Ensemble Écoute is a Paris-based contemporary music ensemble created in 2015 on the initiative of the conductor Fernando Palomeque and composer Alex Nante. Directly engaged in working with the youngest generation of composers while remaining dedicated to the historically important repertoire of the 20th century, the Ensemble strives to convey this rich array of musical expression to a vast public via concerts, audiovisual installations and multidisciplinary projects.
A strong engagement with emerging composers led the ensemble to establish long term artistic residencies in order to create a profound exchange between each composer and the Ensemble.
In addition to artistic residencies, the Ensemble programs a new work by a young composer in each production. To date, Tomás Bordalejo, Manon Lepauvre, Antonin Rey, Sara Caneva, Alex Nante, Nikolet Burzyńska, Charles Peck, Dzovinar Mikirditsian, Demian Rudel Rey and Nicolas Roulive, among others, have been programmed.
Thanks to collaborations with GMEM, Poush, Compagnie Ficta, choreographers and dancers, painters, visual artists and actors, the Ensemble offers a vast range of multidisciplinary projects that enable it to appeal to a wider audience.
Its first album, Creo, is dedicated to the first composers-in-residence and is available on every streaming platform.
Ensemble Écoute is a regular guest at numerous festivals, among them: Action ! Création ! and Aux Armes Contemporains, Festival de l’Épau and Messiaen-Täge, among others. International tours included performances in Germany, Poland, South Korea, Ireland and the USA.
Ensemble Écoute is supported by the Caisse des Dépôts, SACEM, SPEDIDAM, the Impuls Neue Musik Fund, Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, the Centre National de la Musique (CNM), the City of Paris, the Peter Eötvös Foundation, the Maison de la Musique Contemporaine, the Mécénat Culturel Société Générale, Ibermusicas and Unesco, among others.
Since 2024 the ensemble is one of the artist in residence at Fondation Singer-Polignac.
Currently, it is under the artistic direction of Fernando Palomeque and Rachel Koblyakov.
The Night With… champions contemporary classical music in informal and accessible settings, with a record of over 70 concerts, numerous premieres and commissions and 9 albums in its eight years of existence. It supports new music through commissions, artist development, and public engagement touring work across Scotland and Northern Ireland.