The Zöllner-Roche Duo (Eva Zöllner and Heather Roche) are known for their unique and versatile approaches to their respective instruments, the accordion and clarinet(s). Their innovative and experimental performances have garnered them a reputation as two of the most exciting and adaptable voices in contemporary music.

 

The duo's commitment to collaboration with composers from diverse cultural backgrounds is a hallmark of their work, and they travel the world together on the hunt for new repertoire. Recent travels include long tours in Colombia (2022), Mexico (2018), and Sweden (2021). This year will see them playing concerts and working with composers in Serbia and Brazil. 

 

They are also regulars at the major European festivals, including the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Gaudeamus (Holland), the Venice Biennale, Mixtur Festival (Barcelona), Acht Brücken, Musik für Köln (Germany), and the Bludenzer Tage Zeitgemässer Musik (Austria). 

 

They recently held their first International Composer’s Lab, receiving 100 applications from all over the world, and commissioning four emerging composers from Iran, Japan, Egypt and Mexico to write new pieces for the duo, which were premiered at the Lauschvisite concert series in Montabaur, Germany, in January 2023.

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Past festival appearances:
Gaudeamus (NL), IMD Darmstadt (D), Achtbrücken Köln (D), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK), Venice Biennale (I), Dias de Musica Electroacustica (P) CMMAS Morelia (MX), Bludenzer Tage Zeitgemässer Musik (AT), Mixtur Festival (E), BeastFest (GB), Klang Cph (DK) a.o. 


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press reaction

"As always, the almost-telepathic connection between these very experienced stalwarts of the European contemporary music scene was in evidence – these are two players who are so committed to producing the best possible interpretations of the ever-growing canon of works written for their idiosyncratic instrumentation."

April 2023 Florence Anna Maunders for Planet Hugill

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Born in Canada, clarinetist Heather Roche lives in London. Recently referred to as “the queen of multiphonics” and “a figurehead for contemporary music performance practice” on BBC Radio 3, she regularly appears as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals across Europe. She was a founding member of the Cologne-based hand werk, and currently plays with Apartment House (London) and Mimitabu (Gothenburg). She wrote her doctoral thesis at the University of Huddersfield. Her blog on writing for the clarinet attracts 90,000 viewers each year. In 2014 she was the recipient of a Danish International Visiting Artist’s stipendium. She is also reviews editor of TEMPO, published by Cambridge University Press, and teaches at Goldsmiths University, London. Her debut solo CD, Ptelea, is out on HCR/NMC, and her CD featuring the clarinet works of Christopher Fox, Headlong, appears on Métier. www.heatherroche.net

 

Eva Zöllner is one of the most active accordionists of her generation and devotes herself to contemporary music. Eva has performed as a soloist in most European and Latin American countries, throughout Asia, Australia, and North America. She appears all around the globe in productions ranging from experimental solo performances to concerts with renowned contemporary music ensembles and opera companies. She is also active as guest lecturer and jury member. An important part of her work is the close cooperation with composers of her generation. She has premiered more than 200 new works for accordion. Lately she has been particularly interested in the potential of the accordion within electroacoustic music and multimedia art. She lives as a nomadic musician, traveling around the world to explore her instrument in different cultures and contexts. www.eva-zoellner.de