculty Works Council. A frequent contributor to British, Dutch and US newspapers/ journals, she  is a welcome guest on Dutch news-related television and radio programs. She served as Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague) from 2000-2004. Dr. Kurzbauer holds various adjunct professor positions:  Adjunct Professor of International Arbitration Law at Case Western University (US);  Adjunct Law Lecturer at Riga Graduate School of Law (Latvia) and RUDN University Moscow.

Turning to the arts, Dr. Kurzbauer has performed in leading orchestras in the Netherlands and abroad (including 26 years as a first violinist in the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra) and published hundreds of music/arts editorials and interviews for Strad Magazine London, BBC Music Magazine, violinist.com and most recently, The Violin Channel. From Novosibirsk to Beijing, Ms. Kurzbauer is a welcome guest at arts festivals and competitions worldwide (Spoleto Festival Dei Due Mondi, Grand Teton Music Festival, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels, Indianapolis International Violin Competition, TransSiberian Arts Festival, Beijing Crossroads) where she plays an active role in leading audience discussions and media deliberations on music and employment-related subjects.

Dr. Kurzbauer has been privileged to serve as keynote speaker/panelist at diverse fora sharing her vision on employment challenges for atypical workers at conferences on labor law and freelance workers (Canada, Europe, US). She has served on the Board of Directors of the Platform voor Freelance Musici since 2020 and joined the Dutch Fair Practice team (ACCT) on freelancer's rights in 2023.  Dr. Kurzbauer received membership in the Fulbright Specialists program in 2018.