VISITING PROGRAM
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC IN MUNICH
MAY 14-17, 2026
CONNECT WITH THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC SCENE MUNICH AND EXPLORE THE MUNICH BIENNALE!
DISCOVER THE MUNICH SCENE!
Musikbüromuc and its European partners Pro Helvetia, Austrian Music Export and SoundCzech, invite musicians, composers, ensembles, and music curators from Switzerland, Austria, and Czechia, to a Visiting Program in Munich. Participants from Munich are expressly invited to take part in the exchange project as scholarship holders in order to network with the international guests.
The four-day program offers an in-depth insight into Munich's contemporary experimental music scene, its venues and artists, and the program of the Münchener Biennale Festival for new music theatre. The program is made possible by Musikbüromuc, Pro Helvetia, Austrian Music Export, and SoundCzech, and supported by the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, the Munich Biennale, and the Czech Center Munich.
Founded in 1988 by Hans Werner Henze, the Münchener Biennale is one of the world's leading festivals for world premieres of new music theatre. From 2026, musicologist and cultural manager Katrin Beck and composer Manuela Kerer will be responsible for the programme of the festival, which is organised by the Cultural Department of the City of Munich. They will extend the reach of the Münchener Biennale in all directions – both aesthetically and geographically. With new collaborations, they also want to stimulate international networking in the music theatre landscape. And they think big when it comes to the idea of communication: as translation and transfer into society.
SWITZERLAND
CHRISTIAN SPITZENSTAETTER
Musician, Conductor, Director / Artistic Director Compagnie Merce & John
SARAH WIDMER
Soprano / Artistic Director Compagnie Merce & John
Participation as a self-payer
ANNA SOWA
Composer
ASTRIDE SCHLAEFLI
Composer / Stage Director
MIKOLAJ RYTOWSKI
Composer / Performer
RAMA GOTTFRIED
Composer / Performer
CZECHIA
VI HUYEN TRANOVA
Composer / Performer
EVA KESSLOVÁ
Curator / BERG Orchestra
KAROLÍNA ŠTORKOVÁ
Brno Contemporary Orchestra
MAREK KEPRT
Composer / Curator / Director of MusicOlomouc
MILLI JANATKOVÁ
Composer / Performer
MUNICH (GERMANY)
KATHRIN ISABELLE KLEIN
Musician
HENRIK AJAX
Composer / Curator
SOPHIE KOCKLER
Musician
GUNNAR GEISSE
Composer-Performer
ALEXANDER F. HOOPER
Composer
JAKOB GRIMM & CHRISTIAN TRAUTE
Musicians / Tetra Brass
NIKOLAUS VON BEMBERG
Musician
OLIVER KLENK
Musician / Director der/gelbe/klang
OPEN CALL AUSTRIA
A call for Austrian music professionals will be published seperately soon.
WHAT DOES THE VISITING PROGRAM OFFER?
• Pro Helvetia, Austrian Music Export und SoundCzech will cover travel and accommodation costs for Swiss, Austrian and Czech music professionals.
• The Visiting Program covers the cost of tickets for at least 4 performances that participants will attend during their stay in Munich.
• We will visit performances of the Münchener Biennale, meet artistic teams and the artistic directors of the Biennale.
• We will visit venues and meet producers and artists of the Munich contemporary music scene.
• Networking event: There is the opportunity to present your work as part of a presentation at the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste.
• Musikbüromuc will assist in arranging individual appointments with artist and key figures of the Munich scene.
SCHEDULE
• Prior to the live meeting in Munich, there will be two meetings via Zoom where participants can get to know each other and prepare the meeting in Munich. Participation in these meetings is mandatory.
• Start of the Visiting Program in Munich: May 14, 2026, 6 p.m.
• End of the Visiting Program in Munich: May 17, 2026, 12 p.m.
HOW TO APPLY?
• The open call for the Visiting Program will take place from December 1. 2025.
• Deadline for the applications: January 15, 2026
• The jury will select the participants by February 15, 2026. The jury consists of one member each from the partner institutions Musikbüromuc, Pro Helvetia and Sound Czech.
• If you are musician, composer, ensemble or music curator from Switzerland, Czechia or Munich you can apply for participation by filling in the ONLINE FORM here. Applications must be submitted using this form only.
