COURAGE TO SHAPE UTOPIA | Workshop Nr. 2 09. February 2026

#residency #utopia #tonali

On January 15 and 16 2026 a new chapter of our TONALi residency opened in Hamburg - one more step on the path to utopia at the Elbphilharmonie. Once again, the TONALi Academy students met with the artistic directors of 1:1 CONCERTS, Franziska Ritter and Christian Siegmund, for open brainstorming sessions and shared conceptual work. This time, the focus was on thinking further together about the themes and structure of the 3rd Social Symphony, complemented by an introduction to key methods and strategies of (co-)creative work. The work also became very concrete in the sessions with school pupils.

On the first day, around 70 pupils from the participating schools, along with their teachers, took part. The workshop room thus became a lively research laboratory: mini field trips together with the students, explorations and conversations in the surrounding neighborhoods, listening closely to the subtle sounds of the local area. What was collected and experienced flowed into a shared creative showing. From these moving scenes, elements were developed and captured that will reappear in the Social Symphony in July.

In addition, our artistic directors developed a playful shared understanding of participation with the TONALi Academy students - one of the most important key concepts in the process of a Social Symphony. Further talks and impulses on concert design and the specific conditions of the Elbphilharmonie stage made clear how diverse the realization of such a complex and fascinating project can be.

Other workshop methods - including a brainstorming session based on the 635 method for gathering important ideas for the Social Symphony, as well as insights into effectuation theory - helped bring order to the open process without fixing it in place.

Perhaps that is exactly the heart of this emerging 3rd Social Symphony: it is not created from above, but grows out of many small movements - from shared brainstorming, encounters, conversations, and moments experienced together in schools, neighborhoods, and living rooms. A co-creative composition that is not merely observed, but lived, played, and developed. From me - to you - to us.

Anyone who wants to follow this process should make a note of the spectacular highlight of the TONALi Festival 2026, the 3rd Social Symphony, that will be heard and seen at the Elbphilharmonie on July 3! Join us there!