Federal Youth Orchestra – 29th Euregio Music Festival

Classical and jazz – two musical worlds that rarely share the stage. However, in this extraordinary project, the German Music Council, along with its Federal Youth Orchestra and Federal Jazz Orchestra, takes exactly this step. The best young musicians from both genres in Germany celebrate musical diversity in a joint concert program under the experienced direction of Jonathan Stockhammer. The highlight will be the performance by Malika Tirolien, the charismatic singer and composer from Guadeloupe. Her music combines jazz, soul, funk, and Caribbean influences. Following her Grammy-nominated collaboration, Stefan Behrisch will arrange some energetic songs by Tirolien into a new suite, where she will be the focal point as a soloist. The variety of musical influences and styles that come together in this program symbolically represents the added value that arises when different cultures and forms of expression enrich each other. Starting from one of the first jazz-inspired classical works, Darius Milhaud's "La Création du Monde," the entire program will showcase the creative dialogue between classical and jazz, breaking down perceived boundaries. Wynton Marsalis’ "Manhattan to L.A." combines exhilarating big band swing with symphonic splendor, just as the classic crossover piece, Duke Ellington's imaginative journey to the "Night Creatures." A unique discovery in Sofia Gubaidulina's oeuvre is her "Revue Music," which can be understood as a satirical look at the aesthetics of 1970s Hollywood film music, presented in an ironically ghostly manner with many pseudo-quotes from popular music. Inspired by the gesture of Peter Gabriel's 1986 song "Sledgehammer," which symbolizes the powerful endeavor to break all barriers, composer and arranger Libor Šíma, the solo bassoonist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra and a successful jazz saxophonist, is creating a new composition for this project titled "Sledgehammer Reloaded." Finally, Leonard Bernstein's "Three Dance Episodes from 'On the Town'" will reflect the energy of Broadway and the unbridled joy of life that characterizes this project.