New artistic director at CNZ
Following a multi-stage application process, the Collegium Novum Zurich has chosen 29-year-old cultural manager Johannes Knapp as its new Artistic Director. He will take over from Jens Schubbe on September 15, 2019, who is moving to the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra after nine years at the helm of the ensemble.
The Collegium Novum Zurich is a renowned soloist ensemble for contemporary music. In collaboration with the ensemble's artistic committee, Johannes Knapp will develop new cultural perspectives and shape the program from the 2020/21 season onwards. The aim is also to expand the circle of young listeners through new forms of presentation and strengthen the ensemble's position internationally. Jens Schubbe is still responsible for the concert program for the 2019/20 season. The management remains in the hands of Alexander Kraus.
Johannes Knapp, born in 1990, studied cultural management, violoncello, philosophy and musicology in Frankfurt am Main and Saarbrücken. After working in Salzburg (Biennale) and Lausanne (first as Artistic Coordinator and later as Managing Director of the Swiss Association of Musicians), he was appointed Managing Director of the Concours Nicati in 2018. For the competition, he launched a category for innovative performances at the interface between contemporary music and other forms of expression. Johannes Knapp regularly appears as an author for major music institutions, such as the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Lucerne Festival. He gave up his post as trade union secretary of the Swiss Musicians' Association in September 2019 to devote all his energy to the Collegium Novum Zurich.
