Viola, Theory-performance: Frantz Loriot (CH)
French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot studied music in Paris with Mari Yasuda-Raclot, the Pons brothers, Nicolas Dupin, Ivry Gitlis, Yukari Tate & Pascal Robault and was brought to improvisation by Régis Huby, Joëlle Léandre, Barre Phillips, and David S. Ware. He was initiated to soundmassage by Thierry Madiot. After having lived in Paris and New York City, Frantz Loriot relocated to Zürich (Switzerland) where he is a member of the Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik. He is currently completing an MA thesis in Transdisciplinarity on Eduard Glissant’s notion of “relation” at the Zurich University of the Arts. F
Frantz moderated Ingrid Hoelzl’s invited lecture-performance Transaction as Traversal (MA Transdisciplinarity, April 2020) and joined General Humanity for PEAK HUMANITY, where he performed as a violist/improviser and a theorist/speaker drawing on Eduard Glissant.
Frantz performs solo and is active in a number of international ensembles. He has contributed to interdisciplinary projects related to dance, image, theatre and poetry. Loriot initiated and led two large ensembles, the European Notebook Large Ensemble and the NYC based Systematic Distortion Orchestra. Active in a number of international collective ensembles, his other personal projects include: duos with Christoph Erb (saxophones), with Christian Wolfarth (percussions), trios Natura Morta – with Sean Ali (contrabass) & Carlo Costa (drums), baloni – with Joachim Badenhorst (reeds) & Pascal Niggenkemper (contrabass), quartet Der Verboten – with Antoine Chessex (tenor saxophone), Cédric Piromalli (piano) & Christian Wolfarth (percussions), the project Treffpunkt around international meetings with French pianist Cédric Piromalli. He regularly performs around the globe (Europe, USA, South America, Japan & Middle East) and has been invited to be artist in residence at the Météo – Mulhouse Music festival (2016 edition) and Moods in Zurich (December 2018). Loriot has also been commissioned to write and perform his composition with the Tel Aviv (Israel) based ensemble for new music, Musica Nova (January 2019). He occasionally organises concerts series when he has the opportunities (WIM-Hearings in Zurich, for ex.). While living in NYC, he created and curated (co-curated later on) the musical series Ze Couch in Brooklyn, and co-curated the Avant-Post series with Tonino Miano in Harlem. Both series were mainly dedicated to avant-garde/new music. Frantz appears on over 40 records released on international labels such as Peira, FMR, Sickcore, Impressus, Prom Night, Edible Onion, Komma Null, Klein, Neither/Nor, OutNow, Shhpuma, Intonema, Clean Feed, Creative Sources, Veto Exchange etc.
Reeds, Loop-composition/mini-electronics: Georgia Ch. Hoppe (D)
Geogia Ch. Hoppe is a freelance composer and musician playing the entire range of
saxophone and clarinet, including a uniquely tuned bass clarinet, in addition to e-guitar and
ukulele. Georgia collaborated with Ingrid in the duo performance “Rites of Depravation”
(2019) and was part of the General Humanity Labs ANIMAL ANCESTOR and PEAK HUMANITY.
Georgia studied jazz composition with Dieter Glawischnig and holds a doctorate in music
studies on expanded techniques from the University Hamburg (1989). She has taught at the
Universities of Oldenburg and Hamburg, has worked for theatre and film, for instance with
Johann Kresnik, Axel Manthey, and Fatih Akin, and has collaborated with actors Michael
Altmann and Nina Petri. Georgia is a long-time member of TonArt Ensemble and founded
the all-female ensemble “purple pool”. Projects include: “Des Mondes Zauberschein”
(Klangzümbaal after Arno Schmidt, together with Michael Altmann), Thalia; “Der Eisenofen”
(emotional trash concert after the Brothers Grimm), Theater N.N.; “Gesellschaft” (Samuel
Beckett): sound piece with Michael Altmann, Thalia; “Wellen.Wellen” (double concert with
TonArt Ensemble), Monsuntheater; music for the radio piece “HEIMLICH” by Matthias
Wittekind (NDR, Alexander Schumacher, direction); “Looking for Someone” with Nina Petri
(acting/voice), Wolfgang Stockmann (direction), and the band femmes heureuses (musical
direction).
Soprano, Viola: Marcia Lemke-Kern (D)
Marcia Lemke-Kern is a viola player and one of Germany’s most versatile sopranos, her repertoire ranging from mediaeval music to contemporary opera. Marcia joined General Humanity for PEAK HUMANITY.
After studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater and the Centre de la musique mediévale de Paris, she formed the duo con:Fusion with her husband and composer Sascha Lino Lemke. Together they won the first prize of the European Promoters of New Music at the Gaudeamus Competition in 2007. This launched the duo into a series of concerts touring Europe with programmes for soprano with live-electronics. Marcia has since made a name of herself in the contemporary music scene, appearing with ensembles such as Lux Nova Duo, Ensemble Effusions, decoder, the Non-Piano Ensemble and Radar Ensemble. Many composers have dedicated new works to her and to her ensembles, including Simon Steen-Andersen, Catalina Rueda, Christian Wolff, Benjamin Helmer, Manfred Stahnke, Georg Hajdu, Peter Köszeghy, René Mense, Daniel Moreira and Neele Hülcker.
Parallel to this Marcia founded the ensemble Trobar e Cantar, which has a large repertoire of newly rediscovered music from the mediaeval and Renaissance eras. The ensemble recorded three CDs, the last of which, de:fine amour (Paschen Records) was nominated for an International Classical Music Award. Her operatic work includes creations of Dirk Schattner (Sein Engel), Sascha Lino Lemke (Himmelsmüll), Ernst Bechert (Der Schmutz), and Michael Maierhof (Sodom und Gomorrah). Her voice (English/German) is also featured in experimental films and radio plays. Marcia holds seminars and workshops for the Chartered Institute of Linguistics, London, the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, and the Institut für Musik at the Fachhochschule Osnabrück.
Percussion: Chad Charles Popple (D)
Chad Charles Popple, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, began drumming at age 5, vibraphone at age 16 and North Indian Tabla at age 20. Chad relocated to Hamburg in 1998 following a European tour with his band Colossamite. He is also member of the bands Gorge Trio, Hosho and Powerdove, among others. His Solo percussion record A Popple People was released on Joyful Noise Recordings in 2018. He has earned the title Miruthanga Kalajothy from the University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka with a diploma in mridangam.
Chad was part of General Humanity Lab 3: ANIMAL ANCESTOR and collaborated to the audio version of the scene Humans Must Go! released in July 2020.
Saxophone, Spinet, Voice: Jonas Labhart (CH)
Born 1980 in Zurich, Jonas Labhart is a Swiss saxophonist, composer, improviser and teacher. After studying Saxophone performance and pedagogy at Berkley College of Music and HMT Zurich, Jonas Labhart moved to New York to study Jazz Composition with Jim McNeely and Rich DeRosa. During his three year long stay he not only obtained a Masters of Music in Jazz Composition but was also a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and conducted his pieces’ world premiere for Big Band at Merkin Hall. Back in Zurich he studied classical music theory at ZhdK. Jonas lives in Zurich and performs in Switzerland, Europe and Japan with his project field*s. As a composer his work ranges from jazz arrangements for orchestra to contemporary classical works for quarter-tone trumpet. He teaches saxophone and music theory at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK and the Musikschule Zürcher Oberland. As a member of the board and president of WIM (Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik Zürich) he helps to organise weekly concerts of improvised music.
Jonas was part of General Humanity Lab 2, POSTIMAGE OPERAAAHHH!!! (2019) co-produced by the Collegium Helveticum, ETH Zurich, with saxophone, spinet, and voice.
Dance, Choreography: Emese Kovacs (HU)
Emese Kovács, born 1991 in Békéscsaba, Hungary, is a dancer, performer, and choreographer. She was founding member of the multidisciplinary site-sensitive company Ziggurat Project and of General Humanity with which she collaborated from 2018 to 2021.
After studying at Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy she received her degree in dance and movement theatre from the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno (CZ) in 2016. She has worked with international companies such as Philippe Genty Company (FR) and Zero Ballet Company (HU), choreographers such as Tereza Vejsada Leopoldová & Lukáš Leopold (CZ), Batarita (HU), Márta Ladjánszki (HU) and Greenmy Tong (HK), and musicians/composers such as Miroslav Tóth (SK), Paul Yip (HK), and Adam Munkacsi (HU). Emese is a regular guest artist of the Czech company Orbita. In 2013 she was a scholarship holder of Batarita Dance Company, since 2017 she is a member of L1 Association. In 2018 she was supported by the Zoltán Imre Program for young dancers. She has been invited to numerous residencies, most recently at CCDC Hongkong, Visegrad Fund residency at KAIR (Košice), Rezidance (Komařice), Studio ALTA (Prague) etc. Her longterm research interest as a choreographer is the objectification of the *female body and the borders of “normality”. Her most recent project is Saint Witch (ongoing).
