Babylon ORCHESTRA, founded in 2016, is a Berlin-based transcultural big band that brings together European and Middle Eastern musicians, blending the sound of a big band with a contemporary orchestra. The aim is to promote intercultural artistic cooperation and thus give different musical traditions and cultures a place in a new shared world of the present. We bring together people with their stories, songs, instruments, and rhythms in the hope of providing creative impulses for new musical works.

After releasing its first album in 2019, which won the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik”, the orchestra is currently working on its second EP. The band has performed across Germany, including venues like the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Elbphilharmonie, and has collaborated with orchestras including the RSB, Komische Oper Berlin, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, Stuttgart Opera, and the Biel Symphony Orchestra (Switzerland).

The orchestra sees itself as a platform for exceptional musicians who do not want to squeeze their art into classical or popular musical frameworks and want to find an expression for the specificity of their origins within a global context.

Azin Zahedi – flute / santoor
Valentina Bellanova –ney
Deniz Mahir Kartal – kaval, clarinet
Nils Marquardt – trombone
Mischa Tangian – violin / direction
Martin Buhl – bass
Peter Somos – drums / percussion