This year's Binding Culture Prize goes to the Bridges Chamber Orchestra and its umbrella organization, Bridges – Music Connects gGmbH. "With Bridges, the board of trustees has chosen an ensemble that understands music as a unifying force across cultural boundaries," said Marie-Catherine Douglas, Chair of the Board of the Binding Culture Foundation, according to a press release from the Binding Brewery on Friday. The award will be presented on October 27 in the Kaisersaal of Frankfurt's Römer.

Bridges Chamber Orchestra

The Bridges Chamber Orchestra was founded shortly after the refugee crisis of 2015 under the direction of musician Johanna-Leonore Dahlhoff and cultural manager Anke Karen Meyer. The nearly 30 professional musicians, some with refugee backgrounds, perform classical music not only from Europe, but also from the Arab and Persian cultural spheres, as well as all genres from traditional music to jazz. The orchestra performs not only in the Frankfurt area, at venues such as the Alte Oper and the Casals Forum Kronberg, but also tours throughout Germany, including Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie and various festivals.

Under the umbrella of "Bridges," eight further, smaller ensembles with diverse stylistic orientations have emerged, involved in numerous collaborations. Many of these are directly linked to outreach projects. For example, the children's musical theater piece "Hüpfen" was staged as part of the Alte Oper's Pegasus program, and a long-term collaboration with the Henri-Dunant Elementary School in Sossenheim has led, among other things, to the community opera "Du bist okay!" and is ongoing.

The Binding Cultural Foundation's €50,000 prize is awarded annually to an event or initiative from any area of ​​cultural life in the Frankfurt/Main region. This year marks its 31st award, and it is reportedly one of the most prestigious cultural prizes in Germany. Previous recipients include Ensemble Modern, composer and director Heiner Goebbels, theater critic and artistic director Günther Rühle, the Frankfurter Kunstverein, and the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie.

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