Cheop Cheop San Maek by Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop x WhatWhy Art

The new project by Berlin based Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop w/ Seoul-based ensemble WhatWhy Art and composer Konstantin Heuer. Cheop Cheop San Maek (Korean for “mountain ranges stretching endlessly one after another”) is a project by Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, in collaboration with the Seoul-based ensemble WhatWhy Art and composer Konstantin Heuer. At its core is a new work that combines classical string instruments, traditional Korean instruments, and electronics into a multi-layered sonic space. The project explores and integrates microtonal approaches and transcultural sound practices without homogenizing distinct musical traditions. The resulting shared sonic space is not a uniform style but a dynamic structure, akin to a topographical landscape, where friction, resonance, and untranslatability are just as significant as convergence and connection. Cheop Cheop San Maek thus articulates a transcultural practice that transcends exoticism or appropriation: a coming-together rooted in listening, sensitivity, and structural parity, enabling new forms of collective sound production without erasing differences. Konstantin Heuer goes back and forth between Asia and Berlin. He produces and plays techno and electronic music per alias Sedonid and writes music for mixed setups of electronic and acoustic instruments. He likes to explore new scales and tunings in extended just intonation, to build strict formal architectures, and to create places of melodic emotion and deeply felt atmospheres. To mark its 20th anniversary in 2026, Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop presents new projects that consistently continue its collaborative approach and reflect the ensemble’s artistic development. These projects showcase the central themes of Kaleidoskop’s practice since its inception: its long-standing engagement with various forms of music theatre, chamber music research, and transdisciplinary collaborations. Together, they form a triptych that clearly illustrates both the ensemble’s roots and its current orientation and future openness. Cheop Cheop San Maek is a project by Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop. Funded by Musikfonds e.V. with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. With the kind support of Aventis Foundation. The Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.