New artistic co-director for the Collegium Novum Zurich
Alexandre Babel and Joan Jordi Oliver will take over the artistic co-directorship of Collegium Novum Zürich (CNZ) from August 1, 2026.
The percussionist, composer and curator Alexandre Babel was a member of the KNM Berlin ensemble and artistic director of the Eklekto Geneva Percussion Center. He develops projects that question the expectations of the audience in terms of conquering new contexts. In 2021 he was awarded the Swiss Music Prize.
Joan Jordi Oliver is a saxophonist, composer and curator. He is currently artistic director of the ensemble TaG Neue Musik Winterthur and curates the concert series «Strom am Mittag» as well as various projects at the interface of contemporary, experimental and electronic music.
The new co-directors succeed Matthias Arter and Andri Hardmeier, who have been responsible for the artistic profile of the CNZ and have decisively shaped and further developed it in recent years with new formats and concert series.
