Ensemble Ö! was founded in 2002 by David Sontòn Caflisch as the successor to the former chamber ensemble musicuria. While new music was only part of the program of the pure string ensemble musicuria, Ö!, with its newly formed line-up, focused entirely on the performance of contemporary music from the very beginning.
Today, the ensemble has 13 members, supplemented by various newcomers depending on the program. The main conductor is Francesc Prat, with Manuel Nawri and Christian Rombach also leading the ensemble. Many of the programs are also performed without a conductor. The ensemble is an integral part of the Swiss contemporary music scene and is regularly accessible to a wide audience thanks to its venues in Chur, Basel, and Zurich.
Invitations have taken the ensemble to the London Ear Festival, the Archipel Festival in Geneva, the Tingueley Museum in Basel, the Schlossmediale Werdenberg, the Casa Cultura Ringel Trin, the Hegnerhof in Kloten, the Musikpodium Zurich, the Muskhochschule in Saarbrücken, and the Munich Biennale, among others. Regular collaboration with museums and galleries is an integral part of this work.
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