Hörminute

The sound app hörminute.ch makes contemporary music in Switzerland heard and invites you to regularly take a moment to consciously listen, discover experimental sounds and share them with each other. Since 2023, around 40 contemporary musicians have received commissions. Since then, around 100 miniature compositions have been submitted and published. In contrast to popular music platforms, the project encourages active engagement with what is heard. In workshops with school classes, for example, children are introduced to experimental forms of music with the Hörminute and shared listening experiences are created. Since the pilot project in 2021/22, around 600 children in their school classes have created their own Hörminute with artistic director Sylwia Zytynska and immersed themselves in the platform’s sound universe.

The sound app is constantly being updated with new Hörminute, a workshop format has been developed for school classes and a trailer invites participation. The first live performances of the Hörminute took place in 2023 and 2024. The public presentation of Hörminute kicked off with a premiere at Basel Cathedral. A Hörminute was created with 3400 teachers at the cantonal school conference in Basel. In August 2024, the Rümlingen New Music Festival opened with a sound event for the Hörminute. The Hörminute has slowly but surely arrived in the Basel area, and now the project is to be made visible and audible in other parts of Switzerland.

In 2025, the project will expand to at least four other cantons, with commissions for compositions and live performances by musicians and children, as well as workshops for school classes and other groups. The live performances in public spaces are to be linked to existing music festivals or events.

In the live performances, the Hörminutes from the workshops are woven into a common soundscape with the musicians’ independent sound compositions. The respective locations serve as sound backdrops and the musicians improvise in subtle interplay with the surroundings and the children’s sound impulses. One-minute compositions are created that combine into a shared sound experience through the interplay of environment, movement, sound objects and instruments. The soundscape of the location is reflected in Hörminutes and the magic of listening is carried into the public space in the context of short live performances. Scenographic objects, which may also have a sonic quality, give the performance a visual focus and create a recognition value for the listening minute.

The Hörminute project is made possible by the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation.

Further information:
zuhoeren-schweiz.ch

Dates

April 3, 2025
Theatre Chur

April 7 & 8, 2025
Archipel Festival, Geneva

August 14 – 17, 2025
Alpentöne Festival, Altdorf

September 21, 2025
La Chaux-de-Fonds