Author: Andrea Kerner

aeaa

European Association of Artist Managers (AEAA)


Die Association Européenne des Agents Artistiques / European Association of Artist Managers (AEAA) wurde 1947 in Paris von einer Gruppe von Künstleragenten, Konzertagenten und Impresarios aus fünf europäischen Ländern gegründet. Heute zählt die AEAA über 80 Mitglieder aus 17 Ländern und vertritt mehr als 4.000 Künstlerinnen und Künstler.

Der Verband veranstaltet für seine Mitglieder eine jährliche Generalversammlung, die häufig mit Rundtischgesprächen mit herausragenden Gästen und Referenten verbunden ist. Diese Versammlungen haben seit 1947 in vielen bedeutenden europäischen Städten stattgefunden.

Stiftung Zukunft Berlin

Forum Zukunft Kultur

The Zukunft Berlin Foundation seeks to ensure that the experience and expertise of citizens are acknowledged and used in shaping the development of politics and society. It does not aim to take responsibility away from democratically legitimized institutions—on the contrary, it seeks to strengthen them, including by improving the quality of political decision-making with the help of the citizenry. This is about nothing less than joint decision preparation between civil society and politics. Before decisions are made, the best arguments from both sides are publicly discussed and weighed on an equal footing. Our focus is on the common good, and on finding the best solutions for Europe and for the future of the capital region.

In the Forum Zukunft Kultur, Berlin-based cultural experts work on the development of culture in the city and on Berlin’s cultural policy. The revolutionary turning point of 1989 continues to confront cultural policy, cultural institutions, and artists with new challenges to this day. Existing structures and goals must be further developed so that they can sustainably meet new needs. The Forum advocates the development of new, forward-looking strategies for culture in Berlin. The four pillars of cultural life—artists, leaders of cultural institutions, politicians, and private stakeholders—should live up to the ambition that all those involved dare to try something new and step beyond their comfort zones.

VBKI – Verein Berliner Kaufleute und Industrieller e.V.

Wir unternehmen Berlin

The VBKI has been working on a unique project since 1879: the future of Berlin! As a network of Berlin entrepreneurship, as an organizer of numerous high-profile events, as a driving force in Berlin’s debate on the future and as a committed promoter of the common good, it keeps moving the city forward.

The Culture Committee is committed to opening up funding opportunities from the private sector for interesting cultural projects, thereby giving them the chance to be more visible to the public. In a metropolis like Berlin with such a diverse cultural scene, smaller funding projects often run the risk of going under or being overlooked. The Cultural Committee is therefore particularly committed to smaller projects and tries to support them in various ways.

Landesmusikrat Berlin

Musik für alle

The Landesmusikrat Berlin is the umbrella organization for Berlin’s music institutions and associations, representing more than 600,000 people from all areas of musical life. It places a special emphasis on musical education for both youth and adults.

The Landesmusikrat represents the musical-political interests of its members, serves as their coordination office, and provides advisory support to the Senate and political parties in the Berlin House of Representatives.

European Cultural Parliament

“Culture is the core of society”

The European Cultural Parliament was founded in the premises of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, in 2001. The objective was – and is – to strengthen the role of cultural and artistic ideas and initiatives in Europe. In addition, the founders of the ECP wish to strengthen the dialogue between citizens in Eastern and Western Europe and between the various arts sectors.

The ECP is its members – 160 artists, cultural managers and cultural personalities from 43 European countries.

The European Cultural Parliament – Future Generation (ECP-FG) is an initiative created within the ECP in the beginning of 2017 and was partly built on the previous ECP Youth Network (YN). It is a network of young aspiring artists and cultural professionals between the ages of 18 and 35, from all over Europe as defined by the European Council. The Future Generation aims to generate cultural progressive and innovative thinking to inspire Europe, as well as challenge and influence decision makers.

The ECP-FG helps artists elevate their platform, build their network and collaborate deeper in EU art forums and events.

Cleopatra

At the start of the new year, the La Folia Barockorchester and its artistic director Robin Peter Müller will be joined by the acclaimed soprano Regula Mühlemann: Their successful program Cleopatra relays a multifaceted psychogram of the historical figure Cleopatra and her interpretation in the Baroque era. Alongside famous arias by Handel and Hasse, the program offers exciting new discoveries of works by Graun and Vivaldi.

