The e-mex ensemble was founded in 1999 by six young musicians from Cologne and the Ruhr area and has quickly won itself a high reputation within the contemporary music scene. The idea and intention of the ensemble is to perform contemporary works in close cooperation with some of the most interesting composers of the younger generation, such as Sven-Ingo Koch, Elena Mendoza-López, Valerio Sannicandro, Gordon Kampe, Vassos Nicolaou, Christoph Maria Wagner, Jörg Birkenkötter, Karin Haußmann and Carola Bauckholt. Currently, the ensemble's repertoire encompasses more than two hundred works for various instrumental combinations, also including many pieces by internationally renowned classical composers of new music (e.g. Carter, Xenakis, Donatoni, Grisey, Hosokawa, Sciarrino, Lachenmann).
The e-mex ensemble has conceived concert series of its own, has been entrusted with many world premieres and has performed at numerous concerts and festivals throughout Europe, Japan, Korea and the United States. Particularly remarkable among its recent activities are Stories of Sound (with E. Mendoza-López), the German-American project Overseas (in cooperation with V. Sannicandro and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura) and international concert series of the e-mex trio (clarinet, cello, piano).
Today, the e-mex ensemble comprises the instruments flute, clarinet, oboe, trombone, violin, viola, cello, accordeon, percussion and piano. In addition, the ensemble works together with various conductors, singers and other instrumentalists.
Several composers have written works especially for the e-mex ensemble, most notably Sven-Ingo Koch, Elena Mendoza-López, Valerio Sannicandro, Vassos Nicolaou, Yasuko Yamaguchi and Gordon Kampe. Important recent projects were the CD recording with the Deutschlandfunk Cologne „Valerio Sannicandro: chamber music” (released in 2006 by telos music records), a Japan tour of the e-mex trio, a concert series in Dortmund (2007) and numerous broadcasts by big German radio stations such as the SWR, WDR and Deutschlandfunk. For 2010, concert tours to China and South America are scheduled, and in 2011, three CDs featuring works by Gordon Kampe, Sven_Ingo Koch, Yasuko Yamaguchi and Juan Allende-Blin will be released.
