The Nelly Boyd Ensemble

Nelly Boyd is a composers‘ collective and performing ensemble, founded in 2004 in Hamburg, Germany. Its members come from different backgrounds such as sound art, classical composition, live-electronics, electro-acoustic music, rock and free improvisation.

As a collective, Nelly Boyd’s purpose is to help realize each member’s musical ideas.

As an ensemble, they perform repertoire pieces and commissions by composers which are inspiring, interesting and exemplary to them, with a strong taste for the American ‚classical avant-garde‘.

Nelly Boyd’s programmes are often developed uniquely according to the performance space and its properties.

Among others, they have presented works by John Cage, Morton Feldman, Terry Riley, Karlheinz Stockhausen, James Tenney and have played with Phill Niblock, Christian Wolff and Alvin Lucier. In 2010 they performed an authorized version of La Monte Young’s „Composition 1960 #7“ under the direction of Charles Curtis.

Nelly Boyd appears regularly at the festivals ‚Blurred Edges‘ and ‚klub katarakt‘ in Hamburg and has performed at Podewil/Berlin, Experimental Intermedia/New York, Serpentine Gallery/London, Issue Project Room/New York, Rote Fabrik/Zurich, Hangar Bicocca/Milan, Bozar/Brussels…

Nelly Boyd at the moment are Robert Engelbrecht and Jan Feddersen with guests. Past members are Peter Imig, Moxi Beidenegl and Ignacio Mendez. Also Jens Röhm (1967-2010), constantly.