Ensemble New Babylon takes its name from the idea of using music to bring people from different backgrounds together and to discover the beauty in the unfamiliar and new together. The ensemble is firmly committed to using the emotional power of music to promote greater tolerance and understanding of the “other”. It is intended to be an example of peaceful, friendly and at the same time successful cooperation between completely different people. Since it was founded in 2012, it has addressed issues such as gender equality, but also questions of national identity, the influence of social media and topics such as environmental destruction, war, love and death. When creating concert programs, care is taken to ensure that they feature women. Gender equality, the inclusion of composers of color and the visibility of minorities are important concerns of the ensemble. The ensemble also likes to move “on the edge” of contemporary music with improvisation projects and crossovers (techno, rock, jazz…).
Ensemble New Babylon was founded in 2012 under the patronage of the then mayor of the Hanseatic City of Bremen, Jens Böhrnsen. Since its foundation, over 90 world premieres have been performed. From the very beginning, New Babylon has focused on the cultural exchange of other nations and has developed concert programs and tours with a focus on Greece (2014), Poland (2015), Israel (2016), Argentina/Chile (2017), Iceland (2018), South Korea (2019) and Spain/Portugal (2022). New Babylon does not focus on a specific stylistic direction. Each artist has their own musical background, which influences the collective result. Concert programs are developed together from within the ensemble. The ensemble has recorded two CD productions to date. The CD “9” on the STARFISH MUSIC label in 2015 and a portrait CD of the Spanish composer Benet Casablancas on the NAXOS label in 2017. The ensemble has received several awards from the German Music Council and has performed at festivals and concert series in Europe, Korea and South America. Ensemble New Babylon is both a network partner of klangpol – Netzwerk Neue Musik Nordwest and a member of FREO – Freie Ensembles und Orchester in Deutschland e. V.
