Sofia Jernberg & Alexander Hawkins – MUSHO

Sofia Jernberg & Alexander Hawkins – MUSHO
Concert and Live Recording at the MPS Studio

200 hertz – Female Sounds Series

Sofia Jernberg, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music, is coming to the MPS Studio. The Swedish singer, composer, and performer explores the possibilities of the human voice far beyond conventional vocal techniques. In her duo MUSHO with the British pianist Alexander Hawkins She combines her extraordinary vocal range with an open musical language that is as precise as it is surprising.

Jernberg, born in Ethiopia in 1983 and raised in Ethiopia, Vietnam, and Sweden, moves with ease between experimental vocal music, contemporary opera, and improvised music. She is a member of the group founded by saxophonist Mats Gustafsson embossed Fire! Orchestra and is involved in numerous other projects, including The End with Gustafsson, Kjetil Møster and Greg Saunier as well as Koma Saxo with the bassist Petter Eldh. Her artistic work takes her to international festival and concert stages, as well as to the world of contemporary opera and to renowned orchestras and ensembles. Among her most notable performances are interpretations of Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire and the collaboration with the composer Chaya Czernowin. Jernberg had already performed in Villingen with the Fire!Orchestra.

Alexander Hawkins He is one of the leading pianists and composers on the British creative music scene. His music combines a keen sense of structure and composition with an openness to chance and spontaneous development. He collaborates with influential figures in the international world of improvised music and, as early as 2023, performed with his trio at the MPS Studio as a guest. With Jernberg They are connected not only by their work together as a duo, but also by their shared interest in musical traditions and in adapting them to the present day in their own unique way.

A common point of reference is Ethiopian music. Jernberg worked with the musician Hailu Mergia, Hawkins with the Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke. This combination gives rise not merely to a stylistic reconstruction, but to a personal musical language that bridges folk songs, free improvisation, and contemporary music. Traditional songs from Ethiopia, Armenia, Sweden, and England make up the repertoire of her 2024 album on the Swiss label Intact debut album Musho.

The Magazine Jazzwise describes the music as „profound, with an almost fiery spirituality.“. DownBeat highlighted the album's emotional power and named it one of the standout releases of 2024.

The concert is part of the series 200 hertz – Female Sounds which invites international female musicians and their artistic perspectives—spanning jazz, contemporary music, and experimental sound art—to the MPS Studio. Following performances by Lucrecia Dalt, Maria Portugal, Limpe Fuchs and Verena Marisa The series continues its exploration of extraordinary musical perspectives.

The historic MPS Studio provides the setting for this special duo: The concert will be performed in front of a live audience and recorded live.

SOFIA JERNBERG & ALEXANDER HAWKINS (MUSHO)
Saturday, February 6, 2027
MPS Studio Villingen

Members, students, people with disabilities: 22 euros
Regular: 25 Euro
Voluntary Supporter Ticket: 50 euros