On the Preciousness of Water: Concert, Science and Sound Art at the Branitz Park Visitor Centre

The evening is organised by students from the Instrumental and Vocal Performance and Teaching study programme at the BTU, under the direction of Immanuel de Gilde: the young musicians will present a varied programme featuring classical music, improvisation and experimental elements. Instruments used will include the piano, recorder, guitar and Singing.
De Gilde, who is known for his innovative music education formats and his work with the Berlin-based ensemble Stegreif – The Improvising Symphony Orchestra, among other things, is deliberately bringing creative and open concert formats to the project.

Tree University on climate adaptation
Juliane Ribbeck-Lampel from the Branitz Tree University will provide the evening’s academic focus. She offers insights into the current challenges of climate change and the Tree University’s research – which has attracted attention across Europe – on site-specific propagation, agroforestry systems, forest gardens, and measures to adapt historic parkland landscapes to changing environmental conditions.
It becomes clear that water scarcity is only one aspect of a comprehensive climate change to which cultural landscapes such as Branitz Park must also adapt.

Sound art by and with trees
The evening will be enhanced by sound art from the internationally active artist Andreas Greiner. This will incorporate, amongst other things, recordings of the sounds of water-transporting trees – acoustic processes from the heart of nature, designed to merge with music and spatial sound. Greiner’s works have been exhibited at venues including the Humboldt Forum.

The event forms part of the Kultursalon Cottbus’s annual theme ‘Water 2026’, which aims to highlight water not only as an ecological and economic resource, but also as a cultural and emotional subject.