Incense of Music 76/ Nilles, Simon, Miron

Incense of Music 76

A multisensory concert – Friday, 16. October 2026,  8 pm

AJ Nilles: viola

Grégoire Simon: viola

Yodfat Miron: viola

Incense: Frankincense from Yemen, White Sage

PANDA Platforma in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin

The “Incense of Music” series combines acoustic experience with olfactory perception. For this concert, two essences will be burned, each opening its own geographical and spiritual spaceThis event is not recommended to people sensitive to smoke.

Under the Voice is a composed improvisation for three violas, in which the instruments are partially muted with a metal damper. This subtle intervention alters each viola’s resonance, enhancing its internal vibrations and selectively filtering the sound spectrum. The result is a palette of timbres that evoke electronic textures. yet remain entirely acoustic. Through this transformation, Under the Voice unveils poetic soundscapes and the fragile presence of unheard voices. Originally conceived as a solo work by Grégoire Simon, the trio version, developed together with Yodfat Miron and Allan Niles through a shared creative process, opens new possibilities in which the strict formal shape allows for spontaneous interactions and unexpected sonic encounters.

AJ Nilles is a violist and producer born in Chicago and based in Berlin. He started playing viola at a very young age and attended the Juilliard School in New York, receiving a Bachelor of Music in 2011. Shortly after he moved to California to join the San Diego Symphony. In 2015 AJ moved to Berlin to join the Berlin Philharmonic as a tutti violist. Since his move to Germany, he started releasing music of his own which he describes as “electro-acoustic Artpop” under the moniker “Ayjay Nils”.

The violist and performance artist Yodfat Miron was born into an Israeli-Yemeni family of musicians. She was a multiple scholarship holder of the America Israel Foundation and played as solo viola in the West Eastern Divan Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim. After completing her instrumental studies in Tel Aviv and Berlin, she founded the Miron-Quartett in 2003. Since 2013 she has been a permanent member of the Berlin settled Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, in the framework of which she was able to develop as a crossover artist between acting and instrumental performance. In 2016 she embodied Joseph Beuys in Tom Patchett's and Georg Nussbaumer's play “Jeder Hase ein Künstler. Eine Beuys Fabel”. In 2017 and 2018 she appeared as Theodor W. Adorno in Clara Gervais's melodrama „Über den Fetischcharakter in der Musik und die Regression des Hörens”. She recently acted and performed in the premiere of Ulrike Ruf's innovative concert production "Viola Solo".

Grégoire Simon works between Berlin and Paris as a performer (viola and violin), producer, and composer. After studying violin and viola, he was chosen in 2012 by Pierre Boulez to take the solo viola position in the prestigious Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), where he played for four seasons, notably performing as a soloist in Gérard Grisey’s Prologue and Hugues Dufourt’s viola concerto at the Paris Philharmonie / Cité de la Musique. At the same time, he developed an activity as a composer and electronic music producer. As one half of the duos Yes Sœur! and Valmon, respectively with Alexandre Bouvier and Paul Valikoski, Grégoire Simon has produced original music for contemporary dance performances, collaborating with choreographers such as Milla Koistinen, Eric Minh-Cuong Castain (Cie Shonen), and Alessandro Sciarroni. Their works have been performed at venues and festivals including the Biennale de Lyon, Tanz im August Festival, Festival d’Automne, and Radialsystem Berlin. With his hybrid Berlin-based project SUGAR, Grégoire Simon builds bridges between chamber music and pop music, with original creations presented at the Wien Modern Festival and at the Rotersalon of the Volksbühne in Berlin ( part of the Incense of Music series). Since 2020, Grégoire Simon has received various composition commissions, with works performed by Ensemble Flashback (Perpignan), Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Zafraan Ensemble, and the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra (Berlin). Grégoire Simon is a member of the Trickster Orchestra and a regular guest of the Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop Berlin.

http://www.gregoiresimon.com/

The frankincense tree, *Boswellia sacra*, grows under extreme conditions in the dry, rocky regions of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Its resin is obtained by making a deliberate incision in the bark. The milky sap that seeps out hardens in the air into glassy, yellowish tears. Yemeni frankincense is considered one of the purest and most aromatic in the world. Its scent is resinous, citrusy-warm, and slightly balsamic. Since antiquity, frankincense has been used as an offering, a medicine, and an incense – it opens the breath, calms the mind, and is seen as a bridge between the earthly and the divine.

