Ricardo Eizirik (*1985) grew up in Brazil. He initially studied with Antonio C. B. Cunha in Porto Alegre before continuing his studies with Isabel Mundry in Zurich. This biographical aspect, the cultural tension between his country of origin and life in Germany and Switzerland, still characterises his music today. This is expressed in the themes he deals with in his works, such as colonial history, the mechanisation of society or topics such as rubbish, waste and noise. But the field of tension is also visible on the intrinsic level of the work, i.e. in the sound production and the choice of instruments. Eizirik not only works with traditional instruments, but also uses defective everyday objects as sound generators in his works.
As a composer, his oeuvre is broadly based. It ranges from notated music to installation and performance works.
He has received numerous scholarships and prizes and has worked with ensembles and festivals such as ensemble mosaik, ensemble Recherche, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Collegium Novum Zürich, Ensemble Adapter, Athelas Sinfonietta, Internationale Ensemble Modern Akademie, Ensemble Talea, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, ECLAT, Maerz Musik, KLANG, Archipel, Manifeste, MUSICA, Nordic Music Days and others.

Further information about Ricardo Eizirik

Jack Sheen (*1993) is both a conductor and a composer. These two sides of his artistic work inspire each other. In addition to works for the classical concert situation, he develops dynamic, cross-artistic projects, also together with other artists. He is at home in modern and contemporary music and uses his compositional understanding in his role as a conductor to interpret older works.

His oeuvre includes concert works for orchestra, ensembles and soloists as well as immersive performance installations in which live musicians, audio, film and dancers perform in spaces such as galleries or warehouses. He has been commissioned by orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, the Aurora Orchestra and the Manchester Camerata.

Sheen has worked with leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Manchester Camerata. Last season he returned to the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the London Sinfonietta and was a guest artist at the Tanglewood Music Centre.

Further information about Jack Sheen

Since its foundation in 1997, ensemble mosaik has developed into a renowned ensemble for contemporary music as a particularly versatile and experimental formation. Its members are distinguished not only by their instrumental skills, but also by their creative individuality and love of experimentation. In many years of collaboration, they have created a distinguished ensemble that demonstrates openness to a wide variety of contemporary music concepts at the highest artistic level. The ensemble’s activities are characterised by close collaboration with composers of the young and younger generation and the integration of digital media in the areas of composition, interpretation and presentation. The preferred approach is an egalitarian working method in exchange with all actors involved in a concert project. By opening up working processes, creativity is bundled and intensified. ensemble mosaik has been working continuously with many composers for years, thus enabling music to be developed over long periods of time in a collaborative process. A particular focus of the artistic work is the exploration of new approaches to performance practice, for example by incorporating scenic and visual elements, and the testing of new concert formats that reflect on individual works in the context of an overall context, focus on current trends and test new perspectives. In cooperation with artists from other disciplines or musical genres, the concerts themselves become experimental arrangements. The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation has a long-standing and trusting relationship with ensemble mosaik, which will be expanded into a multi-year cooperation with the new Progetto Positano grant.

ensemble-mosaik.de

ensemble mosaik

Kristjana Helgadottir – flute, Simon Strasser – oboe, Christian Vogel – clarinet, Martin Losert – saxophone, Roland Neffe – percussion, Ernst Surberg – piano, Chatschatur Kanajan – violin, Sarah Saviet – violin, Karen Lorenz – viola, Mathis Mayr – cello, Niklas Seidl – cello, Arne Vierck – sound, Enno Poppe – conductor