about

The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL is a new festival in and for the city of Berlin. Harmonica is at the center of the festival, and in many German homes, a harmonica is hiding somewhere in a drawer. The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL places this expressive, tiny instrument into people’s hands. The concept for the festival originated with musician and harmonica player Marko Jovanović (mjharmonica.com).

The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL is a series of three biennial festivals taking place in 2022, 2024, and 2026. F E N stands for Fascination – Education – Network, and that’s simply because we believe in the power of fascination, and want to share it, and pass it on. The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL is organised by Julia Thurau | FEN music in cooperation with the Consense Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Kultur mbH, the Friends of the harmonica playing culture e.V. Official partner of the festival is the HOHNER Musikinstrumente GmbH. The festival shows the harmonica in all its facets and across the boundaries of genres. Listening to the harmonica in this way opens up a fascinating world of sound.

The HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL is for everyone who’s curious and ready to be inspired. It is for harmonica enthusiasts and, of course, it’s also for people who just happen by. So come, join us and listen!

FEN music emerged from FEN – Fascination Eduction Network GmbH (harmonica school berlin) and is committed to increasing the visibility of the harmonica and related instruments. The owner is cultural and communications manager Julia Thurau, who has been organising the HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL as project manager since 2018 and producing it since 2022. FEN music is the successor to FEN – Fascination Eduction Network GmbH and organiser of the HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL at the Kulturbrauerei Berlin. The agency offers services for music-related projects and organises teachers’ trainings, the FEN Master Workshops and FEN concerts.

The Consense Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Kultur mbH (Association for the Advancement of Culture) was founded by Soeren Birke. He is a passionate musician and harmonica player and in 1996 and 1999 he organized the “Zungenschlag-Festivals” which can be seen as a forerunner to the HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL. The Consense Gesellschaft makes a substantial contribution to cultural life in Berlin, and it is a part of Berlin’s vibrant cultural scene. The Kesselhaus and Maschinenhaus at the Kulturbrauerei are among the most important performance spaces in Berlin’s free scene, and they offer a diverse range of programs. Birke has published books about the history of the harmonica, several CDs, and he is co-initiator of the Campaign Music 2020 Berlin and the MusicBoard Berlin.

The members of the Friends of the harmonica playing culture would like to make the harmonica more visible again. Together with the harmonica school berlin they organize the HARMONICA FEN FESTIVAL, which presents the musical richness of the instrument to all those who are curious and fascinated.

Projects with children and young people are important to them, too, because the harmonica is not only small and affordable. Through its closeness to the player, it develops a very special power that can strengthen especially young people in their personal development. The friends want to promote and convey this power through projects and the further development of harmonica pedagogy.

Become a supporting member or support the Friends of the harmonica playing culture e.V. with a donation.