+49 221 168 413 82 ed.cisum-qinos@ofni

Carolin Pook

Carolin Pook is a German violinist, composer, improviser, conductor, and percussionist. Her musical creations are often tailored to the musicians and are frequently a combination of improvisation and composition. The press describes her compositional style as postmodern sound architecture of sometimes magical intensity.

Carolin Pook

Photo Carolin Pook by Helmut Berns

Before starting her jazz studies (double major in violin and percussion) at the Musikhochschule Köln in 2000, she had already written a full-length musical and performed in Europe and worldwide, including Bangalore, India. During her jazz studies, her interest in cross-genre contemporary music grew, and after moving to New York in 2006, she focused on composing/arranging and free or conducted improvisation “conduction”. With her ensemble “the Pookestra,” she performs multiple times a year in New York, with each concert being a world premiere.

In 2011, she wrote a 30-minute composition for the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie and the Roy Hargrove quintet. In 2012, she composed for Peter Brötzmann and eight percussionists to commemorate the anniversary of the Wuppertaler Jazzmeeting. In 2016, she was the “Improviser in Residence” in Moers and opened the Moers Festival with “Pezzettino 8,” a creation for eight violinists who use percussion instruments with their feet. In 2017, she composed stage music for the theater production of Wuppertaler Bühnen’s “Don Quichote” and a violin concerto for the EOS Kammerorchester Köln under the direction of Susanne Blumenthal. In 2022, her second violin concerto, “About Time,” was premiered, commissioned by the Schwäbische Jugendsinfonieorchester with Hannah Weirich (Ensemble Musikfabrik) as the soloist.

Carolin Pook is in high demand as an interpreter on the violin, both in contemporary classical music and jazz. Since 2021, she has been serving as the concertmaster of the EOS Kammerorchester Köln.

Bassem Hawar

Bassem Hawar, born in 1972 in Baghdad, Iraq, studied Iraqi and Oriental music with a focus on the Djoze at the conservatory in Baghdad. He also studied violin and musicology at the university.

For several years, he taught Djoze, violin, and music theory at the conservatory and music school in Baghdad. He played in various formations, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture such as Al Bayariq, Al Nahar al jadid, Babel, and the State Symphony Orchestra. Together with his brother Saad Mahmood, he founded the group Melodic.

Bassem Hawar – Djoze

Photo Bassem Hawar

Bassem Hawar builds his own instruments. He further developed the Djoze so that it can play all forms of Arabic and European music and is not limited to its traditional scope, the Iraqi Maqam. Instruments built according to his design are now known as “Bassem’s Djoze.”

Bassem has been living in Germany since 2000 and has established himself in the free music scene. He is a co-founder of the ensembles Lagash, Ahoar, and Sidare, with which he has performed internationally. Ahoar won the 1st prize at the regional competition Creole NRW in 2006 and the following year at the federal competition of the World Music Prize.

Currently, Bassem plays in numerous groups of various musical genres, ranging from classical Iraqi Maqam (Duo Melodic, Mesopotamiens) to European medieval music (Sanstierce, La Beltatz), Flamenco (Trio Ziryab), new music, and experimental jazz (Crossover Bagdad Köln). In 2018, he founded the Nouruz Ensemble, which further develops contemporary oriental art music. The ensemble was included in the “Musikkulturen” promotion program of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the 2019/20 season.

Bassem Hawar is a recipient of the WDR Jazz Prize 2020 in the Musikkulturen category.

Uli Sigg

Uli Sigg is a German visual artist specializing in live performances, scenic design, and video productions.
He is co-founder of “bandbreite” a vj-collective in Cologne and of “lsb_TV,” a weekly Live-Radio-TV-Internet-Show in Berlin. Uli is Director of Technology & Strategy of “BYFF” Brighton Youth Film Festival.

He performed live visuals for “Drum Rhythm Nights” and over 58 concerts and dj-sets in Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich. He has worked on Germany´s highest profile event series, courtesy of Electric Chair / Karsten Jahnke Concerts with artists including Adam F, Goldie, Etienne de Crecy, Giles Peterson, Howie B, Jazzanova, Jimi Tenor, Kemistry & Storm, Kid Loco, and others. VJ-Performances at Festivals, including Urban Arts Form, Popkomm, Battery Park, Melt, Fusion,℅ pop, Juicy Beats, Big Up with Jeff Mills.

