From podcasts and educational series to online concert formats – since the Covid-19 pandemic at the latest, there has been a shift in thinking within the cultural sector. Offerings are increasingly being provided digitally or through a hybrid approach, both in person and online. During the pandemic, we too focused on developing concepts that made it possible to continue the “concert experience.” However, this was only one aspect of our digital formats. Another part is our podcast, where we discuss topics that concern the cultural sector, the orchestral world, and young people of our generation.
Our educational series, like our podcast, addresses topics from the cultural scene and politics, and explores them through lectures, discussion panels, and workshops. Furthermore, some of our orchestra project workshops are designed to be delivered digitally.
Podcast
In our podcast, we deal with important topics relating to our organisation, the music world and everything that moves us young musicians. We have linked some episodes here in which we have conducted exciting interviews about the position of music in today’s world and modern ways of producing music and being a musician.
We are very much looking forward to reviving our podcast later this year and expanding this list with exciting episodes on music projects, their organisation and opportunities.
Episodes (in german)
> Folge 26 Was macht eigentlich #jnpolitik?
> Folge 19 Was denkt unsere Generation über Klassik? | pt. 1 mit Jehan
> Folge 20 Was denkt unsere Generation über Klassik? | pt. 2 mit Fiona
> Folge 21 Was denkt unsere Generation über Klassik? | pt. 3 mit Alena
> Folge 22 Was denkt unsere Generation über Klassik? | pt. 4 mit Lukas
> Folge 23 Was denkt unsere Generation über Klassik? | pt. 5 mit Eva
> Folge 17 Leon Weber | Musikproduzent
> Folge 13 Simon Höfele | Trompeter
> Folge 18 Noémi Zipperling | Aris Quartett
> Folge 11 Linda-Philomène Tsoungui | Drummerin
> Folge 6 mit Mirjam Budday | Yoga und Mentaltraining
jnpowehouse
powerhouse = driving force, engine, inexhaustible source
jnpowerhouse = work in progress – we think big and are constantly developing the concept.
The jnpowerhouse is meant to be a driving force: through workshops, discussions, and podcasts, we aim to look beyond the day-to-day life of orchestras and musicians, and by doing so, further develop as a network. Within the framework of the jnpowerhouse, every individual has the opportunity to contribute, participate in discussions, and engage with topics that often receive little attention in academic or professional life.
jnpowerhouse is also a future lab and engine for innovation: we want to collectively think about the cultural landscape of tomorrow, create a space for thought experiments and big ideas, and connect across disciplines. We integrate these reflections into our artistic projects.
Inexhaustible source? Absolutely, and especially for community, friendships, and shared experiences. Of course, having a great time together is a given. We aim to leverage our ever-growing network of fascinating people to provide a platform for diverse career and life paths, and to share experiences.
Lectures
- Playing Music Globally and Justly (September 12, 2022)
with Sandeep Bhagwati – composer, researcher, publicist, speaker, poet, and theater maker
Questions: Who benefits from cultural transfer?
What role do assimilation, appropriation, and money play?
How can we engage with each other on equal footing?
What is the colonial legacy of classical music?
How does white supremacy manifest?
Who decides what is considered “high culture” and “world music”?
What can we contribute to make our cultural life more just?
- From Choir to the World (June 30, 2022)
with Ilka Berger and Ortrud Schwirz
Elbphilharmonie Choir, which brings together people from over 15 countries and performs pieces from various musical traditions
Questions: How does cross-traditional music-making work in the Choir to the World?
What can we, as an orchestra, learn from their experiences?
- Diversity Agents for jnp?! (April 25, 2022)
with Inga Sponheuer and Moutaz Zafer
Questions: How does one become a diversity agent?
What does this role actually involve?
What changes have occurred through and with this position?
- Orchestra, But Different (March 17, 2022)
with the Trickster Orchestra
Questions: How do compositions with Western and traditional instruments work?
How do you incorporate this into an orchestra concept at all?
