Professor Carlos Roos has been teaching at Webster Leiden in the Department of Media
Communications and Fine Arts since 2014. He grew up in Venezuela and completed his
undergraduate work in Caracas before he moved to the Netherlands to begin pursuing
his master’s degree.
“After I finished my studies in 2010, I found a job somewhere else and I moved out of the country,” he said. “I came back in 2013. I like it here very, very much. As soon as I had a chance to come back I did.”
In addition to teaching classes at Webster Leiden, Professor Roos is finishing up his PhD in Philosophy at nearby Leiden University. His research focuses on music and the philosophy of art and how it impacts media theory. He hopes to complete and defend his thesis later this year.
The first class that Professor Roos taught at Webster Leiden was Audio Production. This led to additional courses about global citizenship, art and music. During the winter of 2017, he helmed a class titled Cultural Diversity along with Language and Power, a seminar.
“The class had to do with the argument that there is a very specific structural core to the kind of music you would find in so-called global media outlets,” he said. “My interest specifically is in the kind of musical material that is present on the global scale, which might or might not include a lot of international styles and might or might not partake in certain business models. The class focused on how all of those aspects influence the music we listen to.”
Professor Roos also plays a variety of musical instruments but his specialty is the guitar. He’s working on a solo project that uses software-based music patterns like electronic bass lines and samples in addition to more conventional instrumentation and vocals. That, however, has taken a backseat to an innovative theatrical piece that Professor Roos has been involved with as well. Its concept was inspired by a course he taught at Webster Leiden called Art and Social Engagement.
“It’s a performance art piece that features live music so I’ve been developing the composition,” he said. “It’s about multiculturalism and the tensions surrounding cultural diversity here in the Netherlands. I’m composing for voices instead of musical instruments. The vocals will be distributed around the stage so there will be a quadraphonic effect that gives an enveloping sensation.”
Titled: The Involved Stage, the project is a collaborative effort between Professor Roos and a team that includes students from Webster Leiden. It’s scheduled to debut in 2017.
Text: Brandon Hartley