Houbara - Resonanzen Iran 2026 | Tag #1

w/ Quater Ensemble | Arefeh Hekmatpanah & Marco Blaauw | Kurdophone

The two-day music festival Houbara - Resonances Iran celebrated its premiere in 2023, inspired by the women-life-freedom movement. The fourth edition in 2026 also sees itself as a place for exchange, encounters and shared experiences. In light of the current destructive regional war and the brutal repression and internet blockade by the Iranian regime, it is of the utmost urgency to provide a platform for current contemporary voices from the region. The aim is to honor the significant heritage of Iranian and Kurdish culture and art in order to stimulate discussion and raise awareness.

Houbara is dedicated to artists and ensembles who challenge genre boundaries, creating and exploring their own sound worlds. A meeting space for musical explorations, feminist perspectives and cross-border listening experiences - between experiment and tradition, between personal expression and political statement. This year, curator Sophie Emilie Beha and co-curator Mona Matbou Riahi are focusing on contemporary and boundary-breaking music that touches, connects and opens up new ways of listening. Houbara sees itself as an invitation to listen together, exchange ideas and discover new perspectives.

The festival opens on Saturday, May 30, with contemporary compositions by Iranian students from Tehran, which were created especially for the Cologne Quater Ensemble. Afterwards, Arefeh Hekmatpanah and Marco Blaauw (Ensemble Musikfabrik) will explore the current sound possibilities of the trumpet and feedback, exploring new, experimental forms of expression. The first evening concludes with a rousing performance by Kurdophone, in which Kurdish and Iranian musical traditions are powerfully and vividly interwoven.

On the following day, Sunday 31 May, the Ensemble Chakâm continues this dialog: named after an ancient Persian poetic form, it unfolds a musical language of string instruments 'talking' to each other, finely nuanced sound prose and intense arcs of tension. Avin Ahmadi transforms the Green Room into a floating, intimate world in between with her poetic songs. At the end of the festival, the Delaram Kafashzadeh Quintet presents a concert that is as poetic as it is energetic - firmly rooted in jazz and at the same time deeply connected to the classical Persian heritage.

The concerts will be framed on the first day by a panel discussion curated by korsi collective and on the second day by a short film program curated by Visions of Iran.

The Houbara, by the way, is an Iranian endemic migratory bird that is threatened with extinction. The title also refers to "The Conference of the Birds" (منطق الطیر) by Fariduddin Attar - a great mystical poem that is one of the most important works of Persian literature. It describes the pilgrimage of thousands of birds of the world in search of an ideal king. In the end, thirty birds remain - and realize that they themselves are the king they are looking for.

Program Day #1
30.05.2026

19:00 | Concert hall
Korsi collective: Monita Wagma in conversation with guests - resonance spaces & resilience (admission free)
Together with guests from the field of music, we will talk about what music and resonance spaces can do - for organizers as well as for visitors. On the panel, artists and music makers will share their experiences, perspectives and practices. The focus will be on questions about how such spaces are created, what they set in motion and where music can take people, atmospheres and communities. The panel was curated by the Korsi Kollektiv and will be moderated by Monita Wagma. Invited guests are Parissa Chargi (Heavy Feelings, Cologne) and Guy Dermosessian (Cute Community Radio, Bochum).

20:00 | Concert hall
Quater Ensemble
In a country like Iran, where music is constantly under pressure - in the face of international tensions and economic uncertainty - it is courageous to make music a profession. The Cologne-based Quater Ensemble has commissioned composition students from Tehran to write works especially for the ensemble. The theme was the kariz, the traditional underground water systems, which are of great importance in view of the current water problems in the country and at the same time stand as a symbol of communication and hope.

21:00 | JAKI
Arefeh Hekmatpanah & Marco Blaauw
The collaboration between Arefeh Hekmatpanah and Marco Blaauw explores the relationship between space, choreography, movement and sound. Through movement, Marco Blaauw creates a dialog between feedback and trumpet. In doing so, he teases out the dynamics, fragility, unpredictability and the different presence of the feedback. The trumpet acts as a tamed companion - a body through which the feedback can reveal itself. The project is part of Residing, a series of works by Arefeh Hekmatpanah, who develops performative rituals with various artists in which acoustic feedback is explored and played as a spatial instrument.

22:00 | concert hall
Kurdophone
Kurdophone combines Kurdish and Iranian musical traditions with elements of jazz and contemporary composition to create an independent, unmistakable sound language. Finely crafted compositions and multi-layered arrangements create a musical space that preserves cultural roots while opening up a contemporary perspective. The five musicians move confidently between chamber music differentiation, free improvisation and powerful rhythmic energy. Together they create sonic landscapes based on tanbur maqamen and modal traditions, enriched by influences from jazz, rock and contemporary music.

At 23:30, the korsi collective will create the musical program of our late night series Tom-Tom Discotec. Guests of the festival "Houbara - Resonances Iran 2026" receive free admission.

Here is the program for day #2