| ANADOLU MAKAM |
OBERWALLISER VOLKSLIEDERCHOR |
PUTNI |
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 Photo: Janis Deinats |
| https://www.youtube.com/@anadolumakam2449/videos |
Die Geschichte
des Oberwalliser Volksliederchors ist
untrennbar mit derjenigen des 'Liederkaplans'
Adolf Imhof und der Geschichte des Singspiels im
Wallis verbunden. Adolf Imhof wurde sein Gründer
und erster Dirigent, der Volksdichter Dr. Ludwig
Imesch der 1. Präsident . Zahllose Lieder wurden
für den Volksliederchor geschrieben und
aufgeführt. Als Botschafter des Wallis trat er bei
den Walsertreffen in Italien, Österreich und
Lichtenstein auf. 1971-74 spielte ernicht weniger
als 4 Platten beim Schweizer Radio in Bern ein,
bis 1995 sollten 5 weitere Einspielungen mit Felix
Schmid und Franz Weissen folgen. Glanzvolle
Aufführungen erlebten die Singspiele 'Im
Gantertal' 1968/82/92, 'Dorftanz' 1985, 'Gratzug'
1991 und 'Der letzte Sander' 2000. 1975 wirkten
die Mitglieder des Oberwalliser Volksliederchores
als Statisten im Walt Disney Film 'Barry'. 1965
kommt ihm die Ehre zu, beim Empfang des Königs
Frederik von Dänemark in Brig im Beisein des
Bundespräsidenten Tschudi zu singen, deren Lob und
Glückwunsch sind Ehrenzeichen in der Geschichte
des Chores. Der Oberwalliser Volksliederchor
erfreut eine treue einheimische Zuhörerschaft und
trat seit 2006 wieder mehrfach im Schweizer Radio
(DRS, Espace 2, RRO) und Fernsehen (SF1 Bsuech us,
Regionalfernsehen). Er ist ausserdem Gründer der
Stiftung zur Förderung der Jugendchöre im
Oberwallis, tritt in der Walliser Werktagstracht
auf und singt auswendig. Beim geselligen
Zusammensein intoniert er daher selbst in
kleinster Runde seine heiteren, fröhlichen und
besinnlichen Lieder.
http://oberwalliservolksliederchor.ch |
The
vocal group Putni (BIRDS) was
established in 1993 in Riga by eight singers
from the leading professional choirs in
Latvia. The women's vocal ensemble is revered
for their beautiful tone and adventurous
programming and has received wide acclaim for
their concerts in Latvia, Europe, Australia,
Japan and the United States. The group has won
numerous prizes including the Grand Prix in
five international competitions. Their
programming weaves together traditional
Latvian music, new compositions by Latvian and
foreign composers, music of classical and
early music composers, and elements of jazz
and rock music. Since its founding, group have
premiered over 100 new pieces by Latvian and
foreign composers and recorded seven CDs.
http://putni-ensemble.lv |
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| COOL-A
CAPPELLA |
WAEL SAMI ELKHOLY | BAHUR GHAZI |
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| Cool~a Cappella has
masterly carried their own unique a cappella music
towards the world since it's founding in 2007. It
consists of five young singers specialized in each
style of vocal technique. The group is joined by a
coloratura soprano, a Korean traditional court
music vocalist, a pop/jazz vocalist, a Korean
Pansori folklore singer and a bass singer. Cool~a
Cappella present their own fascinating color and
is trying to mix diverse style of music into each
song by arranging favorite tunes or writing new
tunes fitted to the stage under the direction of
Mr. Cool-jae HUH who also leads Korean choral
composers association as chairman. Their
repertoire includes the eastern and the western
and it ranges from the classic through the
contemporary. In 2008, they presented more than
twenty gigs including Jeju international choir
festival and they also won the best arrangement
prize in Taiwan international a-cappella festival.
