A new edition of CONTEMPORANEUS is back, the festival of new music that the Contemporaneus Association has been organizing in Reus since 2023. My friend and sound adventures buddy, the composer and sound artist Joan Bagés i Rubí, and I co-direct it.
The festival
The third edition of CONTEMPORANEUS has grown in both duration and number of concerts and activities. We have gone from a total of 5 days with 6 concerts in 2024 to 7 days with 13 concerts now. One of these concerts is organized in collaboration with the LEM Gràcia Territori Sonor festival from Barcelona. We will also host three open-participation concerts in different formats.
As we did last year, we’ve split the festival into two sessions: one in the summer and another in the autumn. This way, we keep the festival more visible during the year and it also helps us coordinate schedules with the artists. The summer session will take place from July 15th to 18th and will include 8 concerts. The autumn session will run over the weekend of December 12 to 14, featuring a total of 5 concerts. In this link to the festival website, you will find detailed information about artists, concerts, dates, ticketing, etc.
We have kept the same image: the Rietveld Series 02 by the painter from Tortosa (Catalunya), Jaume Rocamora. This abstract painting, with its primary colors and clear geometric forms, represents very well the aesthetic of the music we program: sound, as a basic and structural element of music, opens our minds to multiple interpretations.
Watch the teaser of CONTEMPORANEUS 2025:
CONTEMPORANEUS, what an experience!
Contemporary music is very much alive. The constant changing times we’re living in, technological innovations and social interconnections despite physical distance (among other factors) are both tools and sources of inspiration for artistic creation. Nowadays music is not only composed to an “expert” audience. There’s nothing to “understand”: you just need to listen to it with an open mind.
Furthermore, I don’t know if people from Reus and surroundings are aware of this. If it weren’t for CONTEMPORANEUS, where would they watch the stunning visuals of the French ensemble Flashback live? Or hear music through more than 20 channels if not with Compagnie Alcôme? How would they discover the rich timbres of the horn and trombone if not for the Swedish duo ATEM? Where would they see micro-operas if it weren’t for the Morphosis Ensemble, the ensemble-in-residence of the festival? Could they imagine an interdisciplinary contemporary performance? Or experimental music played with traditional instruments
We organize this festival with love so that the discovery of 20th and 21st-century musical culture becomes a truly enriching experience. We do it to promote and facilitate artistic and human connections through contemporary music and thought. With the participation of local, national and international artists, we aim to place Reus and the province of Tarragona on the international map of new music.
—
Joan Martí-Frasquier
Reus, May-June 2025
