About Ensemble Nikel

Nikel is a quartet consisting of saxophone, electric guitar, percussion, and piano. A mix of traditional and contemporary, these instruments combine to form an alternative chamber music output where electric and acoustic sounds are fused into a unified sonic organism built on a wide, yet discerning musical vocabulary. The continual search for new musical ideas is not based on aesthetic prejudice or dichotomies of musical genres, but on passion and devotion to making and performing great music.
Founded in 2006, the ensemble is a frequent guest at many of the community’s most well-known festivals of contemporary music: Donaueschinger Musiktage, International Summer Course for New Music Darmstadt, Wien Modern, Warsaw Autumn, Manifeste Paris, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Gaudeamus Utrecht & Impuls Graz to name just a few. In recent years, they have increased their international presence with appearances in North America, South America and New Zealand, as well as continued appearances at major festivals throughout Europe.
Given its unique formation, the group’s repertoire is entirely based on music written for the quartet by both established and up-and-coming composers. Much of these works saw light in Nikel’s 2017 release, A Decade.
Nikel members are Brian Archinal (percussion), Yaron Deutsch (electric guitar), Antoine Françoise (piano), and Patrick Stadler (saxophone).
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