Feature Ring
with Jonas Urbat
Jonas Urbat is not just a tuba player – he is a sound explorer. He travels through Europe in a van converted into a studio, collecting sounds, experimenting with beats and improvising with musicians. Discovering special things, characteristics and riches in his own environment and transforming them into sound is the basis of all his endeavours. This value creation can be observed in real time when Jonas is on stage. The tuba, which is often in the background, becomes the main protagonist in his work: deep, powerful, surprising. When electronic distortions come into play, the result is pure ecstasy.
Duration: ca. 2 h with intermission
Language: German
Building on his classical instrumental training at the HMDK Stuttgart, Jonas Urbat is always looking for new ways to capture the richness of everyday environments and transform it into raw material for sound, composition and expression. For his SoundWERK project, he collaborates with video artist Nicolas Haumann to compose soundtracks for numerous workshops and factories using their own sounds, transforming them into electromechanical instruments in installations. In 2019, he was awarded the BMWi’s Culture and Creative Pilot prize for this work. To broaden his horizons as an artist, Jonas meets musicians throughout Europe with his studio van as @InTubaWild. As co-founder of the Stegreif.Orchester, he gained experience in the choreography and performance of classical composition, improvisation, space and movement. He works with bands, ensembles and orchestras to unite artistic forms of expression through technology.