This is a project that was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. Weekly newsletters were sent out with shared challenges, fun games, and exciting articles on topics related to cultural policy and orchestras. Additionally, various online discussion rounds and lectures were organized – both by and with jnp musicians as well as guest speakers from outside the jnp community.
#jnpsemester-Webinare
- Erfolgsfaktoren für virtuelle Teams vom 8.05.2020
Vortrag mit Nora Held
- Wie infiziert ist die Kultur? vom 20.05.2020
Diskussion über Kulturförderung
- Warum gehen meine Freunde nicht ins Konzert? vom 19.06.2020
Vortrag von Louise Engel
Webinars
- Success Factors for Virtual Teams (May 8, 2020)
Lecture with Nora Held
- How Infected Is Culture? (May 20, 2020)
Discussion on cultural funding
- Why Don’t My Friends Go to Concerts? (June 19, 2020)
Lecture by Louise Engel
Concerts – Trikestra Kooperation
#brahms_rotation
from January 27, 2020
TRIKESTRA is the first pilot project in the world of classical music that brings together areas that have traditionally been seen as opposing each other. The Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, and the STEGREIF.orchester come together in collaboration with the German Federal Cultural Foundation.
TRIKESTRA rotates 360 degrees around Johannes Brahms. Symphony No. 3 in F major serves as both the focal point and the starting point for a kaleidoscopic exploration of Brahms. Rotating, the musicians delve into the symphony in relation to its past, present, and future.
#brahms_rotation enables new perspectives: on Brahms, on 150 years of rotating music history, and on 300 years of concert tradition. Three orchestras together, honoring and simultaneously breaking new ground in the classical heritage.
from January 27, 2020
#trikestra_trialoge
Concert from June 29, 2020
Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the *Pastoral*, transports the listener to a world of untouched nature.
So, how does it sound when Beethoven’s nature sounds are translated into the present day? How can we musically express the love of nature that Beethoven inscribed into his *Pastoral* in today’s world? These are the questions explored by the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, the STEGREIF.orchester, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin as part of the TRIKESTRA project series.
For the concert #beethoven_rotation, a commissioned piece was created to connect the movements of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony and bring the pastoral soundscape into the present. Musician and DJ Leon Weber composed *Pastorale – Leon Weber Rework* for this occasion, a piece for 10 musicians from the DSO and live electronics, offering new, exciting perspectives and sound experiences of Beethoven’s work.
The video also marks the beginning of the #trikestra_trialogue series – a format designed to provide space for ideas, exchanges, discussions, and experiments within the TRIKESTRA framework.
from July 7, 2020
Interviews on the project #trikestra_trialogue I: *Pastorale – Leon Weber Rework*
The #trikestra_trialogue series was developed as part of the TRIKESTRA project by the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, the STEGREIF.orchester, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. This video serves as the digital kickoff for the series.
The #trikestra_trialogue offers space for exchange, inspiration, and discussion among the three ensembles and will take place at various locations throughout Berlin. Due to the current situation, the first #trikestra_trialogue was implemented digitally through a video production. In this first episode, musician and DJ Leon Weber is introduced. His commissioned work, *Pastorale – Leon Weber Rework*, was originally set to premiere on April 9, 2020, as part of #beethoven_rotation. His piece connects the individual movements of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, the *Pastoral*, placing both classical and electronic music in a new context.
from May 22, 2021
TRIKESTRA begins its third round on May 22, 2021, with #planet_rotation. While the first two years focused on humanity and nature, we now zoom out further and explore the theme of the universe.
For the third #trikestra_trialogue, there may have been no better location than the Zeiss Major Planetarium in Berlin. A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of recording two chamber music pieces in this special venue with musicians from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, and the STEGREIF.orchester for the upcoming #planet_rotation.
Incorporating spoken word, costumes, and the unique visuals projected on the planetarium dome, this concert became a truly special experience. Not only was everything captured on camera, but it was also made accessible to a small live audience. Bettina, Sanja, and Samuel were able to take a behind-the-scenes look at the video shoot. You can see their impressions in our trailer!