White sage is an evergreen perennial shrub in the mint family, native to the dry coastal mountains and desert regions of Southern California and Baja California. Its silvery-white, hairy leaves store water and reflect sunlight – a perfect adaptation to aridity. The plant can grow up to 1.5 meters tall and produces long, white to pale lavender flower spikes that attract bees and hummingbirds. For Indigenous tribes such as the Chumash, Cahuilla, and Tongva, white sage is a sacred plant. When burned, it ritually cleanses spaces, objects, and people. Its scent is herbaceous, camphor-like, and slightly sweet – clarifying, focusing, and grounding.

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Incense of Music 74/ Dahlgren, Hart, Puntin

Incense of Music 74

soft landing option

A multisensory concert – Friday, 12. June 2026,  8 pm

Chris Dahlgren: Viola da gamba

Jim Hart: Vibraphone & Marimba

Claudio Puntin: Contralto-Clarinet, Bassclarinet, Clarinet

Incense: White sage, Aralia racemosa

PANDA Platforma in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin

An evening where the ancient and the avant-garde converge. Chris Dahlgren on viola da gamba, Jim Hart on vibraphone & marimba, and Claudio Puntin on clarinets weave a tapestry of sound. The air carries the cleansing scent of White Sage and the woodland aroma of Aralia racemosa. This event is not recommended to people sensitive to smoke.

A soft landing in the infinity of possibilities. Behind this lies the idea that tradition means not the preservation but the development of things, so that it can transform its merits into services. The sound fusion of this carefully selected combination of instruments—viola da gamba, clarinets, and vibraphone—captures several centuries of European music-making and instrumental art in an audible and tangible way. Origin and present come alive in the hands of this composers' band. The three musicians are united by a polystylistic understanding of music and lifelong improvisational and compositional experience in dealing with musical forms of expression and organization. In this way, they have created and continue to create an ever-growing and changing collection of works. Together, they create far more than the sum of three artistic individuals. These time-dissolving forms of planning generate a reality that will have a lasting impact on the future.

Claudio Puntin (*13.10.1965) Improvisor, Clarinetist, Composer, Goldsmith, Painter, Performer. The sensuality and soulfulness of improvising people have inspired Claudio Puntin since his first musical steps. He has retained his playful instinct, turning his clarinet into his keyboard, his drums, and his sound processor, and creating works for orchestras, choirs, ensembles, and electronics. Together with improvisers from all continents, he creates music and art that allows us to participate in the eternal artistic present through images and sound. Through his playing, he reminds us that we are all sensual and social beings who enjoy creativity in order to be together in health, peace and soulfulness.

claudiopuntin.com

R. Chris Dahlgren (*13.11.1961) Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer, Singer, Performer. „If I would attempt to state a credo for my path as a musician, an artist and a person it would go something like this: I’d try to emphasize, along with following one’s own instinct and bliss, keeping a beginner’s mind, a step-by-step mind, a here and now mind and an openness to life’s inevitable changes. I was improvising before I knew what improvising meant- freedom and form are yin and yang and intertwining eternally, so don’t emphasize one over the other. I don’t want to fit into anybody’s shoebox and least of all into a shoebox of my own making.“  Chris Dahlgren

chrisdahlgren.com

Jim Hart (*1.6.1978) Vibraphone, Marimba, Drums, Percussion. Jim Hart is a British vibraphonist and drummer whose music thrives on curiosity, openness and creative range. After nearly 20 years in London he relocated to Alsace, France in 2014. He has released ten albums as a leader and moves fluidly between projects that stretch from intimate duos to adventurous cross-border collaborations and large ensembles. His versatility has brought him to the stage with artists at the highest level from around the world. Hart also shares his craft as a teacher at several conservatoires across Europe as well as running a choir in his local community.

