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Musik schafft Raum – für Emotionen und Gedanken, aber auch für Aufmerksamkeit und Vermittlung. Wir haben uns dafür entschieden, diesen Raum zu nutzen und ein Stück davon den SOS-Kinderdörfern weltweit zu widmen. Das Ziel ist es, die Menschen, die wir durch unsere Musik erreichen, auch für SOS begeistern zu können.

 

Support us in the final stretch of bringing our new album “Meridiane – spoken” to life! https://www.startnext.com/neues-album...

"Meridiane – spoken" is the second part of our Meridiane series, which explores traditional music from diverse cultures. This album focuses on languages that are now spoken as a mother tongue only by small minority groups. Through arrangements of folk songs and dances as well as new compositions, we create soundscapes that move between tradition and modernity.

We regularly have to pinch ourselves — From Dust, the virtual reality opera by the wonderful Michel van der Aa, with us as the singing performers, was honoured as the winner in the Immersive Works category at the Cannes Film Festival. Right now, you can experience the full production — including our digital selves — at the Holland Festival.

Wir feiern dieses Jahr zwanzig Jahre Sjaella. Neben zahlreichen Gastspielen weltweit möchten wir dieses Jubiläum mit zwei Eigenveranstaltungen in unserer Heimatstadt Leipzig zelebrieren:

Am 1. Juni 2025 erklingt unser Programm „Cantico" in der Heilandskirche Leipzig (@westkreuz_leipzig ).Fur diesen besonderen Abend haben wir den Zinkenisten Josué Meléndez Peláez eingeladen. Freut euch auf Hohelied-Vertonungen aus der Renaissance und dem Barock von Eleonora d'Este, Clemens non Papa und Michael Franck, Werke von Heinrich Schütz sowie zeitgenössische Kompositionen von Laura Marconi, Caroline Shaw und Shara Nova. Erzählt durch historische Verzierungen und neue Text-und Tonsprache ist „Cantico" ein Lobgesang auf die Liebe, die Facetten der Weiblichkeit und die Schönheit des Lebens.

Wir freuen uns auf euren Besuch!

Tickets gibt es ab sofort hier

After our debut tour in Australia in July 2023, one thing was certain: we were captivated by the continent and its incredible people on the other side of the world, and we couldn’t wait to return – the sooner, the better. Today, we are thrilled to share the tour dates for our second Australian tour, scheduled for July 2025. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to all the exceptional partners who make this tour possible!

We are very happy to announce that the virtual reality opera From Dust by Michel van der Aa will premiere on December 3 in Rotterdam. You can find all dates here.

Synopsis:

Step into a realm where reality blurs and identity shifts. In From Dust, we — the vocal ensemble Sjaella — invite you into an experience unlike any other, a virtual reality opera crafted uniquely by and for you, powered by AI. This groundbreaking work, composed and directed by Michel van der Aa, merges technology and art to bring you closer to the essence of human connection.

Imagine: you enter a dark, mysterious space. Before you, a cloud of shimmering particles swirls, moving as if alive, like a flock of starlings in flight. With a simple gesture, you reach out, and the particles respond, transforming into the figure of a woman. As you interact with her, she begins to shift, and suddenly another version of her emerges. Both figures gaze deeply into your eyes, and then — together — they begin to sing. Let our voices guide you on this journey, where boundaries dissolve and the self transforms.

Are you a spectator or a participant in this world?

During this 24-minute journey, each audience-of-one will take part in a personalized story. Through interacting with their surroundings, the audience will meet the protagonist and her five alter egos, performed by the six members of vocal ensemble Sjaella. The audiences themselves are the ones who create new worlds by walking through and touching the installation, bringing the various alter egos to life.

This multi-sensory experience will be tailored for each audience member with generative AI. As a co-creator, you are the counterpart of the main character. You do not just passively watch but actively shape your own story. (All personal data and images are destroyed on completion of the experience.)

Van der Aa has made a career of integrating music and theatre with cutting-edge video and sound technology. His VR installation Eight garnered a headline in the New York Times, “A Breakthrough for Virtual Reality in Classical Music”. From Dust builds on these groundbreaking achievements, and will tell its story through music, live interaction and immersive visuals.