info
Between its main festival seasons, currents remains active through individual concerts, performances, workshops, and participatory projects in collaboration with local and international institutions. A central aspect of the festival’s mission is community engagement—developing projects that connect artists with local audiences, collectives, and educational partners, creating shared experiences beyond the traditional concert format.
One core focus of the festival is commissioning and presenting new works, encouraging artists to explore beyond the boundaries of their usual practice and to blur the lines between genres, disciplines, and communities. While currents does not aim to represent the entire spectrum of contemporary music, it is driven by a spirit of continuous exploration and discovery, always seeking new constellations and forms of sound and experience. Main venues include Moods and EXIL in Zurich, alongside site-specific collaborations with partner institutions.
history
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
Nik Bärtsch / Philipp Cron
MANAGEMENT:
Jakob Blumer
ADVISORY BOARD:
Judd Greenstein / Etienne Abelin
New Amsterdam Records
COMMUNICATIONS:
Sandra Smolcic
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Badesaison , Zurich