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in 2018, algerian-french singer and cellist nesrine made her debut at the cello biennale with her band nes, and since then, she has become one of the festival's favorite performers. during the tenth cello biennale, she collaborates with the dutch wind ensemble and cellist chieko donker duyvis (see family performance "familie vermi-celli!") to present a program featuring exhilarating brazilian sambas, melancholic arabic melodies, japanese folk songs, and infectious spanish rhythms. to get into the mood, nesrine, along with her friend, percussionist, guitarist, and singer anissa nehari, will perform during the kick-off at our stage. expect a concert filled with sultry mediterranean and arabic music with a hefty dose of cello!

valentina dreams about having a bff – a best friend forever. why? because in her family she’s the oddball, the black sheep or, worse still, ‘different’. everyone thinks it’d be a great idea to send her off on a journey so that she can learn to behave herself properly. in this journey of hardship, valentina meets the musical gurus of feeling. with their instruments, they show her every corner of their emotions. if valentina controls her emotions she will be able to make friends. right? about the shaky balance between fitting in and being yourself. and how complicated that sometimes is. in the music theatre performance family vermi-celli, singer/actress myrthe van der vuurst de vries shares the stage with young cellists chieko donker duyvis, simon velthuis and percussionist eric robillard (percossa). with new catchy songs by jan groenteman and classical cello repertoire. family vermi-celli has been co-produced by theater jaski and the cello biennale amsterdam.

enter the enchanting world of brazilian music in a tribute to the iconic elis regina, by lilian vieira and lucas santana. singer elis regina (1945-1982) became legendary for her unique interpretations of brazilian classics. immerse yourself in the soulful melodies and experience the magic of the timeless songs. lilian vieira celebrated international success with the brazilectro band zuco 103. the versatile brazilian singer regularly performs in smaller, acoustic settings as well. as a highly demanded soloist, she has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the metropole orchestra. from the moment that lucas santana arrived in amsterdam, he has played in a huge amount of dutch bands. the energetic brazilian saxophone, clarinet and flute player has also performed with international heroes such as miguel zenón, hermeto pascoal and seamus blake.

under the guise of an interplanetary night, space is the place organizes spectacular evenings, pushing boundaries and crossing borders. with its roots in jazz and improvised music, the program explores a variety of genres. this edition affirms the connection between the improv scenes of portugal and berlin. and while there would be no space is the place without contrast, you can expect a few detours, such as latvian classical music. sofia borges the portuguese-born, berlin-based sofia borges is first and foremost a sound creator, whether she is improvising, composing graphic scores, or collaborating with dancers and theatre artists. as a drummer, she expands the drum kit by adding objects, some of them of her own invention, music boxes, toys, orchestral percussion instruments and field recordings, creating her own sonic world. she has collaborated with improvisers such as craig taborn, axel dörner and andy moor. now she will perform solo. sofia borges drums, objects, percussion, electronics fade in fade in hovers between contemporary jazz, carnatic music from india and gagaku from japan. all three members desire to move away from the structures of western music; geographically decentralizing listening without appropriation. their most recent album live fast, die a legend was released by internationally respected portuguese label clean feed in 2022. fade in plays strictly original compositions by each band member. federico calcagno clarinet, bass clarinet, pietro elia barcellona five string double bass, marco luparia drums, objects luis vicente / john hughes / camilla nebbia / onno govaert luis vicente is a trumpet player from lisbon. he plays in several groups with different concepts, from totally free to composed music, always with a sense of freedom. the same accounts for his partners in this quartet. drummer onno govaert is very active in the amsterdam (and european) improv scene and double bass player john hughes is a central figure of the german scene. tonight they are joined by the young berlin-based saxophonist camila nebbia. luis vicente trumpet, camila nebbia saxophone, john hughes double bass, onno govaert drums move move has an urgency for movement. from a sense of interconnectivity sprouts a direct, decisive and ready-made improvisation. the three musicians connect through an unwavering awareness of each other’s creation, where activity and adaptability are strived for, where communication and respect are paramount. the members are also active in bands such as chinese cookie poets, new brazilian funk, eke, naked wolf and fashion eternal. yedo gibson sax, felipe zenícola bass, joão valinho drums lidy blijdorp / olga caceanova to counter the improv frenzy, classical musicians lidy blijdorp and olga caceanova will present solo and duo works for cello and violin. castillo interior by latvian composer pēteris vasks is dedicated to mystic teresa von Ávila. it combines meditative renaissance-like sounds with more turbulent parts, symbolizing the contrast between inner spirituality and the outside world. plus solo works for cello and violin by j.s. bach, and baladă și joc by ligeti, based on romanian folk songs olga caceanova violin, lidy blijdorp cello hala hala creates a diverse, energetic and surprising musical madness based on the fairytale-like compositions of german vocalist helene matthia richter. the band was formed in groningen and has released three ep’s to date: hala (2018), blueberry ink (2019) and how do you do (2022). their avant-jazz touches on progressive rock, avant-pop and cabaret. the members are known from bands such as knalpot, gatecrash and de jongens driest. helene matthia richter voice, effects, arno bakker sousaphone, jorrit westerhof guitar, electronics, gerri jäger drums paroah paroah is the moniker of amsterdam based sound and visual enthusiast vicky de visser. when selecting tunes, she is known for heating up the dance floor with curveball after curveball, from acid and gabber to experimental music. she explores more ambient realms in her mixtape series a letter to, and is working on an upcoming audiovisual album that combines spoken word and field recordings with filmed and performed footage. she co-founded non bull beats and the sub-label free shit of spooky shit, and is currently active for ruisburo at de ruimte, amsterdam.

with her agile voice, amirtha kidambi explores many directions. hindu music for example, in line with her indian heritage. and because of her daring improvisational style, she has often been associated with the revolutionary free jazz of the 1960s. but she is also an organiser end activist who reacts to injustice. in that sense she clearly relates to her contemporaries matana roberts, jaimie branch en irreversible entanglements. in het main band elder ones, all members contribute to the band sound through improvisations and live electronics. amirtha kidambi made her impressive debut on our stage in the group code girl with mary halvorson and ambrose akinmusire. this spring, she will release the album new monuments with elder ones, in which she also plays harmonium and synthesizer. her compositions for the band provide ample space for collective improvisation with the four other members, all major talents from the new york scene: matt nelson on saxophone, lester st. louis on cello, eva lawitts on bass, and jason nazary on drums and modular synthesizer. better live tour amirtha kidambi’s elder ones takes part of better live music, a project co-financed by the european union under the creative europe program. the goal of the better live tours is to reduce the ecological footprint of the live music sector and  to create a strong network for music professionals in europe.

relief party, the new band led by guitarist and ‘uncrowned king of contemporary jazz’ (jazzism) reinier baas, celebrates the release of a new album. preceded by the trio deadeye featuring reinier baas, kit downes and jonas burgwinkel. deadeye is a super group featuring some of the most forward-thinking jazz musicians in europe. deadeye sheds new light on the traditional combination of organ, guitar and drums. coming from a broad musical spectrum, they fuse jazz, rock, british folk, and 20th century classical music. unpredictable, yet danceable. intricate, yet melodic. relief party plays dance music for odd people, written in a long-forgotten era where your spouse was your hairdresser and toilet paper was a collective obsession. a celebration of life, of the collective human experience and, above all, of a new record featuring europe’s finest avant-jazz misfits. their first album is finally available on vinyl now. ‘reinier baas is the uncrowned king of contemporary jazz. a breathtakingly talented guitarist, who is able to impress and touch with his instrument, and a gifted composer who dares to take risk on top of this’ (jazzism).