Trying out the creative side

The free improvisation lasted forty minutes, a long time for an amateur ensemble that has only been playing this music for three years. The participants, four women and one man, made the instruments in the room resound in a variety of ways. It was not «their» instruments that they played, and so it is not possible to speak of playing in the usual sense of mastery. Rather, it was a joint journey of discovery, in which they were supported by two professionals, Peter Schärli on trumpet and Sylwia Zytynska on percussion. It all integrated effortlessly, creating a whole, which the five of them were amazed - and touched - by in conversation afterwards.

In this over 65s improv ensemble called Ad libitum, people from different backgrounds have come together with the common desire to make music, to finally play the instrument they have wanted all their lives. The result, which could be experienced as part of the «Atelier Création» festival, sounded promising and the project is recommended for imitation. As Zytynska, the artistic director, writes in the introduction to the program, it is about a place «where the focus is not on ability or knowledge, but on curiosity, presence and the willingness to listen and participate». And this was passed on to the audience on the first evening of the festival.

On the following day, the young generation performed, the ImproNext ensemble, which has existed at the Basel music school for a long time. The project is carried out every year in two age groups (12-15 and 15-19 years) - under the direction of Zytynska and violinist Egidius Streiff. The concept improvisation shown by the young people At the pulse of the city led to completely different sound spaces. Sound engineer Małgorzata Albińska Frank mixed in concrete sounds and noises from the urban working environment. A multi-layered soundscape revolved in the room. Perhaps one or the other of the participants will later make their way into the world of music, or perhaps they will «only» (but that is so much) go out into the world with an intense experience and open ears. On the trail of creativity.

Listening Switzerland and Stellwerk as partners

One of the key features of this «Atelier Création» is the focus on the musical creativity of amateurs at the various interfaces (also known as "breaking points") to professionalism. The small Basel festival, which took place for the first time on the last weekend in May, deliberately left the campus of the Music Academy, the initiator and sponsor of the event, and sought out another place of creativity. Since 2010, the creative industry has moved into the cramped premises of the Stellwerk in St. Johann station. The Perron restaurant offers a small concert stage. As the host, the manager of the Stellwerk association, Xenia Fünfschilling, was also involved in the festival's program group, so the location was taken into consideration and contributed to the success of the event.

As Sylwia Zytynska is also the founder and artistic project manager of «Zuhören Schweiz», this association also played an important role. The «Hörminuten», silent moments of pause and attention - a genuine project of the association - opened the «Atelier Création» and were performed by young people and children in the middle of the city. In addition to the aforementioned performances, there was also a ceremonial dinner with musical interludes.

Showcase for the composition workshop

However, the actual starting point for this mini-festival was «Composition Plus», a workshop for young composers, which took place for the fifth time this year, led by composer Lukas Langlotz and conductor Matthias Kuhn. Until now, the year-long course has been completed internally. To make it more public, the «Atelier Création» was created, where the results of the «Songwriting» workshop under the direction of Anna Hirsch could also be heard. For both courses, professional accompanying ensembles were available to the amateurs on all working days and for the final concert. After all, it is essential that they check what they have thought up in their heads and put into the score while listening and correct it if necessary.

It was an incredibly stimulating atmosphere that could be experienced during the three working days or studios of «Komposition Plus». A process was set in motion. The participants brought their scores with them, were able to listen to them in full or in excerpts, discuss them with the two directors and the musicians and then continue to work on them. «It's something that the student composers hardly experience anywhere else, so it's a specialty of our Basel music school,» says Lukas Langlotz, pointing out that only the Young Composers Project at Künstlerhaus Boswil offers something similar.

Here you can want to be heard

One of the participants said that this was precisely what appealed to him and helped him to progress: Ronan Hughes, a geographer by profession, attended the workshops from the very beginning and benefited enormously. His powerful and clearly formed piece also testified to this Might. An extravagant line-up with trumpet, trombone, tuba, double bass and percussion was specified. It was challenging and led the five of them to very different solutions. Marcus Schmied, who works as a percussion teacher at the Gymnasium Leonhard, listened suggestively to the overtones and their Proportions inside. Tanja Bippus-Jäger, who has been working as an interdisciplinary artist for some time now, has developed a groovy and varied piece called G for God and G for Goethe. Caner Öztas and Gion Pinösch, on the other hand, the youngest, both about to graduate from high school, presented a very appealing piece of music: Öztas, by playing for Homesickness the instruments wandered through the room, and Pinösch, by playing in Departure reacted to the world situation and let his music end in peace. It all sounded very fresh - and also carried by the desire to stand out and be heard. Yes, that too is a moment that amateurs often don't quite dare to do: want to be heard.

https://www.musikschule-basel.ch/de/angebot/atelier-creation.html

Transparency note: The author took on a moderating role at the event and wrote an essay for the program booklet, so he is definitely committed to the project. However, it simply seems too valuable to him for it to go unmentioned.