In recent years, ensemble reflektor has also made a name for itself throughout Germany for its music education projects. In spring 2022, members of the orchestra carried out a video project with the string orchestra „strings!“ from the music school in the Hanseatic city of Lüneburg entitled Orchester Tutorials! In four workshops, conceptually developed by the young professionals of ensemble reflektor and artistically and didactically guided by Thomas Klug, Professor of Violin at the University of the Arts in Bremen, a total of seven tutorials were conceived, rehearsed and documented on film. Since completion, the corresponding videos can be viewed on ensemble reflektor's YouTube channel.
The accompanying texts and graphics for the videos were written and recorded by students from the string orchestra or designed as short cartoon sequences. Kathy Nierenz provided pedagogical advice and led the rehearsals with the students.
A concert in conjunction with the UltraBach Festival ll
With ensemble reflektor and "strings!"
October 2021
In Theater Lueneburg
Lüneburg and the surrounding communities are surrounded by rich nature. The citizens of this beautiful city don't have to travel far to enjoy idyllic forests, the Ilmenau river, lakes and parks. But the signs of a creeping and at the same time aggressive climate change can also be found in these places. Inspired by the demands of the Fridays for Future movement, TanzBach ll takes a look at and behind the idyll. Afterall, what music could
better illustrate the contrast between beauty and subtle aggression than the orchestral suite in b-minor by Johann Sebastian Bach?
Video & audio installations
Concept
More information about ensemble reflektor you will find under: https://ensemble-reflektor.de
What does a full-sized string orchestra do when it is not allowed to rehearse and perform for weeks and months on end because of the Corona pandemic? That's right - Chamber music!
Orchestra director Kathy Nierenz divided her "strings!" into small ensembles and was able to rehearse a series of short pieces with each group. The associations the students had from hearing this music inspired the development of a digital project:
EXPEDITION - the radio play.
After the music was rehearsed, "strings!" students- 18 young musicians aged 15 to 19 - sat together in workshops, of course more often virtually, planned and wrote down their story; their expedition. They decided that it has to be a musical journey from the Baroque to the 20th century, with stopovers in selected periods. For example, a theme at one stopover reflects on the unrestrained industrialization in the 19th century -a time in which wonderful music was created - and it’s present day consequences. Still another theme is the long journey of every musician with their instrument, the successes and failures, be it alone in the practice room or on stage. For me and the students, the work on this project AND the final theme in the radio play is about teamwork and how it’s nearly impossible to achieve anything as a group when there are no common goals.
The recording studio of the Lueneburg Music School, run by Dirk Dechring, makes projects like this one possible and was a real blessing, especially during the pandemic. Assisting Dirk Dechring was Mathis Fänger- an advanced student in sound engineering at that time.
Sinfonietta!- the symphonic orchester of the Music School of the Hanseatic City of Lueneburg
Direction: Kathy Nierenz
Live Recording from March 9, 2024
The Danish composer Rune Thorsteinsson is one of the world's leading composers of body percussion concert works. Alongside the regular weekly rehearsals in the music school in Lueneburg, Thorsteinsson was invited to conduct Zoom rehearsals and a live weekend workshop with Sinfonietta! It was his first time working on „Snap Clap Boom Ungh Zib“ with young students, and his excitement and enthusiasm to take part in the learning process of the piece was contagious, making it an unforgettable and inspiring project for everyone!