In the Catching Cultures Orchestra, musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, largely newcomers, perform intercultural music in which traditions come together. From reworkings of Middle Eastern traditional pieces and songs to jams spun out like Afrobeat, or elements of Chinese, Kurdish, and Latin American folk music combined in a single arrangement.
For several years now, Gaudeamus has been pairing young composers with the Catching Cultures Orchestra. Conductor Cecile Kuran, Elizabete Beate Rudzinska, and orchestra member Olupemi Oludare have written music for the festival, commissioned by Gaudeamus. This year, a piece by oud player and composer Talal Fayad will premiere during what promises to be, as always, a festival without borders.