Terri Lyne Carrington Named Top Professor at Munich Conservatory

By DownBeat I Feb. 24, 2026

Terri Lyne Carrington will teach at the HMTM’s Jazz Institute until the end of 2028.
(Photo: John Watson)

Jazz drummer, composer, producer and educator Terri Lyne Carrington is the new Top Professor at the University of Music and Theatre Munich (HMTM) in Germany, according to the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts. Thanks to the Top Professorship Programme (SPP) as part of the Hightech Agenda Bavaria, Carrington will teach at the conservatory’s Jazz Institute until the end of 2028. At the same time, various interdisciplinary projects will spread throughout the entire university.

“With professor Terri Lyne Carrington, one of the most influential personalities in modern jazz is coming to the University of Music and Theatre Munich as a Bavarian Top Professor,” said Markus Blume, Minister of State. “Terri Lyne Carrington is a master of her craft who shapes and redefines contemporary jazz in several roles at once: As a musician and producer, she has received numerous international awards, and as an educator, she is reaching a new generation of students at Berklee College of Music. Her teaching is as influential as her artistic projects. Together, these two aspects define her influence in jazz today. She is an enormous asset to Munich and Bavaria.”

For more than 30 years, the Jazz Institute at HMTM has been a successful training center for jazz talent from all over the world. Nearly 90 students from around 20 countries benefit from the first-class courses and renowned teachers from the European jazz scene.

“Terri Lyne Carrington strengthens our Jazz Institute in a unique way and at exactly the right time,” said professor Lydia Grün, president ofHMTM. “Her artistic innovation will be reflected both in ensemble work and in interdisciplinary, university-wide projects. Her experience in promoting gender equality in jazz will be a catalyst for the further development of our Jazz Institute and our university.”

With the Top Professorship Programme (SPP) as part of the High-Tech Agenda Bavaria, the Bavarian Ministry of Science and the Arts promotes research at the highest level. This enables professorships for outstanding national and international personalities like Carrington.

“Thanks to her experience, we will be able to significantly deepen and expand our previous steps at the Jazz Institute for greater gender equality in the jazz scene,” said professor Claus Reichstaller, director of the Jazz Institute at HMTM.

Carrington describes her teaching approach as follows: “At the heart of everything I do is mutual respect and collaboration, both on stage and in the classroom. When I teach young musicians, I share my knowledge and experiences, but I get as much back from them. Jazz is about creativity and freedom. Artistic innovation comes from new perspectives and expansive thinking. My work for greater gender justice in jazz in particular helps to create space for new stories and new sounds in jazz. That’s what drives me.” DB