Vocals, Oud
Trumpet, Electronics
Double Bass, Vocals
Violoncello
Born in Palestine and based in Europe since 2002, composer, singer, and musician Kamilya Jubran is among the leading figures of the experimental Arabic music scene. For her Pierre Boulez Saal debut, she performs two contrasting sets: Together with her longtime musical partner, Swiss trumpet player and sound artist Werner Hasler, she presents Extend WA, an exploration of improvised musical dialogue born out of their album WA (“and” in Arabic). For the concert’s second half, the duo is joined by cellist Soizic Lebrat and bassist Charlotte Testu, collaborators from Jubran’s project Terrae Incognitae featuring female musicians from different backgrounds, in the world premiere of a new piece titled Bast.
“Bast in Arabic signifies growth and revelation. It is also a symbol of joy. I invite you to join myself, Werner Hasler, Soizic Lebrat, and Charlotte Testu for this concert. May this moment of bast be one of unity between us—musicians and audience—and a moment where an untold story unfolds in real time.”
—Kamilya Jubran
Kamilya Jubran grew up in Al Rameh, a Palestinian village in the north of Israel. She was introduced to classical Arabic music at an early age by her music-loving parents and in particular her father, the music teacher and instrument maker Elias Jubran. At the age of 18, she moved to Jerusalem to study at the Hebrew University and established herself as a musician and singer. As a member of the Sabreen ensemble, based in East Jerusalem, she recorded four albums and toured locally and internationally. In 2002, she moved to Europe—first to Switzerland and then to Paris, where she is still based—and went through a process of artistic reinvention. Today, Kamilya Jubran is among the most prominent voices in the experimental Arabic music scene. In 2014, she founded the non-profit organization Zamkana, which supports innovative artistic projects based on the values of freedom of expression and secularism.
Werner Hasler is an electronic musician and trumpeter based in Bern and Paris. Besides his long-standing collaboration with Kamilya Jubran, he creates the ongoing series OUT, a hybrid format of exhibition, installation, and live performance for cello, live-sampling, and live-electronics.
Charlotte Testu studied double bass with Jean-Paul Céléa in Paris and Bernard Cazauran in Lyon as well as improvisation with Alain Savouret and Alexandros Markeas. She also trained on historic double basses and violone with Richard Myron. Equally dedicated to the Baroque repertoire as well as contemporary and improvised music, she regularly collaborates with composers and musicians such as Sylvain Kassap, Jacques Rebotier, Sébastien Béranger, and François Rossé. She is a member of the ensemble C Barré in Marseille and performs regularly with Les Siècles and the Insula Orchestra. Charlotte Testu has been teaching at the Conservatoire in Cergy-Pontoise since 2016.
Soizic Lebrat is a classically trained cellist with a doctorate in musicology and works as a performer, improviser, and composer in various contexts. She creates experimental artistic-research projects, most recently including Solo Suite (2018), IN(ec)OUT (2019), Bach to 3D (2023), and Tu Vois Je T’Écoute (2025), electroacoustic works, and installations as well as compositions for dance, radio, film, and theater. Her current projects include a duo with Yukiko Nakamura, a trio with Isabelle Duthoit and Yuko Oshima, the Quatuor Brac with Tiziana Bertoncini, Benoît Cancoin, and Vincent Royer, and the Quatuor LGBS with Marie Schwab, Patricia Bosshard and Anouck Genthon. She also performs regularly with larger ensembles such as Grand Fou Band, Système Friche II, and Grand8.
