Christmas is approaching fast. A reason to venture into musical highs and lows. At the NO, however, we’re not focusing on the birth of a baby, but rather on the deaths of three pop icons who all passed away ten years ago: Prince, George Michael and David Bowie. Three exceptional artists, three evenings, three tributes – led by musicians LEGION SEVEN, Sarah Taylor Ellis, Mara Snip and Niko Meinhold. Christmas music for everyone who loves the holiday hustle and bustle … or hates it.
In January 2027, jazz and improvisation musician Niko Meinhold and his ensemble turn their attention to David Bowie, who brought together a jazz band shortly before his death.
Team
Niko Meinhold
Niko, a composer and Improvising Musician, has composed for a wide variety of ensembles, including orchestras, radio (among others, the RIAS Big Band and the NDR Bigband), film, television, theatre (including Konzert Theater Bern and Hans Otto Theater Potsdam), as well as numerous CD productions. For some time now, his focus has been on experimental compositions and cross-genre performances, including Disdance (2008), for the Niko Meinhold Ensemble and dance (produced by RBB); Antwort Berton (2009), for the Niko Meinhold Ensemble; Episodes (2011), for the Frauke Requardt Dance Company, two musicians and two sound designers (produced by The Place, London, and the British Arts Council); Stirb und Werde (2012), for the Pro Artibus Chamber Orchestra, a small women’s choir and a jazz quartet; and Evacuation Of Nada (2019), for computer-generated voice, French horn, trombone and grand piano.
He has received awards for performances, compositions and productions. From 2021 to 2025, he was a scholarship holder of the Arvore Foundation.
Niko has performed with a wide variety of ensembles in Germany, the USA, Japan, England, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Israel, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, South Korea, Serbia, Colombia, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Algeria, Lebanon, Azerbaijan, Ghana and Senegal.
He has performed with musicians including Samuel Torres, Rudi Mahall, John Schröder, Chris Dahlgren, Jimi Tenor, David Friedman, Carlos Bica, Heinrich Köbberling, Marc Sanders, Steve Noble, Maria Raducanu, Toni Buck, Michael Schieffel, Marshal Gilkes, Guillaume Viltard, Satoko Fukuda, Jelena Kuljić, Tristan Honsinger, Axel Dörner, Tyshawn Sorey and Anthony Braxton. His current projects include collaborations with Taiko Saito, Moritz Baumgärtner and Anna Kaluza, as well as the groups Karmelgebach and his own ensemble, Samma Sadda.
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