Foto: Merzouga by Michael Englert

Photo Uli Sigg by Uli Sigg

He created and curated the “VJ-Festival ℅ Pop” in Cologne and “MP7” live media cub.

Since 2005, he has done scenic design and video production for theater-, opera- and dance-production in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, San Francisco, Porto, Nürnberg, Torino, Halle, Budapest, Düsseldorf, Bangalore. Visual direction of Broadcast-Live-Events for WDR, Deutsche Welle, Funkhaus Europa.

Most recently: liquid sky berlin presentz “#lsb_TV” on alex berlin- tv / radio / internetstream. Experimental music & video / cross-media art from Berlin / concept by dr walker & uli sigg / hosted by the liquid sky berlin family.

Merzouga / Janko Hanushevsky & Eva Poepplein

Merzouga is a spot in the Sahara where Cologne-based computer-musician Eva Poepplein and electric-bassist Janko Hanushevsky encountered the roaring silence of camel-flies and sand trickling down the dunes. Led by an abiding curiosity they traveled to India, Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam, Morocco, Ukraine, Brazil and Greenland, where they made extensive field-recordings and sound-research.

As a duo they produce sound compositions and installations, radio plays and radio docus, play and compose music for radio, film and theater. Concerts, sound installations and premiere performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Deutschlandfunk Kammermusiksaal, Humboldt Forum Berlin, Museum Schnütgen, HAU Berlin, Volkstheater Munich.

Foto: Merzouga by Michael Englert

Photo Merzouga by Michael Englert

Commissions for major German broadcasters, such as Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Deutschlandfunk, WDR, HR, RBB, NDR, ZDF/arte, YLEISRADIO Finland, and Croatian broadcaster HRT. Their radio works received several international awards, have been broadcast by all German ARD stations and in numerous European countries. Releases on GRUENREKORDER, Prospero Classics and several times on international compilations, e.g. Noise of Cologne and WIRE TAPPER.

Collaborations with Christian Brueckner, Ueli Jaeggi, Felix von Manteuffel, Leslie Malton, Sean Scully, Lucas Niggli, Holger Falk, Gianluigi Trovesi, Peter Herbert, Mariana Sadovska, Marco Lobo, Max Andrzejewski, Udo Moll, Annette Maye, Matthias Muche, and many more. The two live and work in Cologne.

Florian Stadler

He studied accordion at the Hermann-Zilcher-Konservatorium Würzburg, Germany with Stefan Hussong. He completed his artistic studies with international master classes with Professor H. Noth (Trossingen, Germany and Prato, Italy), J. Macerollo (Toronto, Canada) and M. Brunello (Brescia, Italy). His artistic focus lies in contemporary music and improvisation.

Florian Stadler by Gerhard Richter

Photo Florian Stadler by Gerhard Richter

Florian Stadler has worked as accordionist within a diverse collection of ensembles. Starting in 1999 he has played with the klezmer ensemble “Colalaila”, in duo with the sound poet Mitch Heinrich, and with the cellist Sue Schlotte in the project “Herbal Essence”. He has been a member of the Christina Fuchs No Tango Quartet since 2001. Stadler has also been part of many productions. including dance, theatre, performance, CD recordings, and concert tours.

Christian Ramond

Bassist Christian Ramond lives in Cologne/Germany, where he is constantly in demand.

In the past he has been working with Joe Pass, Albert Mangelsdorff, Philipp Catherine, Tomasz Stanko, Charlie Mariano, Kenny Wheeler and Lee Konitz. Christian performed in countless concerts and tours all over Europe, in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, Egypt, Mexico, South Africa, Brasil, Uruguay and in the former USSR.

He was involved in numerous TV-, radio-, and theatre-projects. Current projects include the trio „D.R.A.“ (with Christopher Dell and Felix Astor) and the „Jens Düppe Quartet“.

Christian Ramond by  Frank C. Müller

Photo Christian Ramond by Frank C. Müller