Nowadays, they are mainly invited as performing
group with a good reputation to many choral
workshops in Korea. |
"I was raised in Dubai amidst the golden sands, endless sunshine, the soothing scent of the sea, and the comforting aroma of Arabic coffee. Growing up in a household steeped in musical traditions, I was immersed in a symphony of sounds. At home, the air was often filled with the melodies of traditional Arabic music, the timeless classics of Western compositions, the soulful rhythms of Arabian Gulf music, and the enchanting tunes of Indian and Persian melodies. My journey into the world of music began at a tender age. I composed my very first song at the age of six, drawing inspiration from a poem in one of my schoolbooks. Encouraged by my father's unwavering support, I bravely performed it at a school event, setting the stage for my lifelong musical odyssey. A year later, my career took flight in Cairo as I stepped into the lead role in Egypt's inaugural children's operetta. From that moment onward, life has been a whirlwind of musical notes and dramatic performances. By the age of 14, I had firmly established myself as a well-known singer, renowned for my vocal prowess, and an actor in the Arab cultural scene. This journey afforded me the incredible opportunity to grace stages worldwide, from the grand theatres of London to the vibrant landscapes of Shanghai. My passion for music and theatre has been my North Star, guiding and nurturing me through every twist and turn of my journey. To me, a musician truly becomes a performer when the artistic creation comes alive on stage. Every expression, every gesture, every movement bears significance and wields a unique impact on the audience. In 2008, a life-changing opportunity led me to Switzerland, where I embarked on an enriching musical residency. It was there that I made the pivotal decision to relocate to Bern, a move that would redefine both my career and my life. Leaving behind the familiarity of Egypt marked a profound turning point. I embarked on a quest for new challenges, a fresh start. I envisioned the transformation of the pop and traditional Arabic singer into a professional vocalist, composer, and performer with a strong pleasure in songwriting. I take pleasure in adapting various forms to connect with my audience. Whether through the instrument of my voice, a soul-stirring song, or an abstract composition, I relish every opportunity to bridge the gap and share the enchanting frequencies of this blend with my audience. My new life became a canvas to rediscover and deepen my connection with the magic of music and theatre. I think music, and I perform theatre, and sometimes I think theatre and I play music. I find myself seamlessly blending both realms, where one complements the other in a symphony of creativity. It's a magical fusion, and the moments when they harmoniously converge are genuinely extraordinary. My journey is an ongoing exploration of new sounds, fresh perspectives, and innovative ways to 'be' this fusion and convey its transcendent resonance to those who listen.“ http://wael-sami.com | Der syrische Komponist und Musiker Bahur Ghazi studierte Oud (arabische Laute) beim irakischen Musiker Naseer Shamma und unterrichtete am Bait al Oud al Arabi in Kairo. Ghazi lebt in der Schweiz und schreibt Musik für Jazzformationen, klassische Orchester und Theater. Er tritt als Solomusiker und mit seinem Ensemble Palmyra auf. |
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| CHAO-MING
TUNG |
HUANG
RUO |
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| Chao-Ming Tung is a Taiwanese-born composer and gu-zheng player (Chinese zither). His music encompasses stage, instrumental, vocal, and electro-acoustic works, and multimedia-performances with visual arts and dance. Since 2000 he has gradually incorporated Chinese instruments into his music, and improvises with gu-zheng and live electronics in concerts. In 1988 he began composition studies with Chien Nan-Chang in the Chinese-Culture-University Taipei. He continued his training from 1990 -1997 at the Musikhochschule Köln Germany with Johannes Fritsch and Mauricio Kagel, and later at the Folkwang-Hochschule Essen with Nicolaus A. Huber, where he graduated with distinction. Since 1999 he has worked as a freelance composer and musician, and facilitates East-West cultural exchanges. Tung's work has been presented in concerts of numerous festivals throughout Europe, Asia, and the USA. He has collaborated with choreographers, dancers, painters, musicians, ensembles, sound-, media- and video artists, e.g. Annegret Heiln, René Pieters, Bernhard Gal, Klang Forum Wien, Ensemble Ictus, Ensemble Modern, ensemble 2e2m, Ensemble On-Line Vienna , ensemble DEDALO, and China Found Music Workshop Taipei. He was awarded the Bernd Alois Zimmermann Scholarship for Composers from the City of Cologne