Euregional Composers Unite : Echoes of the Meuse-Rhine invites emerging musical talent

Four leading new music organisations — Intro In Situ (Maastricht), Ensemble Hopper (Liège), Centre Henri Pousseur (Liège) and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln (Cologne) — have joined forces to launch Echoes of the Meuse-Rhine, an innovative cross-border initiative supported by the Euregio Meuse-Rhine and the Small Project Fund.

This ambitious project will enable six emerging composers to develop new works for ensemble and electronics, exploring the creative potential of spatialised audio. The resulting pieces will be premiered in 2027, performed by the Ensemble Hopper and the Centre Henri Pousseur (electronics) at heritage sites across the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, thereby transforming historic spaces into immersive soundscapes.

Supporting emerging talent
By bringing together composers, musicians and audiences from diverse backgrounds, the project aims to foster artistic dialogue and push the boundaries of contemporary music. The six selected composers will receive mentoring and resources to develop their works, with a particular focus on experimentation and site-specific composition. Audiences can look forward to performances in extraordinary venues. By staging these concerts in non-traditional spaces, Echoes of the Meuse-Rhine seeks to make contemporary music accessible to a wider audience.

A model of cross-border collaboration
Echoes of the Meuse-Rhine is made possible thanks to the support of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine programme.

The six selected composers
The selection was made following a review of the works submitted by the composers. Six of them stood out from the multitude of enthusiastic applicants. The conservatoires of Maastricht, Liège and Cologne have each nominated a composer. Intro In Situ has also chosen a composer from its network to take part in the project. In addition, two wildcards have been selected from the responses to the call for applications. In this way, everyone has a chance to take part in the project and we ensure that composers active in all regions of the Euregio are involved.

The composer proposed by Intro In Situ is Ethan Blackburn. Ethan has been closely associated with Intro In Situ for several years as a composer, musician and researcher. The conservatoires of Maastricht, Liège and Cologne have respectively chosen Phuc Nguyen, Cédric Havard and Konstantinos Zisimopoulos. Joan Tan and Amit Buium were selected from the responses to the open call for applications. Together, they form the selection of six composers who will shape the soundtrack of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. We are very excited about developing their work and bringing it to life in spring 2027 within the heritage of our region.

In our selection, we have taken care to reflect the world of music realistically. Music creates a connection with everyone who listens to it, regardless of gender, age or nationality. Each of our composers contributes to this diversity in their own way. Our participants demonstrate that music is a universal language. They show that all continents and all countries are connected, and just how valuable collaboration can be.

Ethan Blackburn (Maastricht)
Ethan is an American artist and composer who focuses on the communication between the artist and their artwork. In his work, he explores sound and space through social contexts. He is an active member of several European art collectives and performs throughout Europe.

Joan Tan (Cologne)
Joan is a composer from Singapore. She currently lives in Cologne, where she is studying for a Master’s degree in instrumental composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. She focuses on sonic experiences that encourage attentive listening. She does this by guiding her listeners through her experiences, which are reflections and responses to environments.

Amit Buium (Cologne)
The Israeli Amit has a sharp mind, but her ears are even sharper. She prefers to perform live music and uses a curved guitar, a computer and various objects. She is currently studying instrumental composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Her music, Cherry Coloured, can be found on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music.

Konstantinos Zisimopoulos (Cologne)
Kostas is a Greek composer who focuses on concepts such as instability, deviation, interruption and intervention. He explores the relationship between the essence of sound and technology. He investigates this tension by creating sonic narratives that come together through vocals, instruments and electronics whilst collaborating on multidisciplinary projects.

Phuc Nguyen (Maastricht)
Originally from Vietnam, Phuc is a sound artist and composer. He currently lives in Maastricht, where he is studying at the conservatoire. He also works across a range of disciplines, including composition, electronic performance, improvisation, sound installations and instrument-making. He is particularly interested in the exploration and organisation of sound.

Cédric Havard (Liège)
Cédric is a composer from Liège who describes his style as a balance between heritage and modernity. His work is also closely linked to ethnomusicology. This composer draws inspiration from Bartók in Algeria and explores Kabyle music. He has also worked on a musical theatre production in collaboration with Thiziri Chekai, thereby building a bridge between our European musical traditions and those of Kabylie.