Commission to Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri

The Tacet(i) Ensemble, winner of the EvS Ensemble Prize 2025, will tour Germany, China, Thailand and the United States in 2025/26. The ensemble will present a programme that redefines the role of instruments in performance and explores sound art, tactile technology and transdisciplinary approaches to sound production. The tour will focus on Making Sound Futures (2025), a new work commissioned from Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri.

This work challenges traditional composition by asking the performers to build instruments from edible and inedible materials according to the composer’s ‘sound recipes.’ Using perishable materials such as rice paper, ice, wax and herbs, a constantly evolving sound world emerges, shaped by the unpredictable transformation of these materials over time. Self-regulating mechanical systems such as wax and melting rolls gradually activate sounds, while the performers deal with the fragility of the instruments in real time, highlighting the evolving relationship between silence and resonance.

Making Sound Futures is an ongoing collaborative process. The musicians of Tacet(i) create sound objects and send them to the composer for refinement, resulting in an evolving prototype. This iterative exchange transforms the piece into a collective instrument whose sound is constantly reshaped through experimentation and dialogue. Emphasising fragility, interaction and transformation over fixed musical forms, the work embodies the central question of the tour: how do instruments, performers and sound materials enter into dialogue?

The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation has made the commission to Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri possible.

Further information:
tacetiensemble.com

Dates

November 6, 2025
China-ASEAN Festival, Guangxi Arts, Nanning (CN)

December 20, 2025
IntAct Festival, Bangkok

March 11, 2026
Baltimore Composer Collective Fest, Ohio

March 14, 2006
Bowling Green New Music Mini Fest, Ohio

March 20, 2026
Cornell Concert Series, New York