info
Currents is a biennial festival for new contemporary music and will take place in Zürich from 3. - 8. March 2026. It serves as a platform for developing trends in new music and promotes creative exchange between Swiss and US artists, most notably in cooperation with the Brooklyn based label New Amsterdam Records. A central focus of the festival is the commissioning and presentation of new works. Artists are encouraged to go beyond the boundaries of their usual practice and blur the lines between genres, disciplines, and communities. Following this vision, the festival does not limit itself to individual venues, but continually explores new locations and settings for the presentation of its works.
history
Currents festival was formerly known as the «Apples & Olives Festival». Apples & Olives was a cross-genre music festival in Zurich and Bern, which was founded in 2013. It presented a culture of cross-genre interaction between classical composers and indie musicians and bands from rock, pop and jazz. The festival formed classical orchestral and chamber music, mixed with the band consciousness of the indie scene and new combinations of acoustic and electronic music.
The “Indie Classical” or “neo:classical” scene developed in several places at the same time (New York, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich). A strong current emanated from Brooklyn, New York starting in 2008. With Judd Greenstein, label boss of the Brooklyn label “New Amsterdam Records”, a central figure in this scene was chosen as co-director of the festival. His partners on the Swiss side are Etienne Abelin, Ynight co-founder, former member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and currently Music Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra, Nik Bärtsch, EXIL Club co-founder and leader of the Zenfunk band Ronin, Philipp Cron, former curator at Cabaret Voltaire, and Jakob Blumer, cultural entrepreneur.
team
CURATORS:
Nik Bärtsch / Philipp Cron
MANAGEMENT:
Jakob Blumer
ADVISORY BOARD:
Judd Greenstein
/ Etienne Abelin
New Amsterdam Records
COMMUNICATION:
Annina Meier
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Badesaison , Zurich
contact
info@currents.ch
@currentsfestival
currents festival
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