Live Act - Contemporary Music Academy

Live Act - Contemporary Music Academy

Live Act is a contemporary music academy held by Ensemble Écoute and Meetingpoint Memory Messiaen. It will place from  24th to 30th August in Görlitz and Zgorzelec, at the  border between Germany and Poland including STALAG VIII A, the former prison camp where Olivier Messiaen was held captive and composed the Quatour pour la fin de Temps.

For its first edition, three world-renowned musicians, composers Tristan Murail (FR), Grażyna Pstrokońska (PL), flutist Helen Bledsoe (DE) from Ensemble Musikfabrik and members of Ensemble Écoute will mentor ca. 20 young instrumentalists and three young composers, both students and recent graduates, residing in France, Germany and Poland.

This academy offers the opportunity to work on some of the finest pieces of contemporary repertoire by Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, Tristan Murail, Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil, Marta Ptaszyńska, Betsy Jolas and Karlheinz Stockhausen, among others.

Participants will form a merged ensemble made up of students and musicians from Ensemble Écoute to prepare the pieces to be presented in public performances:

• Large-ensemble concert in Narodowe Forum Muzyki in Wroclaw (Poland)
• Large-ensemble concert in Kulturforum Görlitzer Synagogue in Görlitz (Germany)
• Chamber music concert in STALAG VIII A in Görlitz (Germany)
• Daily activities will include, rehearsals, individual masterclasses, workshops and lectures and a guided tour of the prisoners camp.

Dates : 24th to 30st August 2025.

Faculty

• Tristan Murail (FR)
• Grażyna Pstrokońska (PL)
• Helen Bledsoe (DE)
• Seven members of Ensemble Écoute (FR) :
• Fernando Palomeque (conductor), Rachel Koblyakov (violin), Orlando Bass (piano), Samuel Casal (flute), Joséphine Besancon (clarinet) and Quentin Dubreuil (percussion)

PROGRAM

Public performances:

Two large-ensemble concerts:

• 29/08/2025 – Narodowe Forum Muzyki in Wroclaw, Poland
• 30/08/2025 – Kulturforum GörlitzerSynagoge in Görlitz, Germany

George Benjamin – At First Light

Tristan Murail – Le Lac

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Kontra-Punkte

Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil – Pejzaż z Pluszczem

Premiere of three pieces by young composers from Germany, France, and Poland

• One chamber music concerts at STALAG VIII A GÖRLITZ

Works by Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin, Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil, Marta Ptaszyńska, Betsy Jolas, Karlheinz Stockhausen…:

Workshops and lectures during the Academy:

• Workshops on conception and development of contemporary music projects in Europe.
• Projects presentations from participants, individually or in groups.
• A dedicated lecture will explore Messiaen’s class and music, along with insights into the works of Tristan Murail and Grażyna Pstrokońska-Nawratil, former students of Messiaen
• Presentation of new works by emerging composers

APPLICATION

Open to musicians of any nationality residing in France, Germany and Poland.

Age limit: up to 35 years old before 24th august 2025

To apply, please complete this form (Click here) including

• Two different videos of yourself playing solo or chamber music pieces. At least one of them should be composed after 1945 (Links to Wetransfer will not be accepted)
• CV or Biography
• Repertoire List: Solo, chamber and ensemble pieces composed after 1945.

Instruments

Soprano, Flute (up to 2), Oboe (up to 2), Clarinet (up to 2), Bassoon, Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano (up to 2), Harp, Percussion, Violin (2), Viola (up to 2), Cello (up to 2), and Double bass

Tuition fees: 250€

including:  accommodation, travels from your city of residence*, three meals a day, classes, lectures, workshops, rehearsals and concerts.

*Travels will be covered only from the city of residence in France, Germany and Poland