Julie Campiche - Pioneering Harpist in Contemporary Jazz
Harpist Julie Campiche ranks among Switzerland’s most innovative contemporary jazz musicians. Born in Geneva in 1983, she plays her instrument with sensitivity and power, creating a distinctive sonic signature in the European jazz scene.
After classical training at the Geneva Conservatory, Campiche immersed herself in the jazz world at the age of 20, embracing the harp’s unexplored potential in jazz. Here she found new freedom for her artistic expression and the sense of community that characterizes her experimental and socially committed compositions.
A relentless innovator, Campiche employs a very personal technique and electronic effects. Campiche was the first harpist ever to earn a master’s degree in composition and jazz performance at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Lausanne. She performs solo, leads a critically acclaimed quartet (with saxophonist Leo Fumagalli, bassist Manu Hagmann and drummer Clemens Kuratle) and collaborates across genres—recently with baroque ensemble Capella Jenensis and 2023 winner of the Swiss Grand Award for Music Erik Truffaz. Her appearances at Montreux Jazz Festival, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and London’s Vortex Jazz Club have established her as an influential instrumentalist and composer on the European jazz scene.
In early 2026, Campiche will release her debut solo album Julie Campiche Solo—UNSPOKEN.
Thomas Demenga - Acclaimed Cellist and Educator
Thomas Demenga is a cellist, composer and teacher of international renown. Born in Bern in 1954, Demenga has been inspiring new generations of musicians from different genres for decades with his artistic work and his work as a professor.
Thomas Demenga’s career spans more than 50 years. After studying with cellists such as Walter Grimmer, he received decisive chamber music influences at the Juilliard School in New York City. While deeply versed in classical and romantic traditions, he also explores improvisation. He is particularly interested in music of the 20th and 21st centuries. As an interpreter of numerous renowned world premieres—including works by Heinz Holliger (winner of the 2015 Swiss Grand Award for Music)—and as a composer and soloist, Demenga has developed a very personal contemporary musical language. An extensive series of recordings for the ECM label impressively documents his enormous repertoire.
Thomas Demenga taught as a professor at the Basel University of Music for 45 years. As artistic director, Demenga was responsible for renowned ensembles such as the Camerata Zurich and several festivals, including the Davos Festival. Demenga’s wide range of activities emphasises his versatility and his great commitment to classical and contemporary music.
Titus Engel - Building Bridges Between Tradition and Avant-Garde
Titus Engel is a visionary conductor. Born in Zurich in 1975, his versatility and curiosity bring fresh perspectives to both classical and contemporary music. Engel is based in Berlin and is passionate about innovative concert formats.
Engel studied philosophy and musicology in Zurich and Berlin. He mastered his craft as a conductor in Dresden, where he made his operatic debut in 2000. Since then, he has made countless appearances as a guest conductor across Europe and the US, including at Madrid’s Teatro Real, where in 2014 he led an acclaimed world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s opera Brokeback Mountain. In 2020, he was named Conductor of the Year by Germany’s Opernwelt magazine. Since 2023, Engel has served as Principal Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta, the world’s only symphony orchestra dedicated exclusively to contemporary music.
Through programmes that interweave old and new music, Engel appeals to a wide audience. “The standard repertoire is far too limited, we urgently need to explore new frontiers,” he remarked in an interview. Engel builds bridges between tradition and the avant-garde—and brings unexpected musical connections to light with his precise and sensitive conducting.
Jannik Giger - Composer with Audiovisual Versatility
Jannik Giger is a composer and artist whose vision extends far beyond conventional musical boundaries. The Basel native’s work playfully redefines traditional forms—opening new horizons of perception.
Born in 1985, Giger studied in Bern and Lucerne before completing a Master’s degree in Specialised Music Performance in Basel. His works have been performed internationally, including Troisième oeil for chamber orchestra at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall. He collaborates with renowned ensembles like Camerata Bern, Basel Sinfonietta and the Arditti Quartet. Whether through chamber music, video art, music theatre, sound installations or soundtracks for Swiss films like Drii Winter, Giger’s art delivers an immediate impact that surprises and captivates with its fluid adaptability.
