Ensemble Proton is a collective in which we experiment, explore, search, doubt and dream. With curiosity, the joy of discovery, keen ears and a desire to play together, we search for new forms, for the fleeting, the intangible and the unattainable. We are a circle of long-standing friends with very different lives who love to meet up again and again: a bunch of individualists who are versatile, flexible, emotional and sensitive to sound.
Proton is a curious organism that is constantly reinventing itself. It sounds as a finely tuned, well-oiled unit, or a brutally stitched-together monster comprised of five octaves of flutes, a dozen clarinets both rare and common, a lupophone, contraforte, Stroh violin, electric cello, thousands of keys both analogue and digital and a houseful of historical and modern harps.
On our journey we meet artists with strong visions and outstanding ideas, who guide us through their cosmos and leave their mark: Samuel Andreyev, Thomas Kessler, Catherine Lamb and Annette Schmucki, to name but a few. We long for new encounters.
Proton goes with and against the tide, it accepts the challenge to dive deeper and deeply. Proton gets in the way. Proton asks questions of itself and of others. Proton knows (not) what the music should sound like.
At home in Bern and all over Switzerland, we have toured the west coast of the USA and the Balkans, given concerts in Germany, France and Austria, and have been invited to festivals in Kyiv and St. Petersburg.
We are our audience's fan club: we want to grow with you!
You can hear and see Proton at www.ensembleproton.ch, on Swiss Radio and Television (SRF/RTS), via YouTube, Facebook, neo.mx3, Instagram and, ideally, experienced live in concert.