Poetry-performance; Tai Ji, Qi Gong: Bianca Hein
Bianca Hein, born 1984 in Gelsenkirchen, is a poet, performer and mother to be. She studied German language, art history and musicology at the University of Marburg, and Fine Arts/Visual Communication at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK) with focus on theory (Hans-Joachim Lenger) and artistic scenario/mediology (Michael Haller). Thereafter she worked as independent performer and as author/speaker for independent radio broadcasts (FSK) and toured through Europe with experimental noise and music projects (NLAVB, INTERSTELLAR NIGHTMARE). This was followed by theatre work: For Holger Potocki she designed the stage vor the parody of “Das Wirtshaus im Spessart”; with Anna Vila (Barcelona) she developed during her engagement at Nordharzer Städtebundtheater in the synagogie Halberstadt the dance piece “Ich schweige nicht” about the fate of two Jewish girls during the Holocaust, and held a position as director assistant at the Theatre Chemnitz. In 2018 she wrote and directed together with Michael Haller BEAUTYLAND/2018. Recent works also include ZEITMATERIALANALYSEN/2017, HOMO Safari and “Deathdrive/Chemnitzprotokolle”.
Since 2019 Hein performs in Drum/Voice Duo projects together with Björn Lücker (SCHILLERBETON, DAS SCHWALBENBUCH). From 2020 to 2022 she was part of General Humanity for which he has created the movement method of “mind loosenings” and participated in the projects ANIMAL ANCESTOR and FUTURE EVE.
In addition to her own artistic practice, she organizes events for other artists and musicians and passes on her experience in the martial arts as a teacher. Hein is an active member of theaterlandschafft (theaterlandschafft.de) and works closely together with Stiftung Ros (stiftungros.de) in the development of new lyrical formats (blackbox poetry).
Theory-performance: Eduardo Jorge de Oliveira (BR)
Eduardo Jorge de Oliveira is a Brazilian writer, filmmaker and scholar. He is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Romanic Languages at the University Zurich (UZH) where he leads the Institute of Brazilian Studies. He is an associated scholar at the Centre for Art and Cultural Theory and of the Centre of Latin America Studies at the University of Zurich and has been a reseracher and critic for Jeu de Paume Magazine in Paris (2014). He is the author of several articles on animality and art and of the book Nuna Ramos em obras (S.o Paulo, Iluminuras, 2018), his hypothesis being that every artist changes the “skin of the world” by the images s/he creates. He is active as a film- and radiomaker in Brazil, France and Switzerland: in cooperation with Radio Lora, Zurich, he presented “Poetry on Radio” (2017), and together with philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy (Paris) and Maria Filomena Molder (Lisbon) he directed the film Alegria que vem. La joie qui vient (2018, 34 min.). He also organized filmscreenings and Nuna Ramos’ opera, Monolog für einen toten Hund (Monologo para um cachorro morto) at the Cabaret Voltaire Zurich in 2017.
Eduardo was part of General Humanity Lab 2, POSTIMAGE OPERAAAHHH! (2019) co-produced by the Collegium Helveticum, ETH Zurich, with text, voice, and performance.
Scientific advice: Sébastien Dutreuil (FR)
Sebastien holds a PhD in philosophy, University Paris from the Institute for History and Philosophy of Sciences and Technology (IHPST, Paris) and a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Approaches of Life from the University Paris 7 and Paris 5 and in Geosciences from the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris. He was a postdoctoral fellow of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin and is now a full-time researcher at the Centre Gilles-Gaston Granger (CNRS/Aix-Marseille University). His research interests are Philosophy of biology, Gaia hypothesis, Environmental philosophy, Epistemo-logy of modelling, History of Earth and environmental sciences (Earth system science, biogeochemistry, geochemistry). Sebastian was part of PEAK HUMANITY as a scientific advisor.
Dramaturgical advice, Text, Video: Remi Marie (FR)
Remi Marie is an independent writer and visual artist, co-founder and editor of the French online journal Art Debout and founding member of General Humanity to which he contributed until 2023.
After an M.A. in physics from the University Paris VI and a D.E.A. in Aesthetics from the University Vincennes Saint-Denis (Paris 8) he turned to visual arts and poetry before taking up experimental literature. His work has been shown in museum, galleries, and theaters (Musee d’Art Moderne, Paris; Public, Paris; Theatre Durance, Chateau-Arnoud; Montevideo, Marseille, etc.) and published in reviews (Grumeaux, Fusees, Nioques, Action Restreinte, Boxon, Le Quartanier, Dernier Telegramme, Journal des Lointains). His experimental autofiction, JE, published with Leo Scheer, Paris in 2010, was enthusiastically reviewed by renowned contemporary writer and critic Nathalie Quintane (Sitaudis). He has worked as a set designer for independent theatre and film with directors such as Michael Lonsdale, Léos Carax, Suzanne Schifman, Peter Brook and Catherine Dasté, and as a videaste for choreographers such as Alain Michard, Mark Tompkins, George Apaix. In 2016, he co-founded the French online journal Art Debout dedicated to contemporary issues in art and politics.
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