The Omnibus Ensemble from Uzbekistan will perform at the presentation of the 2009 Prince Claus Awards on 16 December 2009 in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam. The Prince Claus Fund was inspired to invite the Ensemble after supporting the production of their CD ‘New Music from Central Asia’ with music by young composers.
The Omnibus Ensemble
The Omnibus Ensemble was established in 2004 by a group of the best young musicians in Uzbekistan headed by composer and conductor Artyom Kim. The main goal is to promote contemporary music in Uzbekistan and to introduce the rest of the world to the creativity of modern Uzbek composers. These ideals inspired the name Omnibus Ensemble as in Latin omnibus means multiple, capable of moving in different directions.
The repertoire of the ensemble includes the works composers who became key figures in the 20th Century music: Mahler, Ives, Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Cage, Varese, Messiaen, Berio, Boulez, Huber, Holliger, Denisov, Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Riley, Reich, Zappa and others. In nine out of ten cases of the live performances by Omnibus it is the first time these works are being performed in Central Asia.
Omnibus is dedicated to the search for new and experimental possibilities of expression in the field of contemporary music and interdisciplinary projects. In February 2009 the Omnibus Ensemble organised the 4th Black Box Music & Visual Arts Festival with unique multidisciplinary projects. Like the live performances Enthusiasm: The Symphony of Donbass, music from the original soundtrack with the first Soviet-Russian propaganda film by avant-garde film-director Dziga Vertov and Good night, Spring, a film by young Uzbek video-artist Sukhrob Nazimov with music by Demetrius Spaneas in live performance with the Omnibus Ensemble. And a Video-art Marathon was held with a 12-hours installation presenting experimental works by Central Asian video-artists and master-pieces of avant-garde cinematography of the 20th Century.
The Festival currently remains the only venue in Uzbekistan where experimental multidisciplinary projects of young independent visual artists are presented and it’s one of the most important forums for avant-garde art in Central Asia.
Next to the festival and the performances the Omnibus Ensemble has developed a series of Educational & Informative programmes. Within this programme the 4th International Master-Class for Young Composers Omnibus Laboratorium was held in October 2008. The first double CD with the recordings of Omnibus’ performances of these young composers’ works was released in May 2008 with the support from the Prince Claus Fund. It has become the first CD in Central Asia to represent works of young composers of the region.
The Omnibus Ensemble from Uzbekistan
Cover of the CD ‘New Music from Central Asia’ with music by young composers.
Innovative cultural activities and initiatives of individuals and organisations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are initiated and supported by the Prince Claus Fund. These creative processes lead to artistic productions in the realm of theatre, music, visual arts, architecture, audio-visual art and design.