in 1999, the Scholarship of National Culture and Arts Foundation Taiwan in 2001 and the Scholarship of Villa Aurora Los Angles, second award of international Xu Chang Hui composition competition Taiwan. He is a composer in residence of China Found Music Workshop Taipei since 2006 and guest professor for composition at the National Ciao Tung University 2007. | Huang Ruo has been lauded by the New Yorker as “one of the world’s leading young composers” and by the New York Times for having “a distinctive style.” His vibrant and inventive musical voice draws equal inspiration from Chinese ancient and folk music, Western avant-garde, experimental, noise, natural and processed sound, rock, and jazz. As a member of the new generation of Chinese composers, his goal is not just to mix both Western and Eastern elements, but also to create a seamless, organic integration. Huang Ruo’s diverse compositional works span from orchestra, chamber music, opera, theater, and dance, to cross-genre, sound installation, multi-media, experimental improvisation, folk rock, and film. Huang Ruo’s music has been premiered and performed by orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, National Polish Radio Orchestra, Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic, ensembles and quartets such as Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble, Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta, Remix Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, and Ethel Quartet and conductors such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, Marin Alsop, Dennis Russell Davies, Ed Spanjaard, Peter Rundel, Alexander Liebreich, Xian Zhang, and Ilan Volkov. Huang Ruo’s opera Dr. Sun Yat-Sen had its American premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 2014 and will receive its Canadian premiere by the Vancouver Opera for its future season. His opera Paradise Interrupted received its world premiere at the Spoleto Festival USA in 2015 and was performed at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2016, before going on tour to Asia and Europe. In addition, his works were shown at Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera and Opera Hong Kong. http://huangruo.com | |
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UMS'nJIP are a
Swiss contemporary music duo based
in Münster
(Valais/Switzerland) at the foot
of the Finsteraarhorn and the
Rhone Glacier, consisting of
Ulrike Mayer-Spohn (UMS) on
recorders & electronics and
Javier Hagen (JIP), voice &
electronics. One of the
most experienced and distinguished
contemporary music laboratories of
our times, they work as composers,
performers and organizers within a
global network
of composers, visual artists, stage
directors, researchers, universities
and festivals. Their special
interest in long term collaboration,
with its exchange of knowledge and
awareness, brings context to new
creations and results in an
outstanding increase of artistic
content. In this manner, UMS'nJIP
explore new settings for voice,
recorders and electronics, ranging
from live to digital performance in
concert, scenic or installative
formats and often integrate European
as well as non-European music. UMS'nJIP
have been invited to perform at prestigious
contemporary music festivals
around the world including Zürich,
Lucerne, Donaueschingen, Stuttgart,
Berlin, Paris, Venice, Barcelona,
Athens, Istanbul, Cairo, Moscow,
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tongyeong,
Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and
New York. They have premiered hundreds
of works, collaborating with
both world famous and aspiring young
composers such as Heiner Goebbels,
Wolfgang Rihm, Mauricio Kagel,
Jennifer Walshe, Wolfgang Mitterer,
Erik Oña, Luis Codera Puzo, Chikashi
Miyama, Du Yun, Huang Ruo and Guo
Wenjing. They can look back on more
than 1400 concerts since their
debut in 2007 and are one of the most
active contemporary music ensembles
worldwide, bringing both young and
established works not only to famous
venues but also to audiences who do
not have easy access to live
performances of top quality
contemporary music. Both
individually and as a duo UMS and JIP
have received numerous commissions
and awards and have been invited
to
share their knowledge in renowned
universities in Europe, America
and Asia. JIP is also the director of
the Swiss Contemporary Music Festival Forum
Wallis and the current president
of
ISCM Switzerland, he serves as
well the boards of the European
Conference of Promoters of New Music
ECPNM (2014-8), the Swiss Music Edition,
and of the UNESCO
Commission for the Inventory of
Intangible Cultural Heritage in the
Canton of Valais (2009-18). Since
2013 UMS has been pioneering two
research projects: Recorder Map and Recorderology,
and the duo has been invited to act as
experts in the European Union's FP7
i-Treasures
project.
