The inspiration for Tonhain Kollektiv came first from the exciting news that Ben was working on a project to renovate an old cinema in Steglitz and turn it into a new venue, called Tonhain, for performance and recording. Many of us already knew Ben as friends and had even studied together at the Berlin University of the Arts together in Jens Peter Maintz’s cello class. We were eagerly following news of the hall’s development and Ben’s plans for its use. Then Luke and Ben came up with an idea together - what if we created a new chamber music society, which would have its primary home at Tonhain? There are countless fantastic musicians who call this city their home, especially young musicians from all over the world who move here to study and end up staying. But most of them rarely ever actually perform here! And Berlin, even with its many top-shelf orchestras and halls, seems to have a lack of curated, regular concert series which primarily give a platform to musicians of the younger generations who actually live here.
Gradually, over many months in early 2023, Tonhain Kollektiv was born. Gathering together in some of our favorite spots in Berlin (mostly Mr. Susan bar in Mitte!), we pitched ideas to each other about our mission, what our concerts would look like, and how to structure the organization. Drawing on our members’ interdisciplinary skills and passions beyond music, we decided that each season of concerts would be organized around an interdisciplinary theme. We want to create many possible avenues for the audience to relate to the music: from ideas as simple as speaking to the audience about how each work connects to the theme, to more involved plans such as coordinated exhibitions, panel discussions, and even a dance party! There were so many possibilities already - we had several possible seasons of concerts planned out within weeks.
Another of our priorities is going to be to be as adventurous, imaginative, and diverse with our programming as possible. We want our audiences to come away from our concerts learning about composers and works they’ve never heard of, both from the past and present. We especially intend to feature as much contemporary music as we can, from composers of diverse backgrounds and musical traditions, who can open our ears and minds to new musical languages and forms of expression.
Lastly, our organizational structure: we decided to become a Kollektiv because we wanted to form an arts organization in which all of us on the Vorstand have a voice in shaping the artistic direction. There is no one person who dictates programming or artistic vision - it comes from all of us - and while maybe that means our discussions take longer, we believe strongly that our ideas are enriched by each others’ contributions.