BAROQUE IS THE NEW POP
Baroque ensemble Musica Sequenza was founded by bassoonist and composer Burak Özdemir in 2008 in New York City for the innovation and vitalization of classical music. Since 2011 they are based in Berlin. Musica Sequenza collaborates with the festivals, concert halls, theatres and museums, leading an inter-cultural artistic movement worldwide. To date they created over 40 productions and defined the music genre electro-baroque.
INFERNO RELEASE ON DANTE’S 700TH YEAR OF DEATH
INFERNO an adventurous album of Italian Renaissance and early baroque music, is inspired by the grandmaster Dante Alighieri. The program highlights astonishing works by Monteverdi, Cavalli, Frescobaldi, Gesualdo, as well as the little-known Marco da Gagliano, Stefano Landi, Sigismondo d’India and Benedetto Ferrari .Inferno is created in collaboration with The friends of the Bargello.
BACH OPIUM PREMIERED @ BACHFEST SCHAFFHAUSEN
BACH OPIUM feat. soprano Diana Ramirez is out in Digital & Vinyl formats with Tacet Nota Label. The album combines baroque music with today’s new age lyricism. The music grows into a tender and pervasive part of the environment, almost like a lullaby, the sonic motions gather in a virtual cloud, transporting the listeners and making them feel like they are living inside this utopian world. Premiere was at the Bachfest Schaffhausen.
KASSIA OPERA EUROPE TOUR STARTS ON OCTOBER 8
Byzantine composer Kassia’s scores are reimagined by Burak Özdemir for his new opera KASSIA. The work is orchestrated for voice, orchestra, sound design and staged by kainkollektiv’s Mirjam Schmuck and Fabian Lettow. Musica Sequenza performs on period instruments of the 9th century. KASSIA visits Ringlokschuppen Mülheim, TakTheater Berlin, Kampnagel Hamburg, CRR Istanbul and more.
FESTIVAL D’AVIGNON WITH SASHA WALTZ & GUESTS
Choreographer Sasha Waltz celebrated the premiere of „Dialogue“ at the Festival d’Avignon with Burak Özdemir, as well as the French painter Guillaume Bruère. The artists collaborated in a freely improvised dialogue. The performers moved to the sound of Özdemir’s bassoon and his sound recordings; that Özdemir recorded in Istanbul streets. The performance is dedicated to Gezi Park demonstrations.
BACH : THE SILENT CANTATA BECAME A BESTSELLER
With Silent Cantata, Burak Özdemir created an entirely new spiritual listening experience. None of the Bach cantata texts appear on the pages of Özdemir’s score, but their place is taken by the emotional power of music that conveys its message entirely without words. The work visited Istanbul Music Festival, Schloss Elmau, Thüringer Bach Wochen, Darmstadt Stadttheater, Club Berghain, Crescendo Festival and more.
SAMPLING BAROQUE WORLD TOUR CONTINUES
Musica Sequenza performed Sampling Baroque as the official Turkey premiere at the 45th Istanbul Music Festival. Hosted by Bomontiada, the open-air show took place at the Bomontiada Courtyard. The project tour legs included performances at Konzerthaus Berlin, BachFest Schaffhausen, Radial System V, Oranjewoud Festival, Darmstadt Stadttheater and many other festivals & concert halls in Europe.
VIRTUAL REALITY WORLD OF HERMES
The audio-visual masterpiece HERMES unfolds the archaic structures of electronica and modern jazz. Micro tonality and ancient Greek modalities are the foundation for this piece. The work is for voice, baroque bassoon, gut strings, lute, field recordings, sound design and visual arts: all merged into one sensuous and disquieting artwork. HERMES tour visited the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and U.S.A.
KITKAT CLUB PRESENTED OPERA DEL FUTURO
Berlin’s legendary nightclub celebrated its 21st anniversary with Burak Özdemir & Musica Sequenza. KitKat commissioned an episode of Opera del Futuro series: Skin Deep Plug-ins. The work is designed as an inter-disciplinary performance work with multi-media contents. The baroque score’s confronted by the research-based aspects of experimental theater and not-existed performance techniques and pushed to the limits.
Human feelings – love and pain – have been immutable since ancient times. In music, they were portrayed as “affects”, with carefully delineated lines between them. These two universal feelings from the past are amongst the most valuable heritage for us. Only with and through these, can we stay close to another.
Burak Özdemir
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CULTURAL AFFAIRS
Alongside the performances, KASSIA also hosts digital conferences. Register today to attend the online events.
The concert installation OPIUM LOCKED DOWN was displayed at Chretze Turm between 24 April – 15 May 2021. 
The ambient baroque project HÄNDEL MORPHINE premieres at the international Handel Festival. 
The parkour performance work INFERNO with Roberta Mameli and Sasha Waltz & Guests, is dedicated to Alighieri Dante, commemorating Dante’s 700th year of death in 2021. 
KORERO / SOHBET a collage of sound sculptures, is commissioned by the Istanbul Pera Museum.
Burak Özdemir composed the score for Karim Ainouz movie VELAZQUEZ performed by Musica Sequenza. The film was part of the Velazquez exhibition at Grand Palais Museum. DVD release by Arte Edition. 
LATEST RELEASES
