A Journey of Artistic Discovery Across Europe

EMERGING ENSEMBLE: lovemusic

12/09/2026 – 13/09/2026

Organised by Gaudeamus, Netherlands

The Strasbourg-based collective lovemusic, this year's focus ensemble and Ulysses Emerging Ensemble, returns to Gaudeamus with two programmes. The first is a concert dedicated to three nominees for the Gaudeamus Award 2026: Tytti Arola from Finland, Sing-Yat Chen from Hong Kong, and Rodrigo Pascale from Brazil. Every year, four young composers are nominated for the prestigious incentive award. Their music will be played throughout the festival, including brand new works developed in close collaboration with the performers especially for this occasion.

The second programme, taking place on the final day of the festival, is called Protest of the Physical. In these four pieces, the performers’ bodies are not merely vehicles for playing instruments, but intrinsically intertwined with the music, highlighting how gesture shapes our listening experience. By incorporating artists from different disciplines into the creative process, questioning the role of the audience itself, and using the body as an expressive tool of communication, the collective seeks to reclaim their position as unique performers on stage, rather than replaceable “instrumentalists”.

lovemusic collaborates with composers, performers, and interdisciplinary artists to create innovative work while challenging patriarchal and hierarchical structures. Their diverse backgrounds shape programmes that reflect a range of aesthetics and amplify underrepresented voices across ethnicities, genders, and sexual identities. Through lighting, video, and scenography, they create immersive concerts that are colourful, experimental, and engaging, introducing contemporary composed music to broader audiences.