Protonwerk is a platform for contemporary music created by Ensemble Proton Bern. Supported by the Swiss Foundation Pro Helvetia, Protonwerk is aimed at composers who are at the beginning of their professional composing career.
Those who are interested may apply to receive a commission to write a new work for one of the annual Protonwerk concerts. Protonwerk serves not only the broadening of the Ensemble’s repertoire but it also offers the participating composers an opportunity to work on their pieces in the lead-up to performance in a professional environment.
A further attraction of the commission to write a new work for Ensemble Proton Bern, is the opportunity to write for lupophone, a newly developed bass oboe with extended range, and contraforte, an acoustically superior contrabassoon.
The Ensemble considers working closely with composers among the most important of its tasks. It offers individual workshops to the participating composers and accompanies their work from an early stage (eg. sketches) with rehearsals prior to the main Protonwerk project week.