24 January 2026, Liepāja Concert Hall Great Amber / 28 January 2026, De Singel, Antwerpen / 1 February 2026. Philharmonie Essen / 3 February 2026, Tonhalle Zürich
CLEOPATRA
Regula Mühlemann, soprano / La Folia Barockorchester / Robin Peter Müller, musical director
Works by C. H. Graun, G. Legrenzi, G. F. Handel, A. Scarlatti, A. Vivaldi, J. A. Hasse & F. Geminiani


Masters of the Polyphony

William Byrd declared him a “musical genius”. Nearly 400 years later, Glenn Gould would write how his music moved him “more deeply than any other sound experience” he could think of. The composer in question is Orlando Gibbons. Regarded as one of the last representatives of the English school of polyphony, Gibbons composed his relatively slim but exceptionally versatile oeuvre during the transitional period between the Elizabethan era and the Baroque. On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Gibbons’ death in 2025, the Phantasm Viol Consort has developed several programs that present his rarely performed works to German audiences, alongside pieces by some of his contemporaries.

In March 2025, Phantasm launched the concert series POLYPHONIC ENCOUNTERS at the St. Elisabeth Church in Berlin-Mitte: four concerts dedicated entirely to polyphony, each highlighting a composer particularly renowned for this compositional technique. In the third concert of the series, the ensemble celebrates one of Britain’s most famous composers: Henry Purcell (1659–1695), known as the Orpheus Britannicus. Following the concert, Phantasm invites guests to their traditional reception at the bar followed by a book launch: Jean-Claude Kuner will introduce the original English version of the 2022 novel Parsifal’s Seduction by Laurence Dreyfus, founder and director of Phantasm. The book will be published in December 2025 by Wolke Verlag.

27 December 2025, Wigmore Hall
A COMPLETE ENGLISH CHEST Laurence Dreyfus, treble viol & artistic director / Emilia Benjamin, treble viol / Jonathan Manson, tenor viol / Heidi Gröger, tenor viol / Christopher Terepin, bass viol / Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, bass viol Works by O. Gibbons, J. Ward, T. Tomkins & W. Lawes

28 December 2025, Klassik im Alten Kloster, Bad Saulgau / 29 December 2025, Kirchensaal der Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde, Köngsfeld im Schwarzwald GIBBONS ANNIVERSARY
Laurence Dreyfus, treble viol & artistic director / Emilia Benjamin, treble viol / Jonathan Manson, tenor viol / Heidi Gröger, tenor viol / Martin Jantzen, bass viol / Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, bass viol Works by O. Gibbons, T. Tomkins & J. S. Bach

11 January 2026, St. Elisabeth-Kirche, Berlin
HENRY PURCELL, PROPHETIC PATHFINDER Laurence Dreyfus, treble viol and director / Emilia Benjamin, treble viol / Jonathan Manson, tenor viol / Heidi Gröger, tenor and treble viols / Markku Luolajan-Mikkola, bass viol Guests: Ulrich Wolff, bass viol / Lea Rahel Bader, bass viol / Jean-Claude Kuner, book presentation Works by H. Purcell / book launch: Parsifal’s Seduction by Laurence Dreyfus

The Sarahbanda

The Sarahbanda grew out of Sarah Willis’s idea to firmly integrate the classical horn into a Cuban band for the first time—an idea inspired by her successful project Mozart y Mambo. To realize this vision, she brought together an ensemble of outstanding Cuban musicians who share her passion for salsa, son, and mambo, blending these styles with new and distinctive sound colors.

The band’s debut album was released in 2024, featuring fresh arrangements of popular Cuban classics as well as original compositions, including works by Jorge Aragón, Edgar Olivero, and other members of the ensemble. While always remaining true to the Cuban tradition, the Sarahbanda continues to develop and expand it. The ensemble regularly appears at major festivals and concert venues, including the Lucerne Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie, and Schloss Elmau. In 2025, their second album, Cuban Christmas, was released by Deutsche Grammophon.

VIDEO

PRESS

“The fire and the underlying passion of Cuban music smoldered throughout the entire evening. (…) Nothing here was showy or overstated; everything came across as completely authentic.”