jimhart.co.uk

White sage is an evergreen perennial shrub native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, specifically the coastal sage scrub habitats of Southern California and Baja California. It typically grows 1.3 to 1.5 meters tall and wide, with whitish evergreen leaves that are densely covered in hairs containing aromatic oils. When rubbed, the leaves release a strong, distinctive fragrance. The plant produces tall flower stalks with white to pale lavender flowers that are highly attractive to bees, hence the species name apiana. White sage requires well-drained dry soil, full sun, and minimal water, naturally occurring on dry slopes in coastal sage scrub and chaparral ecosystems. Due to increasing commercial demand, wild populations face conservation concerns from overharvesting, leading many Native American groups and conservationists to recommend using cultivated sources rather than wild-harvested plants. As incense, white sage is traditionally used by Indigenous peoples of North America for purification ceremonies and spiritual practices. The dried leaves are typically bundled into smudge sticks and burned, producing a highly aromatic, resinous, and penetrating spicy scent. The smoke is believed to have cleansing properties, clearing negative energy from spaces and promoting mental clarity and relaxation. Scientific research has shown that burning white sage can break down up to 94 percent of bacteria in a room. Beyond spiritual use, Native American communities have traditionally employed white sage for medicinal purposes, including treating coughs and colds, and as an eye cleanser using the seeds. The herbaceous, woody, and slightly sweet fragrance makes it popular for meditation, yoga, and creating sacred spaces. Due to its sacred status and conservation concerns, many Native Americans request that non-Natives use white sage respectfully and choose cultivated sources.

Aralia racemosa, commonly known as American spikenard, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the ginseng family native to eastern North America. It typically grows 1 to 1.5 meters tall, sometimes reaching up to 3 meters, with erect, branched stems that are dark maroon to almost black in color. The plant produces very large, two to three times compound leaves that can reach up to 75 centimeters in length, divided into 9 to 21 ovate leaflets with toothed margins and pointed tips. The small white to greenish-white flowers are arranged in numerous umbels that form large, upright panicles up to 30 to 46 centimeters long, blooming from June to August. The flowers are followed by hanging clusters of dark purple berries about 6 millimeters in diameter that attract birds. The plant has large, aromatic roots that spread via rhizomes and prefers moist, rich woodland habitats from Quebec to Georgia and west to Kansas and Minnesota. As incense, Aralia racemosa is valued for the aromatic properties of its root, which has a complex, spicy, and earthy fragrance with notes reminiscent of licorice or sarsaparilla. The root contains essential oils that release a pleasant balsamic scent when burned or gently heated. Traditionally, the dried root has been used in herbal medicine and incense practices by Native American tribes and in European herbal traditions. When used as incense, the aroma is described as warm, mildly sweet, and slightly pungent, creating a calming and grounding atmosphere. The smoke or vapor from the heated root was historically used to fill rooms with a mild, soothing fragrance, particularly valued for respiratory comfort. In some traditions, it was used for purification and to promote a meditative state. The root can be burned on charcoal as a loose incense or gently heated on a warmer to release its aromatic compounds. Due to its historical significance and pleasant scent, it remains valued in natural perfumery and herbal incense blends. The plant should not be used during pregnancy.

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Incense of Music 73/ Taylor, Chartrand, Alcàcer

Incense of Music 73

gamba, liuto e controtenore

A multisensory concert – Friday, 8. May 2026,  8 pm

Michael Taylor: countertenor

Vanessa Chartrand: viola da gamba

Pedro Alcàcer Doria: lute

Incense: Artemisia vulgaris, Mentha arvensis

PANDA Platforma in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin

Immerse yourself in Early Music and new senses. An intimate concert with Michael Taylor (countertenor), Vanessa Chartrand (viola da gamba), and Pedro Alcàcer Doria (lute). Accompanied by a fragrant composition of Artemisia (mugwort) and Mentha arvensis (field mint). This event is not recommended to people sensitive to smoke.

