The Monochrome Project

The Monochrome Project was founded by Marco Blaauw in 2015. The ensemble focuses solely on the sound of the trumpet, working with duplication, dense sound fields, subtle colour changes, gradual and extreme dynamic curves, motion, shifting distances and perspectives. The single timbre becomes both the sonic foundation and accentuating highlight. The Monochrome Project proves that less can also be more.

In 2015 the ensemble collaborated with La Monte Young and performed throughout Europe as the Theatre of Eternal Music Brass Ensemble. In 2018 The Monochrome Project performed the European premiere of “Composition No. 103” by Anthony Braxton and received rave reviews from audiences at the Ruhrtriennale and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. In 2020 and 2021 the ensemble produced new repertoire for video and audio for the West German Radio and the Kölner Philharmonie. In 2022 they collaborated with Pulitzer Prize winner Raven Chacon and premiered his 30-minute composition “Call for the Company”, commissioned by the BBC, followed by a portrait concert, at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. In 2024 the ensemble continued its explorations with commissioned works by Wadada Leo Smith, Cat Lamb, Elena Rykova, Anna Korsun, Bára Gísladóttir, Riccardo Nova and Milica Djordjević.