VISITING PROGRAM
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC MUNICH
MAY 14-17, 2026

THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARTICIPANTS, PARTNERS, AND FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS WHO MADE THIS VISITING PROGRAM POSSIBLE AND ENGAGED IN CREATIVE AND MEANINGFUL EXCHANGES.

THAT WAS OUR PROGRAM

Musikbüromuc and its European partners Pro Helvetia, Austrian Music Export and SoundCzech, invite musicians, composers, ensembles, and music curators from Switzerland, Austria, and Czechia, to a Visiting Program in Munich. Participants from Munich are expressly invited to take part in the exchange project as scholarship holders in order to network with the international guests.

The four-day program offers an in-depth insight into Munich's contemporary experimental music scene, its venues and artists, and the program of the Münchener Biennale Festival for new music theatre. The program is made possible by Musikbüromuc, Pro Helvetia, Austrian Music Export, and SoundCzech, and supported by the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, the Munich Biennale, and the Czech Center Munich.

Founded in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze, the Münchener Biennale is one of the world's leading festivals for world premieres of new music theatre. From 2026, musicologist and cultural manager Katrin Beck and composer Manuela Kerer will be responsible for the programme of the festival, which is organised by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich. They will extend the reach of the Münchener Biennale in all directions – both aesthetically and geographically. With new collaborations, they also want to stimulate international networking in the music theatre landscape. And they think big when it comes to the idea of communication: as translation and transfer into society.

SWITZERLAND

CHRISTIAN SPITZENSTAETTER
Composer, Conductor, Director / Compagnie Merce & John

SARAH WIDMER
Mezzo-Soprano / Compagnie Merce & John
Participation as a self-payer

ANNA SOWA
Composer

ASTRIDE SCHLAEFLI
Composer / Stage Director

MIKOLAJ RYTOWSKI
Composer / Performer

RAMA GOTTFRIED
Composer / Performer

CZECHIA

VI HUYEN TRANOVA
Composer / Performer

EVA KESSLOVÁ
CEO & Co-Curator / BERG Orchestra

KAROLÍNA ŠTORKOVÁ
Brno Contemporary Orchestra

MAREK KEPRT
Composer / Curator / Director of MusicOlomouc

MILLI JANATKOVÁ
Composer / Performer

AUSTRIA

ANNA KOCH
Platypus Ensemble

THOMAS FREY
Studio Dan

ALEXANDER J. EBERHARD
Violist, Composer, Concert series On the Couch

MUNICH (GERMANY)

SARAH LUISA WURMER
Musician

HENRIK AJAX
Composer / Curator

SOPHIE KOCKLER
Musician

GUNNAR GEISSE
Composer-Performer

ALEXANDER F. HOOPER
Composer

JAKOB GRIMM & CHRISTIAN TRAUTE
Musicians / Tetra Brass

NIKOLAUS VON BEMBERG
Musician

OLIVER KLENK
Musician / Director der/gelbe/klang

LEON ZMELTY
Composer / Musician

ABIGÉL VARGA
Composer