Sometimes appearing as a noisy collective with a megaphone, sometimes gathered around a piano like a busy surgical team, the Essen-based contemporary music ensemble S201 consists of five professional musicians who push beyond the conventional boundaries of their instruments. Self-built instruments and electronic extensions using guitar effects and pre-recorded tapes are as much a part of the ensemble’s sonic identity as Fluxus-inspired actions and performative concepts.

At the heart of S201’s artistic practice is its close collaboration with composers and performers of the younger generation. While the ensemble’s primary focus is contemporary music, it deliberately explores the grey areas and points of intersection with other genres and art forms. Its cross-genre and interdisciplinary curatorial approach understands the contemporary as an open space for artistic exchange. As a result, artists from the fields of dance (Alfonso Bordi, Kristin Schuster), historical performance practice (Ha-Na Lee), visual arts (Kanade Hamawaki), and pop music (Düsseldorf Düsterboys), among many others, are regularly involved in the ensemble’s projects.

S201 has performed at numerous festivals and venues, including AchtBrücken Festival Cologne, NOW! Festival Essen, Beethovenfest Bonn, Klangwerkstatt Berlin, Frakzionen Festival Bielefeld, Opening 18 Trier, NANO#drei, and Klangzeit Münster. International concert tours have taken the ensemble to the Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival in South Korea, Nasz Festiwal in Wrocław, Poland, the Na-Ju International Contemporary Music Festival, and the Young-Nam International Contemporary Music Festival in South Korea. .

Ensemble S201:
Dimitry Stavrianidi, Flute
Tamon Yashima, Oboe
Heni Hyunjung Kim, Clarinet
Filip Erakovic, Accordion
Robert Wheatley, Cello
 

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