Harmonies of the Ear

Dalla Memoria al Futuro

(From Memory to the Future)

Emlyn Stam — Viola

Prof. Marcel Cobussen — Spoken Reflections

📅 Monday, 6 April 2026
🕓 16:00
📍 Huis van de Buurt Stevenshof
Trix Terwindtstraat 4
2331 GW Leiden
🎟 Free Admission

Presented by Culture Unlimited Festival

About the Concert

Harmonies of the Ear – Dalla Memoria al Futuro is a contemporary solo viola concert performed by Emlyn Stam.

The programme offers a musical journey from the mid-twentieth century to the present day, exploring memory, movement, rhythm, and resonance. Each work invites the audience into a refined and attentive listening experience.

This concert is not simply a recital — it is an exploration of how we listen.

Music & Reflection

Throughout the afternoon, music alternates with short spoken reflections by Prof. Marcel Cobussen (Leiden University).

Rather than explaining the music technically, Prof. Cobussen opens another dimension of listening. His reflections explore:

When does sound become music?
How do we truly listen to the city around us?
What happens when we become aware of our own hearing?

Drawing on his research into sound, everyday noise, and the rhythms of public space, he invites the audience to reconsider listening itself — to hear not only the viola, but also space, silence, and memory.

Each musical section is followed by a brief reflection of approximately five minutes, creating a structure that allows space for absorption, thought, and renewed attention.

Performer

Emlyn Stam — Viola

 Violist Emlyn Stam is active as a chamber musician, soloist, pedagogue and performance researcher in the Netherlands and internationally. Since 2014 he has been artistic director of the New European Ensemble an international ensemble for contemporary and 20th century music. 

As a soloist Emlyn Stam has made numerous appearances for Dutch radio and television. He performed concertos with the Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra d’Espinho (Portugal) and the Schönberg Ensemble. Emlyn has also performed at numerous festivals such as Festival Vlaanderen, the Kuhmo Festival in Finland, Sound of Stockholm, Connect Festival, Giverny Chamber Music Festival, International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht and Grachtenfestival Amterdam. His many chamber music performances have included concerts with the Parkanyi Quartet and regular appearances with the Ysaÿe Trio of which he is a founding member. The trio released two c.d.’s for the Dutch Record Company.

As a teacher Emlyn regularly gives masterclasses in both viola playing and chamber music. He taught at numerous conservatories in the Netherlands, Estonia, China and Sweden. He currently teaches at the Fontys University for the Arts in Tilburg.

Emlyn is an active music researcher and completed his doctorate at the Academy for Creative and Performing Arts at the Leiden University in 2019 with a dissertation entitle In Search of a Lost Language: Performing in Early-Recorded Style in Viola and String Quartet Repertoires. His research focuses on late 19th and early 20th century performance practices. He is regularly invited to give guest lectures on his research such as at the University of Leeds, the Hochschule der Künste in Bern and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

​The Disseration can be found here: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/79999

emlynstam.com

Programme

Works by:

Igor Stravinsky — Elegy (1944)
Kate Moore — Tarantella (2016)
Peter Maxwell Davies — The Door to the Sun (1975)
Nadim Hosni — Rada I & II
György Ligeti — Sonata for Solo Viola (1991–1994)

Prof. Dr. Marcel Cobussen is Professor of Auditory Culture and Music Philosophy at Leiden University and a researcher at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent. He studied jazz piano at the Conservatory of Rotterdam and Art and Cultural Studies at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Before entering academia, he worked for many years as a professional musician and music teacher.

Cobussen’s research focuses on sound studies, music philosophy, improvisation, artistic research, and sonic culture. His work explores how listening, sound, and music function within cultural, social, and philosophical contexts.

He is the author and editor of numerous books and publications, including Engaging With Everyday Sounds (2022), The Field of Musical Improvisation (2017), Music and Ethics (2012, with Nanette Nielsen), and Thresholds: Rethinking Spirituality Through Music (2008).

Author of Engaging with Everyday Sounds, The Field of Musical Improvisation, Music and Ethics, Thresholds (Rethinking Spirituality Through Music), among others.

All works are concise (approximately 2–10 minutes), creating contrast and variety while keeping the audience fully engaged.