NAMES (New Art and Music Ensemble Salzburg) is a Salzburg-based contemporary music ensemble founded in 2014. The eleven musicians, coming from seven European countries, aim to combine different forms of contemporary art in their programs and concepts, with the goal of enriching their musical approach. Therefore, they collaborate with various artists from a wide range of disciplines (performance, dance, visual arts, literature...). A special focus lies on the integration of electronics into the ensemble-sound.
As one of Austria's emerging ensembles, NAMES can look back at a rich activity, projects and concerts at national and international venues and festivals (e.g. Aspekte, Dialoge Festival, Mixtur Barcelona, Druskomanija Lithuania, Crossroads Festival, Daegu Contemporary, Primavera Verona, Schönberg Center Vienna, Adevantgarde Munich).
The ensemble understands itself as a collective, which is democratically working on all artistic and managing decisions together. A particularly close collaboration links NAMES with the Studio for Electronic Music of the Mozarteum University of Salzburg. By combining a desire for chamber music and sound craftsmanship, NAMES sees itself as an experimental laboratory for lovers of new ideas and sounds.