LUX:NM
Ruth Velten - saxophone | Rike Huy - trumpet | Florian Juncker - trombone | Silke Lange - accordion | Neus Estarellas Calderón - piano | Olga Holdorff - violin | Zoé Cartier - violoncello | Beate Altenburg - violoncello | Lukas Böhm - percussion | Martin Offik - sound direction
For 15 years, the ensemble LUX:NM has made a significant contribution to the new music scene in terms of instrumentation, sound and aesthetics. One reviewer aptly described the ensemble with the words »light, feline predator and luxury«, a characterisation that precisely captures the ensemble's self-image. The intensive chamber music work forms the foundation from which the ensemble has developed in recent years. The symbol of the cat of prey stands for the continuous curiosity for new things, while the term »LUX« refers to the level of illumination and emphasises the ensemble's aesthetic freedom to explore all facets of contemporary music.
LUX:NM contemporary music ensemble berlin is an ensemble for contemporary music that has gained an international reputation for its authentic and energetic interpretations of new music. The ensemble was founded in 2010 by several soloists in order to develop self-determined and versatile chamber music programmes with a tonally flexible line-up.
LUX:NM sees itself as an initiator and developer of new concepts in contemporary music. The members of the ensemble compose, improvise, interpret and curate, they develop their own dramaturgical concepts and scenic ideas. This artistic-creative aspect is at the centre of the collective concept. The intensive ensemble work makes extraordinary new projects possible, in which interdisciplinary projects as well as intercultural approaches naturally find their place. In addition to performing existing compositions, the musicians of the ensemble are particularly committed to initiating new works and formats and incorporating them into their repertoire.
As sought-after chamber musicians and award-winning musicians at international competitions, the ensemble's instrumentalists are regular guests at important concert platforms and new music festivals, including Warsaw Autumn, the World New Music Festival, MaerzMusik, Infektion! Festival for New Music Theatre, Festival de Música contemporánea Chile, Ultraschall Festival, Groudswell, Hear this now! Canada.
With various productions of its own, the ensemble sets thematic focuses and thus illuminates different facets of New Music, including Fluxus reloaded (F)LUX:NM (in co-operation with the Staatsoper Berlin), HOME SWEET HOME - a scenic concert project (IM FOKUS/LUX:NM production), Aaron S. (multimedia opera by Slawomir Wojciechowski), Diary, Random and Pickles (music performance by Pierre Jodlowski), DARK LUX (audio piece with music by Gordon Kampe), Epilog:Abriss (music theatre performance with music by Andrej Koroliov), and Antigone Exp. N° 2 (immersive music theatre with augmented reality based on Tommaso Traetta). Since 2023, LUX:NM has been organising its own concert series for sculpture and contemporary music together with Skulpturieren Berlin.
In 2017, the album LUXUS was honoured by the German Record Critics' Award on the best list. The second ensemble album STRANDGUT was released in November 2018. The ensemble was nominated for the German Record Critics' Award and the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) 2020. In 2021, the album for the successful production DARK LUX was released in the radio play version in collaboration with DLF Cologne. In 2024, the first children's radio play by LUX:NM with contemporary music will be released.
Further information on the website of LUX:NM.
