The young chamber orchestra ensemble reflektor envisions itself as messenger of a music culture without boundaries: the musicians of the orchestra develop programs collectively, in which diverse works across different genres thematically interconnect, thereby illuminating each other. Whether in clubs or in industrial warehouses, as an orchestra or in chamber groups, the befriended musicians create a special proximity to their audience through their original programming and innovative concert formats, building new gateways to classical music.

In 2019, the ensemble, in collaboration with cultural scholar Dorothee Kalbhenn, established its own festival in Lüneburg: ultraBACH. In its first run, ensemble reflektor integrated J. S. Bach’s music with Techno, house concerts, world premieres, and incorporated amateur musicians and the city community into its concert formats, thereby bringing the timeworn composer into the twenty-first century.

Within its residency at the Halle 424 in Hamburg, ensemble reflektor has designed three new concert programs. These comprise, paired with the symphonies of Beethoven and Schumann, several German premieres as well as a commission from the ensemble.

For each of its programs, the ensemble develops music education workshops for students of various age groups. Moreover, the musicians of the ensemble are taking on musical mentorship of the newly founded »reflektor classes« for all the fifth-graders of the Hamburg Schule auf der Veddel.

With its concert programs, ensemble reflektor has been invited to perform in Konzerthaus Berlin and the ZKM Karlsruhe (Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe), as well as the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker (Hitzacker Summer Music Festival) and the Detect Classical Festival (Berlin). »Liebeslied« follows the ensemble’s debut album, »Gewalktakt«, as their second album.

ensemble reflektor is the laureate of the 2020 NORDMETALL-Ensemblepreis of the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is the first orchestra to receive the honor. In the previous year, the ensemble received the Max-Brauer-Prize of the Alfred Toepfer Trust F. V. S. for its civic engagement in northern Germany.