Giger’s work challenges conventions, embracing experimentation and dialogue. A prime example is his recent short film Lamento, which premiered at the 2024 Solothurn Film Festival, playfully incorporating pop music quotes and references.
Charlotte Hug Raschèr - Boundary-Crossing Explorer in Contemporary Arts
Charlotte Hug Raschèr is an experimental musician, composer and visual artist. In her work, she uses viola, voice, electronics and images to redefine and reinvent the boundaries between various disciplines. Born in Zurich in 1965, she invents her own playing techniques for her performances thanks to innovations such as the “soft bow”—or she uses the Son-Icons she has developed as visual scores.
Son-Icons lie at the heart of Charlotte Hug Raschèr’s artistic practice. These visual works fuse musical notation and graphic art, creating new interpretive possibilities for performers. The London improvisation scene profoundly shaped the artist’s development. Her compositions and spatial scores are performed by choirs, orchestras and interdisciplinary ensembles worldwide. In 2011, Hug Raschèr was honoured as Artiste Étoile at Lucerne Festival.
In her performances, Charlotte Hug Raschèr seeks out extreme environments and unconventional spaces—from the Rhône Glacier to prison cells. Her work thrives not only through collaborations with musicians and artists, but also through dialogues with scientists in fields like glaciology and sleep research. Constantly discovering new forms of expression in-between spaces, Hug Raschèr’s art challenges all our human senses. Following her April 2025 solo album IN RESONANCE WITH ELSEWHERE (FSR Records), Hug Raschèr will embark on a European tour in 2026.
Stereo Luchs - Urban Poet Capturing the Zeitgeist
Silvio Brunner, performing as Stereo Luchs since 2007, is a keen observer. The Zurich musician stands out with his profound lyrics and tracks, which are influenced by current hip-hop and dancehall trends. He narrates urban realities and human emotions, striking a chord with his music that resonates with the times.
Stereo Luchs debuted with the album Style Generator (2007), created together with Zurich reggae artist Phenomden. Since then, Brunner, born in Wiedikon in 1981, has continuously developed his music and his voice. While his early work clearly referenced rap and reggae, Brunner has progressively transcended genre boundaries. Albums like Lince (2017) and his eponymous Stereo Luchs (2021) reveal an artist who blends current trends like grime and trap with deeply personal lyrics. His 2017 track “Ziitreis” stands among the most original and memorable Swiss-German songs of recent years. Collaborations with artists like rapper/singer Soukey and with Pronto (winner of a 2023 Swiss Special Prize for Music) cement Stereo Luchs’ status as an inspiration for a diverse audience. His work with German production team Kitschkrieg and rapper Trettmann has also attracted international attention. Since 2012, Brunner has run his own label, Pegel Pegel.
In 2025, Stereo Luchs is working intensively and in seclusion on his fourth album, slated for release in 2026. Simultaneously, he is preparing a new live show, marking his return to the stage in December 2025 after a two-year performance hiatus.
Vox Blenii / Vent Negru - Voices of Ticino’s Musical Heritage
The two musical ensembles Vox Blenii and Vent Negru keep Ticino’s musical heritage alive. Both groups place special emphasis on rediscovering forgotten folk songs, documenting them and preserving vocal traditions in local dialects.
Vox Blenii hails from the Blenio Valley. Founded in 1984, the group considers fieldwork its lifeblood. During their research, the five members Aurelio Beretta, Remo Gandolfi, Gianni Guidicelli, Luisa Poggi and Francesco Toschini—typically seek out elderly residents of the region, listening to their stories and songs and thereby collect music that originated in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Vox Blenii performs these songs acoustically, preserving the original local musical traditions that would otherwise have been lost.
The trio Vent Negru has its roots in the Onsernone Valley. Since 1991, its members—Mauro Garbani, Esther Rietschin and Mattia Mirenda—have interpreted folk songs from the southern Alpine region, drawing on oral traditions of lullabies and dance songs, which they perform in a variety of settings. The trio also enriches these folk songs with original compositions.
Through their dedication, Vox Blenii and Vent Negru bring the rich heritage of their valleys into the present—making it accessible to a broad audience through their powerful interpretations
