The award-winning Broken Frames Syndicate (BFS) based in Frankfurt, Germany makes its US-debut presenting a program of internationally diverse composers with a focus on composer-trumpeter Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson. At one time a New York staple, Nelson makes his heartfelt return to the city after living 30 years in Biel, Switzerland. Over the course of a five-year period, the members of BFS have become intimate with Nelson‘s musical language resulting in many new solo/chamber works, and European premieres from Nelson‘s time in the USA. At the core of the program is Nelson’s trumpet concerto Jim is still crowing featuring the composer as soloist. This work was written specifically for the musicians of BFS, with each member’s individual voice in conversation with the solo trumpet. Nelson’s background as a composer, trumpeter, and improviser shines through in this personal expression of the times we are living in. The world premiere of Jim is still crowing was given at the Naxoshalle concert series in Frankfurt, Germany in November 2022 with further performances at the Lucerne Festival (August 2023) by the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, and Rainy Days Festival (November 2023) in Luxembourg. The piece will receive its US premiere at Roulette in this concert.

Broken Frames Syndicate will also highlight the music of Talib Rasul Hakim who was a mentor to Nelson during his time in New York. BFS pianist Talvi Hunt will perform Sound-Gone for prepared piano (1967), a haunting work that sounds as fresh as if it was written today. To round out the program, the ensemble will present US premieres of works from composers Anahita Abbasi – Within the Hadal & Epi (Iran), Macarena Rosmanich – A Sky of Thousand Windows (Chile), Ellis Hallik – To become a Tree (Estonia), and Yongbom Lee – A little Night Music (South-Korea). Through collaboration and experimentation, BFS presents works that allow the composer’s voices to be clearly unique while allowing room for the ensemble‘s own interpretation.

Lola Rubio violin
William Overcash violin
Laura Hovestadt viola
Nathan Watts cello
Katrin Szamatulski flute
Moritz Schneidewendt clarinet
Peng-Hui Wang bassoon
Talvi Hunt piano
Yu-Ling Chiu percussion
Lautaro Mura Fuentealba conductor
Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson trumpet/composer

A livestream will be available free of charge at 8pm on the day of the performance and archived for future viewing. Watch below or on YouTube.

The Frankfurt, Germany-based Broken Frames Syndicate plays contemporary music and brings holistic concert experiences to the stage. The ten of us show alternatives to the usual and stand up for the critical examination of socially relevant topics. Our focus is on collaboration with young composers, through which we commit ourselves to the diversification of the contemporary classical scene. The conceptual depth of our programming is the core of our vision. With new formats, we use music to tell stories, inspire discussions, think outside the box, and invest in new ways of thinking. In doing so, we consciously free ourselves from outdated structures and dogmas of the music business. Founded in 2018 after our time at the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt, we now play in varying formations and regularly perform in concerts and at festivals in Germany and abroad. Recent invitations include Mixtur Festival in Barcelona, the Harvard Group for New Music residency, and Beethovenfest Bonn. Broken Frames Syndicate has been awarded the Ensemble Prize 2024 of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation and was supported by the InSzene program of the German Music Council.

New York composer-trumpet player Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson has lived in Biel, Switzerland, since 1994. He has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Dale Warland Singers, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Oklahoma City Symphony, Jose Limon Dance Company, and others. Nelson studied at Indiana University with John Eaton and Iannis Xenakis, and at Tangelwood with Gunther Schuller. During these years in Switzerland, Nelson has been “living under the radar” in regards to the Music world. He is composer-in-residence with the Broken Frames Syndicate of Frankfurt, Germany who have helped bring his music back to the broader world.  They commissioned the work “Jim Is Still Crowing” which will receive its U.S premiere at Roulette. This will be the first concert of Nelson’s music in New York in thirty years.