The ACF DC is proud to present the Austrian bass clarinetist Anna Koch in her first solo program BASSticcio at the Embassy of Austria. The artist interweaves innovative, commissioned works by composers from Austria and the U.S. with her own improvisations, seeking to cross boundaries and to find common ground.
BASSticcio is a multimedia microcosm of contemporary music for bass clarinet. In this program Anna Koch embodies Pele, the fire goddess, who ignites passion in us, who makes us debate heatedly and argue furiously. The performance should inspire us to leave the space-time-continuum in search of the intangible that can be experienced but not explained.
The event is followed by a wine reception.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Anna Koch is an Austrian clarinet and bass clarinet player specializing in contemporary and improvised music. She graduated with honors from the University of Music & Performing Arts Vienna in 2017. The artist has been praised for her “truly playful mind with an urge to explore the gamut of both her instrument and her imagination.” Her solo program BASSticcio premiered in 2022. Anna Koch has been selected as a representative of contemporary music for NASOM, the New Austrian Sound of Music, 2023/24. She is also one of the women featured in CALLIOPE Join the Dots, which is a project of the Austrian Ministry of European and International Affairs and the Frauenmuseum Hittisau. It features women of Austria who are shaping our society through their actions, and who are a source of inspiration.
ABOUT NASOM
NASOM was set up by the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs 20 years ago and has grown into a successful Austrian music brand. Every other year, a panel of specialists together with mica and Austrian music universities pick five up-and-coming acts, ensembles or musicians from five music genres: classical, jazz, world, contemporary and pop/electronic. Over the next two years, the young musicians are invited to perform at Austria’s Cultural Fora, Embassies or General Consulates around the world. The program thus provides vital initial help for the young talents on their journey to international fame.
Image © Sebastian Schmid