Mainpost, 17 October 2025

„Willis’s ever imaginative and skilful playing brings its own character to the variety of Cuban popular dance explored here.“

BBC Music Magazine, November 2024

„Sarah Willis’ desire to combine the incandescent character of these works with her unique vision of musicality has been fulfilled beautifully.“

El mundo clásico, 17. September 2024

PROJECTS 2026/27 – A SELECTION

–Overview Projects 2025/26 (PDF)

Dates upon request

THE SARAHBANDA

The Sarahbanda’s program combines classical works and Cuban music into a stylistically distinctive, high-energy sound world. At its core is the idea of shaping traditional Cuban dance rhythms—son, mambo, guaracha, bolero, and guajira—through new arrangements in which the horn is organically integrated into the typical Cuban banda instrumentation.

The repertoire includes both iconic Cuban classics such as Sandunguera, Chan Chan, Pare Cochero, La Comparsa, and Guajira Sencilla, as well as original compositions by the musicians themselves, for example by Yuniet Lombida or Aylín Pino. These works are presented in contemporary, often subtly and imaginatively expanded arrangements that highlight the interplay between horn, saxophone, violin, piano, and percussion. The program is further enriched by newly reimagined versions of European works—including Mozart’s Romanza and Bizet’s Habanera—which are reinvented in a Cuban style without losing their melodic identity.

Dates upon request

CUBAN CHRISTMAS

With Cuban Christmas, the Sarahbanda presents an extraordinary holiday program that casts well-known international classics in a new, warm, and rhythmically pulsating light. Familiar Christmas melodies—from Jingle Bells and Silent Night to The Christmas Song—are intertwined with the rich tradition of Cuban dance music. Salsa, danzón, bolero, son, and mambo are not used as mere stylistic decoration; instead, they form the musical foundation into which the themes of the original works are woven.

Many arrangements originate from Sarahbanda’s close artistic circle, including Edgar Olivero and Jorge Aragón, who understand how to combine the characteristic colours of Cuban music with chamber music refinement. In addition, there are arrangements of classical works, such as a reimagined intermezzo from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite or an arrangement from Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, both of which take on a ‘Christmassy’ Cuban character without losing their Baroque structure.

“This is for those who want something different, and something hot.”

The Times, 18 December 2025

“You can’t sit still to this one.”

The Observer, 7 December 2025

“The Cuban Nutcracker Suite is not to be missed: ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy’ is a touch of percussive genius.”

Gramophone, 9 December 2025

DOWNLOADS

–THE SARAHBANDA press photo 1
–THE SARAHBANDA presse photo 2
–Biography THE SARAHBANDA (PDF)
–Projects 2026/27 (PDF)

Merry Christmas!

Dear colleagues & friends

Once again, a year full of events on every level is coming to an end, and it’s been hard to keep up with all the developments around the world. With countless crises and challenges affecting every sector—including the arts—we’re all likely heading into the holiday season with a little less ease than we might have a few years ago.

Still, looking back at the year behind us and ahead to the next, there’s plenty that gives us cause for optimism and motivation: our long-standing, world-class orchestras continue to be warmly welcomed everywhere; our partners in international concert halls still trust our recommendations for adventurous ensembles that aren’t yet guaranteed to sell out. Even though working with our artists from overseas has become more complicated administratively, everyone involved is putting in tireless effort to make the seemingly impossible possible—because artistic freedom and mobility are more essential than ever, because cross-border dialogue is urgently needed in a time of rising disregard for democracy, and because music, fortunately, still connects, inspires, and brings a little joy into our lives.

With this in mind, we look to the end of the year with optimism and welcome the year ahead with confidence and anticipation!

We wish you, your colleagues, and your families a Merry Christmas if you celebrate, a peaceful turn of the year, and a wonderful start to a healthy and happy 2026!

Warm regards from the ARCC team

Andreas Richter, Andrea Kerner, Michael Sauter, Ina Holthaus, Daniela Gast, Raphael Reher,
Capucine Valois, Benjamin Kaiser & Emily Dreyfus

Please note that our office will be closed from December 22, 2025 to January 5, 2026.