Commissions to Clara Iannotta, Lisa Illean & Bekah Simms

The Bern-based ensemble Nikel is celebrating its 20th anniversary. A variety of events and activities are planned for the occasion. Central to this are three new commissioned works, written by composers Clara Iannotta, Bekah Simms and Lisa Illean. Aside from the celebratory starting point, the ensemble hopes that these new pieces will provide Nikel with a new aesthetic starting point as the musicians enter their third decade. The three commissions are made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Of course, celebrating is a joyous act, but the Nikel ensemble wants to use this moment to both summarise its past decade and simultaneously embark on a new aesthetic path for its future. If the second decade was a long exploration of the overlapping area between classical and popular contexts (as in the works of Huihui Cheng, Didem Coskunseven, Klaus Lang, Enno Poppe, Matthew Shlomowitz and Daniel Zea), the musicians are now aiming for a different path to redefine our sonic goals. For this reason, Nikel wants to return to its roots, where the tactile meeting point between its electroacoustic sonority and the externally added electronics was at the center of the ensemble’s musical exploration.

Further information:
ensemblenikel.com

Dates

May 16, 2025
Gare du Nord, Basel
(World Premiere Bekah Simms)

August 13, 2025
DiMenna Center, New York
(Performance Bekah Simms)

October 16, 2025
Festival d’Automne, IRCAM, Paris
(World Premiere Lisa Illean)

May 27, 2026
Dampfzentrale Bern
(World Premiere Clara Iannotta)

May 28, 2026
Gare du Nord, Basel
(Performance Clara Iannotta)