Carl Gombrich is a British

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

educator, academic, former

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer and co-founder of the

London Interdisciplinary School The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) is a university in Whitechapel, London. LIS was founded in 2017 and is the first new institution since the 1960s to hold full degree-awarding powers in the United Kingdom from inception. The School off ...

Early life and education

Carl Gombrich was born in 1965, to Dorothea Amanda Friedrich and to renown British

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is o ...

and scholar, Richard Gombrich. He is the grandson of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n-born

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Ernst Gombrich Sir Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (; ; 30 March 1909 – 3 November 2001) was an Austrian-born art historian who, after settling in England in 1936, became a naturalised British citizen in 1947 and spent most of his working life in the United Kin ...

. Gombrich has received a Master's degree in Theoretical and

Mathematical physics Mathematical physics refers to the development of mathematics, mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The ''Journal of Mathematical Physics'' defines the field as "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and t ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

, as well as a Master's Degree in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

Career

Opera

From 2000 to 2001, Gombrich was the Royal Opera House Scholar at the

National Opera Studio The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for th ...

, where he sang

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. He has performed in various operatic roles, such as Masetto in

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

with the Garsington Opera, as Gianettino in

Fiesque ''Fiesque'' (''The Genoese Conspiracy'') is an opera in three acts by the French composer Édouard Lalo. The libretto, by Charles Beauquier, is based on Schiller's 1784 play, '' Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua'', an account of the conspira ...

, and as Macduff in

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. As well as producing music ...

's ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' at the

University College Opera University College Opera, or UCOpera, is the student opera company of University College London. The operas are staged by professional singers, directors and designers, with the orchestra and chorus drawn from the student body. Founded in 1951, ...

Academic & Program director at University College London

Gombrich joined

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

(UCL) in 2002 as a lecturer. The following year, he became a Teaching Fellow in Physics. He then became Principal of the University Preparatory Certificates, directing UCL's international foundation courses, which aid students coming from abroad to gain the skills to study at UK universities. In 2010, Gombrich was appointed Programme Director of

UCL Arts and Sciences The UCL Arts & Sciences degree is an interdisciplinary, undergraduate degree at University College London, United Kingdom. It is part of the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities for administrative purposes, but it engages fully with all science, s ...

, leading the design, development and implementation of the degree, which began accepting students in 2012. This program was one of the first of its kind in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to offer a

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...

degree. He directed the program until 2019. He was a member of the British Academy Working Group on Interdisciplinarity, led by David Soskice, which in 2016 published a report titled 'Crossing paths: interdisciplinary institutions, careers, education and applications', alongside other notable academics such as Colette Fagan,

Tom McLeish Thomas Charles Buckland McLeish (1 May 1962 – 27 February 2023) was a British theoretical physicist. His work is renowned for increasing understanding of the properties of soft matter. This is a matter that can be easily changed by stress ...

, Professor Georgina Born, Julia Black,

Barry C. Smith Barry C. Smith is a British philosopher and director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study at University of London. He also co-directs the Centre for the Study of the Senses. He has previously been a visiting professor at ...

and

Graeme Reid Graeme Reid (born 15 June 1948), also known as Graham Reid, is a retired field hockey player from Australia. He was a member of the national team that won the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He also repr ...

. Gombrich was also a core member of the

NVAO The Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders ( nl, Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie; NVAO) is the independent educational accreditation organisation for higher education institutions in the Netherlands and Flanders. It wa ...

accreditation panel for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Colleges of the Netherlands. Gombrich is a regular speaker at events on interdisciplinary and liberals arts and sciences, both in the UK and abroad. Gombrich also writes academic papers on interdisciplinarity and the philosophy of education, as well as music.

Foundation of the London Interdisciplinary School

In 2017, Gombrich founded the London Interdisciplinary School alongside Chris Persson and Ed Fidoe, where he is the Academic Lead and Head of Teaching and Learning. This university aims to provide students with an interdisciplinary, practical education, and admitted its first undergraduate cohort in 2021.

Publications

* ''Expressions of Inexpressible Truths: Attempts at Descriptions of Mystical and Musical Experiences''. The World of Music, 2008. * ''Polymathy, New Generalism, and the Future of Work: A Little Theory and Some Practice from UCL’s Arts and Sciences Degree''. In book: Experiences in Liberal Arts and Science Education from America, Europe, and Asia, pp. 75–89, 2016. * ''What Sort of Interdisciplinary Research Can Undergraduates Do?''. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 2016 * ''Interdisciplinarity and the Student Voice'' In book: The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity (2nd Edition) , 2017 * ''Integrating Sciences and Engineering in the Liberal Arts Curriculum'' In book: Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory, pp. 1–6, 2017 * ''The academic Caesar: university leadership is hard'' Comparative Education, 2017 * ''Academic Blogging in The Digitally Agile Researcher http://www.digitallyagile.com/''. University College London, 2017. * Gombrich, Carl and Navarro, Virginia and Blackmore, Isabelle and Blumberg, Jacopo and Cox, Emily and Hodges-Smikle, Graham and Lin, Jiaqi and Orr, Charles. ''Challenges of interdisciplinary courses containing research-based learning components: Ways to Connect Research and Teaching.'' In book: , pp. 270–274, 2018. * ''Implementing Interdisciplinary Curricula: Some Philosophical and Practical Remarks''. European Review, 2018.

Academic appointments

* Teaching Fellow in Physics at UCL * Professorial Teaching Fellow in Interdisciplinary Education at UCL * Principal Fellow of the

Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recogniti ...

Personal life

Gombrich is married and has two children. In interviews, he references his pastimes as singing, reading, and watching

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

References

External links

Gombrich, Carl
on

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education'' ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gombrich, Carl Alumni of King's College London Alumni of the University of London 21st-century British male opera singers Academics of University College London University and college founders Living people Mathematics educators Physics educators Philosophy academics Education writers 21st-century British educators 1965 births