Composer-in-Residence Thomas Larcher

Musikdorf Ernen Festival, Switzerland

The Musikdorf Ernen Festival has been a cultural project in the Valais mountain village of Ernen for almost 50 years now. Every summer the festival offers not only chamber music, piano, jazz, orchestra and baroque concerts, but also an organ masterclass, a literature seminar, a biography writing workshop, readings and lectures. Boasting a long tradition, its wide-ranging support of young musicians and contemporary music (premieres by Philip Glass, Sally Beamish, Jürg Wyttenbach, Helena Winkelman, among others) is just as important as its goal of being a festival with a heart: Ernen is attended by spectators and musicians who are passionate about high-quality music, nature and culinary delights. With the support of the EvS Music Foundation, the promotion of contemporary music is now to be expanded through a Composer-in-Residence Program (CiR). The individuals are given the opportunity to explore the cultural area of Ernen and the Binntal Landscape Park compositionally over several weeks or months. For Musikdorf Ernen works are created that develop from the peculiarities of the location and setting of the Binntal Landscape Park and thus embody Ernen’s DNA. Gradually, these works are to be performed with an ensemble that will develop over the coming years into an Ensemble-in-Residence in Ernen. The first Composer-in-Residence will be the Austrian composer Thomas Larcher.

Further Information:
musikdorf.ch