Alafia Ensemble

Alafia Ensemble is a unique new ensemble formed in 2020 and comprised of six musicians who met each other at the beginning of their studies at the Cologne Academy of Music and Dance. Each member has a passion for chamber music and advanced training in classical music. The group was formed through a common interest in a more experimental, open and self-determined form of music making. One of the goals of Alafia Ensemble is to build bridges between different genres of music and take forward the best of each musical “world”. The diverse background of the musicians and the extremely unusual instrumentation are some of the distinguishing features of the unique dynamic that Alafia Ensemble displays.

Despite being a very young ensemble, Alafia is already amassing new music for this unusual instrumentation, with two pieces written for the ensemble up to now. Alafia Ensemble have been invited to perform at the 2021 British BMG Festival for Fretted Instruments as well as an interdisciplinary project in Portugal combining music with dance and animation.

The members of the ensemble are: Russian pianist and composer Olga Riazantceva-Schwarz, German/ Palestinian violist Marina Eichberg, Venezuelan flutist, pianist and arranger/composer Leonardo Pedroza Cabrera, Scottish mandolinist Iain Lennon, Cypriot/ Montenegrin clarinettist Nikola Janjic and Basque cellist Paula Sagastibelza. These musicians are having this musical adventure together as firm friends, which the audience notices at the latest when they see Alafia on stage!