In 2026, the musicians Aya Metwalli and Jim Black are the guest curators of the year:
Aya Metwalli
Aya Metwalli (b. 1988, Cairo) is a singer and composer/performer whose work moves between tradition and experimentation. Raised in the sonic density of Cairo, she developed a voice shaped by the city’s chaos, weaving folk roots into avant-garde soundscapes. Her exploration of timbre and microtonality connects her practice to contemporary composition and the wider field of new music. Her sound world often drifts between lament and dissonance, using unusual tunings to expand the sonorities of song and draw listeners into unfamiliar emotional spaces.
She has collaborated with Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, presenting Cabaret Bizarre (2021/2025) at Mediterrane Perspektiven (Theaterhaus Stuttgart, 2025), ULTIMA Contemporary Music Festival (Oslo, 2022), Irtijal Experimental Music Festival (Beirut, 2022) and many other festivals around Europe. Her latest work, Salute the Groom (2025), was written for 4tet Laboratoire and premiered at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse 2025.
For the Jazzwerkstatt, she tried to bring a piece of Cairo to Berne. She is particularly excited about the presence of Maurice Louca, who is one of her favourite musicians from Cairo. Maurice Louca comes with a project that did not get a chance to tour, since they released their album during covid. “This is why I find the Jazzwerkstatt very special, because it creates space and opportunity for things that wouldn’t normally happen elsewhere.”