Märchenhafte Klangschaften

“Once upon a time…”: As part of the 55th moers festival, the participatory music project Märchenhafte Klangschaften for children and young people revolves around the theme “…just like in a fairy tale.” The project presents world premieres by young composers and improvisations developed in school classrooms.

Young composers up to age 21 are invited to submit works for mixed instrumental and vocal ensembles (6–7 min). From the submissions, the artistic directors will select four works for performance at the festival. In addition, children and young people aged 6 to 16 from the Moers region will develop a new musical fairy tale in school workshops under the guidance of city musician Evi Filippou and with the support of the Schlosstheater Moers as well as musicians from the Chroma Kollektiv. This fairy tale will incorporate the world premieres and connect and frame them in the form of interludes and text collages. In final rehearsals before the festival, the elements will be brought together, and the students will be joined by additional internationally renowned improvisational musicians.

In the second half of the year, Evi Filippou will develop a concert with students from Moers. The concert will address questions of current social relevance: How do we live democracy? What role do human rights play? What responsibility do we bear for one another? These themes are explored through music and artistic practice. In addition to Evi Filippou, international guests with diverse (musical) cultural backgrounds will participate. Democracy is not conveyed abstractly, but experienced practically: in joint rehearsals, the young people learn to listen, respond to one another, and contribute their own ideas. They work directly with instruments, practice free storytelling and improvisation. The act of playing together becomes a democratic exercise—a process of negotiation, empathy, and co-creation. In this way, practical artistic experiences are gained through the continuous collective development of music.

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

Further information:
moers-festival.de

Date

May 23, 2026
moers festival, Kastellplatz Moers