A high performance small scale contemporary music laboratory and global network. Although UMS’nJIP do handle an impressive workload, their aim is not to premiere as much as possible but to perform new works as often as possible – since works basically grow by being performed. At a time in which it is increasingly difficult to defend reflective, not primarily commercially-oriented music, UMS’nJIP maximize artistic adventurousness by reducing economic risk to a minimum: Strict adherence to a small cast, supported by exceptional and internationally recognized experience, expertise, versatility, agility and unique ness means that UMS’nJIP can call themselves one of the most active contemporary music ensembles worldwide, alongside Ensemble Modern, Intercontemporain and Kronos Quartet. The large number of performances implies a remarkably high performance rate of new works (up to 100 performances per work, well above the global average for classical contemporary music < 5), and, more important, this deeply benefits the performance quality and emotional impact of the performed works. Thanks to the consistently small scale of their projects, UMS’nJIP can achieve their projects with both great flexibility and irregular financing, especially in countries where new music is in a politically and financially difficult position and the featuring of high quality new music is particularly important in concerts and teaching. Fully aware that creativity cannot only be brought to society by performances but also by active participation in cultural politics, UMS’nJIP are also involved in different local, national and international structures. Within these structures, they have initiated more than 500 further projects and commissions since 2006.
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UMS.
Extraordinary diversity describes the composer and multi-instrumentalist Ulrike Mayer-Spohn who plays the recorder (with a focus on contemporary music), as well as historical string instruments (fiddle and baroque violin). She studied composition and audio design with Erik Oña at the Studio of Electronic Music, Academy of Music, Basel, beginning to compose in 2007, and receiving commissions from the festival Forum Valais and the international New Music Days, Shanghai. Her work has been performed by the Stuttgart Vocal soloists, Ensemble Phoenix Basel, Vertigo, DissonArt, L'Arsenale, cool a cappella (1st Prize world choir games 2008) and her own ensemble Ums' n Jip in Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy, Russia, Australia, the USA and China, premiered under the baton of Beat Furrer, Mark Foster, Tsung Yeh, Jürg Henneberger and Filippo Perocco and broadcast by the Swiss radio. She was awarded the 1st Prize in the Walter Ferrato composition contest in Savona 2017, the 1st Prize in the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für Zeitgenössische Musik composition contest 2017, the 1st Prize in the London Ear Festival composition contest 2016, the 2nd Prize in the composition competition Culturescapes 2010, 2nd Prize in the composition competition at the Bern music festival 2011, the Scholarship Award for 2011 at the Music Village Mount Pelion in Greece and the Call for Scores Award L'Arsenale Treviso, Italy 2011. In the ensemble Ums' n Jip she has undertaken research in the field of musical theater (chamber operas One, Two, Three, Four, Five), live electronic music and sound spacialization. She studied recorder with Ulrike Mauerhofer at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe, with Conrad Steinmann and Corina Marti at the Schola Cantorum Basel before specializing in contemporary music and studying with Dorothea Winter at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. From 2009-11 she studied for a specialized master's degree in contemporary performance at the HSM in Basel supervised by Jürg Henneberger, Marcus Weiss and Mike Svoboda and has taken masterclasses with Marion Verbruggen, Peter van Heyghen, Sebastien Marq and Gerd Lünenbürger. She studied baroque violin and viola with Martina Graulich and David Plantier and fiddle with Randal Cook in Basel. Ulrike Mayer-Spohn works with internationally leading composers and annually plays more than 20 world premieres dedicated to her, which she has recorded for the radio as well as VDE Gallo and col legno on CD. Together with the Swiss composer and singer Javier Hagen, she established the experimental new music duo Ums `N Jip for voice, recorder and electronics, which, alongside the Ensemble Modern, Intercontemporain and Kronos is one of the most active ensembles worldwide and in 2011 won the prestigious MusiquePro scholarship. Since 1999, Ulrike Mayer-Spohn has also performed as a recorder player, violinist, violist and fiddle player in specialized early music ensembles such as the Amsterdam Barok Compagnie, Freitagsakademie, Collegium Musicum Stuttgart, La Chapelle Ancienne, Musica Poetica, Muscadin and La Morra and has performed in Germany, China, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. ulrikems.info
JIP.
