ORBIT

LOAD FUTURA to mark the 100th anniversary of the electrification of the “Lichtstadt” Unna. Here, the classical symphony orchestra is consistently reimagined on an electronic basis: music is performed on electrically powered devices in the scale of a full A-level orchestra. A total of 127 machines are clocked, dimmed, tuned, and, if necessary, amplified in groups. Each individual device is treated and used as an instrument.

With the world premiere of the PROPELLER-SINFONIE at c/o pop 2008 in Cologne, the Stromorchester format was swept into a growing surge of popularity, which the ensemble strategically transformed: electronic and electrified instruments — and later classical musical instruments — were incorporated as complementary elements, leading to the development of open-air settings and mobile formats.

In 2014, the invention of the Quadraphone enabled an overarching staging concept that replaced the conventional loudspeaker setup as the standard situation: on the occasion of the Quadriennale, the Stromorchester sounded simultaneously from the rooftops of 11 cultural institutions and from numerous manholes across Düsseldorf.

In ELECTRO-ICONIC BRIDGE (2015), 27 European (capital) cities and their transatlantic namesakes in the USA (a total of 51 locations in 12 countries) were connected through site-immanent inventions of (artistic and sonic) electrical engineering, linking live performances across 230V and 120V systems and back again.

In 51° HORIZONTALE TERRITORIEN (2018), the audience was electrically and acoustically measured and mapped in 29 consecutive interventions along the 51st parallel (29 locations in 11 countries), thereby becoming the score for the subsequent performances and symbolic circumnavigation of the globe.

For DIE WOHNUNG 100, 100 interviews with 100 people in 78 Bauhaus architectures across 17 countries were documented and presented together with the Stromorchester as a living media sculpture at Kunstfest Weimar 2019 — before their sounds were returned to their places of origin through an International House Concert format.