Chamber group hear now berlin aims to reach new audiences with genre-crossing, emotional compositions

It was August 2018 when Kelly Watson Woelffer, a
Berlin-based flutist originally from the U.S., heard “Music in
Circles” by American composer Andrew Norman and something in her
ignited.


“I’ve been a little bit artistically starved for the last five
years or so because I have three tiny humans at home,” said
Watson Woelffer. “I have been playing and teaching, of course,
but have not led something of my own in about five years…I was
just listening to [“Music in Circles”] and I had a sudden
decision finally that I knew exactly what had to be next for me,
artistically.”


From this inspiration, the chamber group hear now berlin, a
sextet that challenges classical music paradigms, was born. The
group — comprising Kelly Watson Woelffer (flute, alto flute,
piccolo), Alexander Glücksmann (clarinet, bass clarinet), Damir
Bacikin (trumpet), Meike Lu Schneider (violin), Xina Hawkins
(viola) and Edward King (cello) — had their debut concert on
March 14.


Ahead of their next show on April 3, we talked to Watson
Woelffer, Hawkins and King about the genre of indie classical and
making music more accessible for all listeners.


Produced by Sylvia Cunningham.