https://youtu.be/VKwJCd9lqUE?si=HggVvl-N6FbUMTpF

Acclaimed by critics for his “great virtuosity”, “vocal radiance” and “outstanding voice”, Michael Taylor has performed leading roles in operas around the world ranging from the baroque to the modern era. The young Canadian countertenor Michael Taylor picked up his first instrument, the violin, at age three. Despite an (arguably Sherlock Holmesian) enthusiasm for Bach’s solo partitas and the Devil’s Trill, he soon discovered his true instrument of choice when he began his vocal training as a treble with St. Michael’s Choir School at age nine, where he was to sing more or less every day for the next ten years. After a brief intermission in which he completed a degree in Physics and Neuroscience at McGill University, Michael took up further vocal studies in Germany with a focus on opera performance and early music under the tutelage of Jeanne Piland and some of Europe’s most talented Early Music specialists, including Andreas Scholl, Sara Mingardo and Michael Hofstetter. He is a prize-winner of the Gürel International Singing Competition in Istanbul and the International Voice Competition Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Germany, as well as a grant-holder of the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers. Highlights of his wide-ranging operatic repertoire include Oberon in Britten’s “A Midsummernight’s Dream” in Norfolk (2013), Goffredo in Handel’s “Rinaldo” at the State Theatre Mainz (2014), Corindo in Cesti’s “Orontea” at the Hamburg State Opera (2014), Liscione in Scarlatti’s “La Dirindina” with L’Arte del Mondo (2014/15), Adriano in Pergolesi’s “Adriano in Siria” (2015) and Alceste in Hasse’s “Demetrio” (2016) with Opera Settecento, Artemis in Henze’s “Phaedra” at the Halle Opera (2015), Ariel in Purcell’s “The Tempest” with Montreal Baroque, Argone in Handel’s “Sosarme” and Ormonte in Handel’s “Elpidia” at the Handel Festival Halle (2016), a revival of Porpora’s “L’Agrippina” with the Barber Opera (2017), two new chamber operas for the Biennale di Venezia (2017), Sciarrino’s “Luci mie traditrici” at the Ukraine National Opera (2018) and his hometown operatic debut with Opera Atelier in Monteverdi’s “Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria” (2018). Also highly sought-after in concert and oratorio, he performs regularly with exceptional ensembles worldwide, including Handel’s “Messiah” with the Grammy-nominated Trinity Choir at the Lincoln Center New York (2012) and with the Juno-award-winning ensemble L’Harmonie des Saisons (2017), Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Telemann Baroque Orchestra at Izumi Hall in Osaka (2015) and at the Maison Symphonique de Montreal (2018) and a series of Bach cantatas with Montreal Baroque now available on the Atma Classique label. Michael is a core member of Berlin’s Solistenensemble Phønix16, specialising in the performance of contemporary and experimental vocal works; he has appeared in several major festivals, including MaerzMusik and Ultraschall Berlin, performing works by Ferneyhough, Xenakis, Stockhausen, Grisey and Vivier as well as new works by Pryzbylsky, Bumsteinas and Fure. As founder and co-director of the baroque ensemble “The Dansant”, his debut album “To Die, To Sleep”, featuring opera arias by Handel, Vivaldi and Graun accompanied on period instruments, is available here.

www.countertaylor.com

Berlin-based Canadian conductor Vanessa Chartrand is a 2020 Opera Awards Foundation bursary recipient and scholarship holder from the Royal Philharmonic Society of London. From her rich background as a classical singer and viola da Gamba player, her conducting encompasses symphonic works, contemporary music, baroque music and opera. Up-coming highlights of the season 25/26, include Vanessa’s debuts with the Berliner Symphoniker at Berlin Philharmonie in a program of Kodaly, Vaugh-Williams, Dukas, and Gerschwin’s piano concerto. It will also be the premiere of Dear IRIA, a new film by Finnish Director Janna Kyllästinen, for which she has composed the music. In recent seasons, Chartrand has worked with orchestras such as the Danish Philharmonic, Orchestre National d’Auvergne, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Kiev Symphony orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Cascais, London’s Chroma Ensemble, Ensemble UnitedBerlin, Zafrann Ensemble, Mosaik Ensemble, and Phoenix16. Vanessa was Vladimir Jurowski’s assistant at the London Royal Opera House’s in a production of Jenufa, and with the Berlin Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra for 2 years. She conducts a wide range of repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary; Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartok, Haydn, Zemlinksy, Mendelssohn and is a pioneer of new music. She has performed both as a singer and conductor at the most important festivals of new music in Germany: MärzMusik, MIKROMUSIK Festival for Experimental music and sound art, ULTRASCHALL Festival, Documenta 14, Ruhrfestspielhaus Recklinghausen, and Duisburger Akzente. She also premiered composer Lisa Bielawa’s Mauer Broadcast for double choruses, ensemble and soloist for the Fall of the Berlin wall celebration. A passionate opera conductor, Chartrand gained many years of stage experience; first as an opera singer ( Carmen, Hermia, Cesare, Dorabella, Cherubino, Charlotte to name a few) but also as a viola da Gamba player, conducting from the continuo works such as Orlando, Monteverdi’s Orfeo, and The Fairy Queen. She has worked with small opera companies in Berlin conducting Don Giovanni, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Carmen, L’Elisir d’amore, and Le Nozze di Figaro. As a composer, Vanessa has received many recognition for her works both on stage and on screen. Some highlights of her work include GAIA-Cyborg Oper nominated for best production of 2021 by Nachtkritik. Her latest soundtrack, A Body like mine, documentary by Maja Classen, won many prizes, including Best German Documentary at DOC.BERLIN 2023. Vanessa’s music is known for her remarkable emotional depth, which lends itself to a sense of openness and breathability. Across a wide variety of genres, she explores sounds, textures, and movements. Her music is deeply moving and tends towards minimalism, focusing on the core of an emotion in its rawest form. In 2018 she founded OpusXX Orchestra, a chamber orchestra based in Berlin, which has been applauded for its rich sound and unique repertoire, shading a light on forgotten female composers, and pioneering new works by women composers. Vanessa was born in Québec, Canada. Where after graduating with honours from McGill University in voice, she attended a Master’s degree in viola da Gamba at the Université de Montréal before moving to Germany to pursue her operatic studies with Ks. Jeanne Piland. Vanessa counts among her conducting mentors Vladimir Jurowski and Jessica Cottis. She has worked as well with Luigi Gaggero, Hervé Niquet, Jay Bernfeld, Skip Sempé, Alexander Schmalcz, Michael McMahon, Falk Struckmann, and Xenia Meijer.

