Birds of  Paradise Festival

Caroline Shaw is one of the most innovative voices in contemporary music. She excels at blurring the boundaries between classical, pop, and electronic music. Shaw has collaborated with a diverse range of artists and ensembles, including Kanye West, for whom she composed music and performed as a vocalist. In 2009, she became a member of the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, for which she composed Partita for 8 Voices. This work earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013, making her the youngest winner ever.

On this evening, Shaw shares the stage with the Dutch Ragazze Quartet and the electronic pop duo Ringdown, in which she collaborates with Danni Lee Parpan.

Evergreen with Ragazze Quartet

In the first part of the program, Shaw teams up with the Ragazze Quartet, a string quartet known for pushing boundaries. Together, they will perform The Evergreen, a piece Shaw composed specifically for the quartet, infused with nature themes and unusual harmonic twists. The work showcases Shaw’s compositional versatility in its fullest scope.

Ringdown: Pop and Electronic

After the break, Shaw will take the stage with Danni Lee Parpan in their new electronic pop duo, Ringdown. This collaboration combines Shaw’s compositional ingenuity with Parpan’s dynamic songwriting and vocals to create “ecstatically blissful” (Night After Night) music filled with electronic grooves and captivating melodies. Ringdown has recently released a series of catchy singles, adding a fresh, contemporary pop dimension to Shaw’s body of work.

Arone Dyer, a versatile musician and composer from New York, is best known as the singer and songwriter of the experimental duo Buke and Gase. She has also been involved in numerous collaborations, including projects with the ensemble Stargaze. Her debut album, recorded at the renowned Wisseloord Studios, showcases her growth as a solo artist and compositional talent. This evening offers a unique opportunity to experience Arone Dyer in various artistic facets: as the conductor of the Dronechoir and as a solo artist performing with the Spaceship Ensemble.

Dronechoir: A Social Performance Experiment

The evening begins with Dyer’s all-female drone choir, a social performance experiment that brings together women from various cultures, ethnicities, and communities. This unique ad-hoc choir, led by Dyer, creates a haunting sound in which voices seamlessly blend together while singing as they walk.

Would you like to join the female drone choir?

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Live Premiere of Debut Album x Spaceship Ensemble

After the Dronechoir, Dyer will present the live premiere of her debut album in collaboration with the Spaceship Ensemble from The Hague. The Spaceship Ensemble is a group of young musicians who add a new dimension to Dyer’s compositions with accordion, samplers, and keyboards.

Two unique musical personalities come together for this special evening. Cellist, singer, and composer Lucinda Chua and violinist Galya Bisengalieva collaborate with the 12-piece Spaceship extended, composed of members of the London Contemporary Orchestra and the Spaceship Ensemble from The Hague.

Lucinda Chua: Introspective richness

With her cello, effect pedals, and whispering vocals, Lucinda Chua creates an atmospheric and introspective musical world. Her work moves between ambient, pop, classical, and R&B, offering a unique foundation for an orchestral interpretation. During her set, Chua will perform her debut album YIAN and the EP Reclaiming The Rose.

Galya Bisengalieva: Modern Sounds from Kazakhstan

After the break, Galya Bisengalieva will present her latest album Polygon. The Kazakh composer and violinist is known for her experimental and atmospheric approach, blending traditional techniques with electronic influences. The Spaceship extended adds depth and extra layers to her compositions.

This performance is an initiative of Birds of Paradise in co-production with Amare.

With a subtle blend of folk, rock, and experimentation, This Is The Kit is one of the most captivating acts at the moment. This Is The Kit is the musical project of British singer-songwriter Kate Stables. She creates banjo-driven folk; beautiful songs often adorned with piano, percussion, guitar, organ, or trumpet. With her intimate, hypnotic folk sound and poetic lyrics, Stables has built a loyal following of fans.

The music of This Is The Kit is hard to categorize. The songs are often more complex than usual, yet they soothe the ear from the first note to the last. Stables has been building a unique and truly beautiful body of work for over fifteen years.

For Birds of Paradise, Kate is putting together an exclusive set with special visuals and, among others, multi-instrumentalist Ben Lanz (The National) by her side. A truly one-off performance.

Bird’s Nest is the place where you’ll discover new music, emerging artists, and unique collaborations before anyone else. On two stages, you’ll hear six artists who we believe are on the verge of a rapid rise in their careers. But before they fly out of Bird’s Nest, you’ll get to experience them—often with never-before-heard material.

XA4 x Chris Kokkeel (NL)

XA4 is the stage name of pianist and composer Xavier Boot. He blends the classical sound of his old Bechstein piano with soundscapes and electronics. In his neo-classical set, he opens with a special performance of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, alongside violinist Arthur Rusanovsky. Chris Kokkeel has created a special choreography for Pärt’s music, featuring dancer Sven de Wilde, blending breakdance and classical ballet. Recommended for fans of Nils Frahm, Joep Beving, and atmospheric classical music.

Rachael Lavelle (IRL)

Rachael Lavelle’s debut album Big Dreams was released in November, filled with atmospheric vocals gliding over undulating electronics and somber, contemplative brass. Fans of Lankum or Kate Bush will feel immediately at home. She wrote the album over a 10-year period, refining her craft as a composer, having various side jobs, and even opening for Lankum during their tour. Lavelle has been nominated for the Choice Music Prize in Ireland and was named One To Watch by The Guardian.

Charlotte Jacobs (BE)

Belgian artist Charlotte Jacobs lives and works in New York and recently released her debut album Atlas on the prestigious New Amsterdam Records label, which also represents Grammy winner Arooj Aftab. Together with drummer Raf Vertessen, she will perform the album, which has references to artists like Beth Gibbons, Meredith Monk and Cinematic Orchestra. As Volkskrant put it: “Jacobs creates more sound sculptures of harmonic fogs than pop songs. But they are always of a soothing, soft aesthetic.”

Djuwa Mroivili (NL)

Pianist Djuwa Mroivili is an original in the world of classical music. Djuwa explores how she can challenge the traditional (cis, hetero, Eurocentric) norms and dominant hierarchies in classical music while embracing an authentic narrative. In her performance I Vow To Distract Forever, you’ll experience Djuwa in all her diversity: as a theatrical personality, show performer, and of course, pianist/composer, moving from meditative piano music to pulsating beats.

Merope (BE)

Merope is the duo of singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and Belgian multi-instrumentalist Bert Cools. Their music is rooted in the traditional folk music of Lithuania, but with Cools’ expansive guitars and electronics, something magical happens. This magic is more present than ever on Vėjula, their most experimental album to date. The album also features collaborations with like-minded artists such as Shahzad Ismaily, Laraaji, and Bill Frisell.