Our Vision

Sound Port Frankfurt will provide impulses for the further development of musical history, resonating globally as a creative centre located in Frankfurt. Our focus is on strengthening the future viability and resilience of the three organizations, the development of innovative formats and integration into the city’s civic society.

Our Approach
From their home base in Frankfurt, Ensemble Modern, the International Ensemble Modern Academy and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie have spent decades influencing the field of current music practice in Germany and internationally.

Passionate about what we do, we are motivated by our responsibility for the importance of culture in society. To us, excellence is not only what happens on stage, but a factor throughout the artistic process. We consider ourselves part of the independent scene, are proud of the grassroots democratic structure governing our organizations and oriented towards (trans-disciplinary) cooperation. We pass on the experience we have gathered during our practice to coming generations; each of our organizations questions – for itself and jointly – the music business as it exists today, striving to make it more innovative, each with our own particular handwriting. Concrete practical work and processes are the focus of our attention.

Under the umbrella of the Deutsche Ensemble Akademie e.V., our three organizations already share one physical space as well as some of the human resources necessary to develop and produce event, education and experimental formats. At Frankfurt’s Schwedlerstraße 2-4, we bundle our competencies, energies and our decades of experience. From here, we take our productions out into the world, and this is where we hand down our expertise to coming generations of artists as part of our Academy.

Sound Port Frankfurt – Centre for Music and Experimentation is a further iteration of our joint location, both in terms of content and physical space, and has a diverse profile that is unique in the world. Cooperations and partnerships with local institutions and partner institutions in Germany and abroad are an important aspect of our work. Our focus is on strengthening the future viability and resilience of our organizations, the joint development of innovative, cross-genre and partially multi-media formats, and the opening and integration of our artistic production work into the city’s civic society.

The Context
The current multiple crises and social changes affect our area of activity directly: public and private support for the arts are under pressure, as is funding for institutions which are essential for music production and presentation, such as broadcasters, concert halls and festivals. Music academies are searching for up-to-date answers to changing needs in the music business. At the same time, technological development opens up new perspectives, while also pushing out established production practices and limiting creative open spaces beyond the mainstream. Climate change demands new concepts for trans-national exchange and touring. In summary, the arts must be contextualized, produced and presented differently in the future.

Our Vision
Given the trend-setting quality of our cooperation, we will strive to take even more advantage of synergies and consolidate our achievements so far, while also keeping an open and curious mind for the challenges of a changing era and our artistic ambition.

Our plan is to gain independence from volatile market developments, to expand our activities in Frankfurt, and reach an outstanding level of innovation and cooperation. Whatever the future of musical practice may bring: this is a place, a nucleus offering innovative and sustainable formats that contain impulses for the further development of music history and a beacon worldwide – a place for innovation and free experimentation, catalysing artistic processes and also allowing Frankfurt’s civic society to experience them through personal encounters.

We guarantee future viability, placing sound at the centre of our work, both as a means of expression and a space for experiences. The profile of Sound Port Frankfurt – Centre for Music and Experimentation, a unique focal point throughout the world, is characterized by three essential aspects:

LOCATION: A home base for an inspired community
PRODUCTION: A place for trans-disciplinary production
QUALIFICATION: An academy for experimental learning