Javier Hagen is one of the most astonishing classical singers of his generation: new music, performance art and Swiss folk music rank equally in his repertoire alongside opera and early music. Hagen was born as Javier-Ignacio Palau-Ribes (JIP) in 1971 in Barcelona and raised between 6 languages on the Mediterranean and in the Valais Alps. He studied classical singing (both tenor and countertenor) in Germany, Italy and Switzerland with Roland Hermann, Alain Billard and Nicolai Gedda, and composition with Heiner Goebbels and Wolfgang Rihm. He studied Lied with Irwin Gage, Hartmut Höll and Ernst Haefliger and early music with Karel van Steenhoven and Kees Boeke. He has a four-octave vocal range. Hagen has worked with world-class composers such as Reimann, Kagel, Rosenmann and Eötvös and leading artists from the worlds of concrete poetry and constructive art such as Eugen Gomringer, Uecker and Rolf Schroeter. Guest appearances have taken him to the modern music festivals in Donaueschingen, Zurich, Geneva, Lucerne, Karlsruhe, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Bologna, Milan, Prague, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Adelaide, Riga, Avignon and Berlin. Alongside operatic roles such as Handel's Giulio Cesare, Zsupan (Kalman), Dardanus (Rameau), Stanislaus (Zeller), Bruno (Roesler), Toni (Kalman) and Pappacoda (Strauss), Javier Hagen has premiered more than 300 works, including operas 'à l'air en verre' by Daniel Mouthon 'eismeer' by Christoph Schiller, 'poem ohne held' by Regina Irman, 'esther de racine' by Boris Yoffe, 'The Madman's Diary' by Guo Wenjing, 'Marienglas' by Beat Gysin, 'Les Musiciens de Brème' by Wen Deqing, 'Keyner nit' by Mathias Steinauer, 'Ushba et Tetnuld' by Nicolas Vérin and almost all vocal works by Maria Porten. He has made more than 50 recordings and broadcasts for Swiss, German, French, Czech, Chinese, Russian, Mongolian, Spanish, Egyptian, Italian and Latvian radio and television. He won prizes at international contemporary music and composition competitions in 2001, 2004 and 2008 in Basel, Lausanne and Dusseldorf. In 2003, his distorted folk song arrangements "s´sch mr alles 1 Ding" were released on CD on the Swiss label "musiques suisses". His compositions, in particular the vocal works, are performed throughout Europe, Israel, China, Korea, Russia, Australia, North and Central America, by ensembles and conductors including Titus Engel, Ensemble Phoenix, Basler Madrigalisten, Schweizer Jugendchor, Männerstimmen Basel, Philip Bride, Eliana Burki, Amar Quartet. In 2012, a selection of his graphic scores was shown at the prestigious Museum of Modern Art ‘haus konstruktiv’ in Zurich. At the European Youth Choir Festival 2012, Javier Hagen represented German-speaking Switzerland in the context of 'Swiss Composers meet Europe'. With Ulrike Mayer-Spohn, Hagen formed the experimental new music duo UMS 'n JIP, which, with over 100 concerts annually is one of the most active and prolific contemporary music ensembles around the world and winner of the prestigious scholarship MusiquePro. Javier Hagen also directs the international contemporary music festival Forum Wallis, hosting Stockhausen's Helicopter String Quartet with André Richard and the Arditti String Quartet in 2015. He is called as an expert on experimental music theater for the University of Arts in Bern, he is the President of the Swiss Section of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM Switzerland), of IGNM-VS and serves the boards of the European Conference of Promoters of New Music ECPNM (2015-2018), of the Swiss Music Edition (2016-), Score Follower (2020-) and Swissfestivals (2013-2019). He presents guest lectures at universities in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, Moscow, Istanbul, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Adelaide, New York, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Riga and is member of the academic board of the Contemporary Opera Academy at the Festival de Nueva Opera de Buenos Aires (FNOBA) related to the Teatro Colon. He is a jury member at national and international composition and new music competitions (a.o. ISCM World Music Days Young Composers Award, Bohol Philippines Int. Choir Competition) and a member of various committees on behalf of the canton of Valais as well as for the inventory of the cultural heritage on behalf of UNESCO (2009-2018). In 2007 he was nominated for "Walliser of the Year." In 2013 he was awarded the Prix Culturel de l'Etat du Valais. In 2021 he was appointed by the Inamori Foundation to nominate candidates for the renowned Kyoto Music Prize. javierhagen.ch
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