vanessachartrand.com

Born in 1982 in Mexico City, Pedro Alcàcer Doria began his musical education at an early age under the influence of his father, the Catalan jazz musician Francesc Alcàcer, and was born into a creative family. He studied jazz guitar with Francisco Lelo de la Rea and immediately began learning classical guitar and composition with Hector Ramos. He completed his studies in classical guitar at the renowned “Escuela Nacional de Música-UNAM” and continued his studies with renowned teachers such as Isabelle Villei, Eloy Cruz, and Antonio Corona, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. In 2006, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he obtained the “Berufstitel” for Renaissance and Baroque plucked instruments at the Conservatory of Girona under the renowned teacher Xavier Diaz-Latorre. He then continued his studies at the University of the Arts in Bremen, where he studied lute with Joachim Held and Lee Santana and earned his degree. As a passionate musician, he continued his instrumental improvement with Evangelina Mascardi in Italy while working intensively as a soloist and continuo player. He has worked with important conductors such as Gabriel Garrido, Alessandro di Marchi, Marco Mencoboni, Paolo Faldi, Riccardo Doni, Horacio Franco, Cristoph Hammer, Carlos Aranzay, Gerhard Oppel, Burak Özdemir, and others, and has performed at prestigious festivals and forums in Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, and Mexico. He currently lives in Berlin and collaborates with various realities of early music in Europe. The artist is known for his profound experience and artistic sensitivity, which he has acquired through collaborations with outstanding musicians and teachers from all over the world. His international experience and high qualifications make him an outstanding artist in his field.

pedroalcacer.com

Mentha arvensis, commonly known as corn mint, field mint, or wild mint, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the mint family. It typically grows 10 to 60 cm tall, with erect or ascending stems that are square in cross-section and often branched. The leaves are arranged oppositely, are ovate to elliptical in shape, have serrated margins, and are aromatic when crushed. The small flowers are lilac, pale purple, or whitish, growing in dense whorls in the leaf axils, not in terminal spikes like some other mints. It spreads vigorously via creeping rhizomes and is native to temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, typically found in moist places like fields, ditches, and riverbanks. As an incense, Mentha arvensis is valued for its strong, fresh, minty, and herbaceous fragrance, derived from its high essential oil content, particularly menthol. The dried leaves and stems are traditionally burned, and the essential oil is also used in diffusers. The sharp, cooling aroma is known for its purifying and clarifying properties. Ethnobotanically, the Cheyenne people used the leaves and stems as a perfume and deodorizer in dwellings. It is also used in some spiritual practices to remove negativity and promote concentration and mental clarity, helping to counteract emotionality and stimulate focus. The smoke or vapor is believed to be energizing and uplifting. Caution is advised as the essential oil is potent; it should be used in moderation, avoided during pregnancy, and kept away from young children.

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