On 2 October 2026, Joseph Sieber conducted the Schwelbrandorchester for the first time, on the opening night of the first ENSEMBLEFEST Berlin. For three days, fifteen of the city’s independent ensembles for contemporary music gathered at CANK, a former department store in Neukölln; the festival also opened the tenth edition of Berlin’s Monat der zeitgenössischen Musik (Month of Contemporary Music).
The programme, PLASMA, brought three world premieres for large ensemble and electronics: two frenetic new works – Stefan Keller’s Taumel and Martin Grütter’s Πάλιν ἐκλάμπει μοι τὸ φῶς (Pálin eklámbi mi to fos) – set against the icy, quietly seething surface of Oliver Weber’s FROSTBITE. As is typical of the ensemble, light, visuals and sound design were conceived as part of the performance.
Founded in 2011 and led by the composer Martin Grütter, the 25-member Schwelbrandorchester is known for loud, high-energy productions where new music meets electronica, performance and visual art.