Music:
Naomi Pinnock – String Quartet No. 2, 2nd movement
Miguel de Aguila – Wind Quintet No. 2, 1st movement
#beethoven_rotation
The whole world seems to be at a standstill in the face of the pandemic. But we won’t be discouraged, and during times of social distancing, we’re just coming a little closer virtually. TRIKESTRA continues – digitally! Instead of the planned #beethoven_rotation on April 9, 2020, at the Vollgutlager in Berlin, you can now experience part of the concert comfortably from home. We’re not only rotating around Beethoven, but also 360° around the virtual orchestra! Watch and be amazed: observe nearly 70 musicians from the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, the STEGREIF.orchester, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin during the ‚Merry Gathering of Country Folk‘ interactively and from all angles.
A digital sound performance based on the 3rd movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, the Pastoral.
#planet_rotation
from May 21, 2021
A digital concert experience as part of TRIKESTRA, a collaborative project of three orchestras – the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, and the STEGREIF.orchester.
- Content
What do we associate with the universe? What connections exist between the cosmos and music? How could this galactic diversity be musically expressed? Silence, distance – a reflection of our current times? How does that affect us?
Come and join us on TRIKESTRA’s next great journey. This time, we move away from humanity, away from Earth, zooming out into the infinite expanses of the universe. We observe the world from above, give ourselves space, and change our perspective. We lose ourselves in the fascination and mysteries of the cosmos. We orbit colorful planets, whether rocky or shrouded in clouds of gas, orbit one another, and orbit ourselves. Sometimes we don’t know what moves us. We let ourselves drift – weightless.
Himmelblau (Sky-blue)
The Funkelkonzert XXL Himmelblau is a musical and scenic journey about love, breaking free, and overcoming one’s own limits. The making-of reveals just how much passion and enthusiasm went into this concert film. The production was a collaboration with the Backstage Youth Club of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus and the junge norddeutsche philharmonie.
Concert from May 27, 2021
Breaking free from all constraints, exploring the world, being free. A musical and scenic journey about love, breaking out, and overcoming one’s own limits. Created by young people for young people aged 14 and up.
Throughout history, people have longed for a self-determined life, free and without constraints: Joseph von Eichendorff expressed this desire in his writings, and Ludwig van Beethoven in his music. But what are we actually searching for? How far can we go without endangering the community? In the play “Taugenichts” (Good-for-Nothing), performers from the Backstage Youth Club of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus explore these questions. Inspired by Eichendorff’s novella “Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts” (“From the Life of a Good-for-Nothing”), the piece tells colorful stories of breaking out and returning home, of love and identity.
The fitting music is provided by the young musicians of the junge norddeutsche philharmonie, performing excerpts from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, which is often called the *Pastoral* due to its many depictions of nature – shepherd’s music, thunderstorms, or a peasant’s festival. Complementing these works are compositions by Daniel Roth and Lennard Zander, who, as the Backstage Band, developed music for the stage choreography alongside parts of the orchestra, under the direction of Duncan Ward.
Alexander International Music Award
As part of the Alexander International Music Award, we not only held a digital composition competition but also hosted online workshops for our musicians. In active exchange between the winner of the composition competition, Yixie Shen, and the young musicians, the focus was primarily on the approach to composing (from the initial thought, through sketching, to the notation system). Additionally, there were discussions about style, composition techniques, and especially about instrument-specific techniques. What is possible on each instrument? What is easy to play or particularly challenging? Which techniques might not make sense at all because the final result is no longer perceptible in the overall work?
Thanks to these two online workshops, a solid foundation of trust was established between the composer and the musicians, which was crucial for the later concerts and contributed significantly to a unique concert experience.
- Concert Yixie Shen – Smoke
Rolf-Liebermann-Studio NDR Hamburg, April 11th 2024