As a trombonist he specializes in the performance of contemporary music and improvisation/jazz. He has given concerts throughout Europe, America and Asia. Composers such as Peter Ablinger, Maria de Alvear, Anthony Braxton, John Cage, Peter Hansen, Hauke Harder, Bernhard Lang, Joelle Léandre, Alvin Lucier, Chris Newman, Pauline Oliveros, Hans Otte, Lars Sandberg, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Daniel Wolf and Christian Wolff have written especially for him. In 2005, the CD Silberen was picked as one of the ‘Top Classical Albums of the Year 2004’ by The New Yorker.

 

John Eckhardt (electric bass) is a modern hunter- gatherer of all things bass. For nearly three decades, he has been constantly involved in the creation of today’s music, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary projects dedicated to themes of ecology, evolution and diversity. As an acoustic and electric bassist, he has developed a branching narrative of solo work, while Klangforum Wien and the Ensembles Modern, Musikfabrik and Resonanz are among his many frequent ensemble collaborators in compositional music. He premiered hundreds of new compositions and recorded on over 40 albums on labels such as Touch, Mode, Kairos, ACT and his own imprint, Depth of Field music. John Eckhardt performed extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, and worked with Pierre Boulez, Helmut Lachenmann, Evan Parker, Eric Schaefer, Peter Evans and Peter Brotzmann, as well as with an expansive field of the next generation’s new blood. He has published a series of internationally acclaimed solo releases as one of a kind art editions, and employs bass instruments to probe room acoustics, landscapes and histories in sound installations. His Basswald DJ podcast is dedicated to experimental sound system culture and just saw its 30th edition. In addition, his passion for photography has fed into his work as well.

 

Daniel Havel (flute) studied from 2000-2006 at the Conservatory of Music in Brno, and from 2006-2011 earned an MFA at the Music and Dance Faculty at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Since 2007, he has been a member of the orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague, where he is currently principle flute. He also is a member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as sub principle and flute solo with the contemporary music ensemble Ostravská Banda.
Previously he performed with the Moravian Chamber Orchestra, the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra in Olomouc, the Czech Chamber Soloists and the Prague Philharmonia.
He has participated in numerous master classes: at Janácek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno with Václav Kunt, in Paris with Philippe Bernold (2005), in Prague with Carlo Jans (2006), with Peter Lukas Graf in Switzerland (2007), Philippe Bernold (2008).

 

Tomas Järmyr

 

Anna Linardou (voice) is a Greek singer and voice pedagogue based in Athens, with a diverse vocal repertoire spanning Greek, Eastern, and Western styles. With a deep respect for tradition yet a refusal to be confined by it, Anna views the voice as a dynamic vehicle for reflection, deconstruction, and transformation. Her practice blends performance with critical exploration of the ideological nuances embedded in vocal timbre. Her work often engages with community and intercultural dialogue through collective vocal practices; since 2021, she has directed the Intercultural Choir of the Greek National Opera.Throughout her career, Anna has collaborated with a wide range of renowned composers and virtuoso musicians, crossing genres from Greek song and world jazz to contemporary improvisation and modern opera. Her collaborators include Thanos Mikroutsikos, Andrea Molino, Giorgos Varoutas, Chris Cutler, Haris Lambrakis, Haig Yazdjian, Arve Henriksen, and Gareth Davis. Anna has performed extensively in Greece, as well as in Italy, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and the United States. She is also the voice of the improvisational group Vault of Blossomed Ropes. Her discography includes the albums Heterotopia (2019), The Depths Above (2020), and Etidorpha (2021, with VoBR).

 

Pau Sola Masafrets(cello) I perform music together with others, both improvised and composed, but always with a sense of freedom and responsibility, for myself, for the music, and for the others. I understand that my body being in space is the expressive material with which I perform, using the cello as a tool. I compose music for specific people and not for instruments, very often using poetry, other arts and music from around the world as starting points. Even though I’ve spent many years in different studies*, how I learn and develop myself the most is playing, improvising, witnessing, and sharing with as many different and diverse artists as possible.

My own project is Pau Sola Quintet, an open composition talking about the relativity of time, using poetry by Lorca, South Indian music and a lot of improvisation. I’m also part of other stable projects at the border of free improvisation, contemporary jazz, contemporary classical, music theatre and performance.

 

 

 

France-born, London-based Agathe Max, electric violin and viola player, beside different collaborations (Abstract Concrete, UKAEA, These Towns, Ondata Rossa) works on projects including electroacoustic composition, music and sound design for documentaries, animated movies, short movies, theatre, contemporary dance and art exhibitions. Max’s last composition Shadoww, journeys from blissful voice and yearning bow work on ‘Ylang Ylang On Heart’ through to intricate synthesis and pounding beats. It’s widescreen, panoramic music propelled by fervid energy, but never at the expense of detail and nuance. Partly inspired by shadow work exercises from her friend Louise Bolla – that is, a practice of psychological therapy which aims to connect with what’s hidden in the unconscious – Max’s music traces a parallel possibility in sound. Music’s ability, whether in a church or a club, to give a brief glimpse of being plugged into something beyond your own ego.

 

 

 

Mikuláš Mrva (live electronics) is a Prague-based musician and developer playing electric bass, live electronics, and long-necked lutes.
His work in live electronics and sound involves collaborations with various ensembles and festivals, including Ostrava Days, New Opera Days Ostrava, Sounds of Now Vienna, EnsembleSpectrum, and PMP Orchestra. He’s implemented and performed live electronics for both premieres and reconstructions of older works, and has also composed music for dance and poetry.
As a performer, Mikuláš is a member of Stratocluster, PMP Orchestra, and various duos that combine acoustic instruments with live electronics.
Since 2020, Mikuláš has also been a driving force in establishing a scene for modal music from the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and Central Asia in Prague. He organizes concerts and jam sessions while actively studying this music with several teachers.

 

 

 

Scanner (British electronic artist Robin Rimbaud) traverses the experimental terrain between sound and space connecting a bewilderingly diverse array of genres. Since 1991, he has been intensely active in sonic art, producing concerts, installations and recordings, with the albums being hailed by critics as innovative and inspirational works of contemporary electronic music.
Committed to working with cutting edge practitioners he has collaborated on projects with Bryan Ferry, Wayne MacGregor, Merce Cunningham, Mike Kelley, Miroslaw Balka, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Michael Nyman, Ben Kelly, Carsten Nicolai, Steve McQueen, Stella McCartney, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, Pauline Oliveros amongst others.
He has presented projects throughout the United States, South America, Asia, Australia and Europe, and performed and created works in many of the world’s most prestigious spaces including SFMOMA USA, Pompidou Centre Paris, Tate Modern & Tate Britain London, Kunsthalle Vienna, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Hanoi Opera House Vietnam and the Royal Opera House London.

Markéta Schaffartzik

 

Martin Švec