Manchester International Festival 2025: Germaine Kruip’s A Possibility - In conversation with Hahn Rowe & Emily Howard

Today marks the world unveiling of Dutch artist Germaine Kruip’s, A Possibility, as part of Manchester International Festival. 

Set in two parts, the first act distills the essence of Kruip’s 2014 performance A Possibility of an Abstraction, and has light as its principal actor. Reimagined for MIF25, the stage becomes a blank canvas for a play of perception, where light interacts with shadows, reflections and the exposed architecture of the theatre to cast them as characters in a live performance.

In the new second act, Kruip introduces bodies: enter percussionists Youjin Lee, Akane Tominaga, Victor Lodeon, and Gil Hyoungkwon as performers. Brass sculptures, developed by Kruip in collaboration with renowned German manufacturer Thein Brass, become both the set and the instruments for a musical ritual. The score by Emily Howard blends strings with percussion to create a seamless dialogue with Hahn Rowe’s compositions.

Fascinated to discover more, we sat  down with American composer Hahn Rowe and British composer Emily Howard a couple weeks into the lead up of today’s premiere,  as they share their insights into what it has been like incorporating their beautiful compositions to bring this powerful artwork to life.

Hahn Rowe

Photo Credit: Hahn Rowe

Very exciting to hear that you're going to be teaming up with Emily Howard  for Germaine Kruip new artwork ​​A Possibility. Tell us a little bit what went through your head when you heard the original concept and how you would make your impact in your own work?

This presentation is going to  include let's say the second act of this work. So, there was an act one, which will be the first portion of the performance that we did, I think it's close to a decade ago now.

So, that was the work that we had already, we premiered like a decade ago, as I said, and I had never worked with Germaine before. So, there was a kind of very interesting process because it was quite unlike anything I had worked on before. 

It's primarily light. With the absence of any people, acting, language, stage or sets. So, light kind of functions as this kind of, it feels like a kind of portal into kind of a parallel world, so to speak. There's this feeling like you're looking into another world, but you're constantly reminded that you're in a theatre. 

When I started, I brought my traditional instruments, like a violin and guitar. And quite quickly, I realised that the light was suggesting this kind of elemental world, a world of phenomena. It's almost like you're observing nature or micro particles and creation. And then you start thinking of what the violin does, its cultural associations, all of the language which surrounds the violin. So, then I thought, no, this is not the approach. I have to kind of meet this world where I look at sound in the same way that the light functions.

I wanted to create this feeling or illusion where the visuals and light ends and sound begins. So, it really feels like it's one and the same.

When you are transporting people to a different portal, how do you find being able to articulate that through the power of music? 

 I feel  for this show, it was really about avoiding the cultural language of music as we know it and to think of sound as a kind of another mass or another vibration. Regardless of the instrument I am using, it's kind of abstracted with the involvement of electronics. I really wanted it to feel like this kind of vibrational flux or a stew where the sound was intertwined with the visual and that it was kind of one and the same so that you didn't feel it as kind of a layer or a separate layer or on its own plane or commenting on what you were seeing.

The production is going to be showcased at Manchester International Festival. So, for anyone checking out the show, what's the best way to embrace it as a first time, like do first time fresh eyes and ears? 

I just think don't come with any expectations. You know, as abstract and experimental as it sounds, I think it's something that, you know, people coming from all types of backgrounds can appreciate.  You don't have to explain beautiful clouds or, the sound of a waterfall.  So in the same way  I just feel like if you come with open eyes and ears and just observe, you'll take something away from it. I think on paper it sounds very arcane and abstract, but I think in reality, it's quite fascinating. And I don't think you have to have any particular knowledge to appreciate it. 

What has been the most rewarding part of working on this project that Germaine asked you to be part of? 

For me as a musician and composer, I think one, we don't have to discuss a lot. Sometimes in collaborations, you always find yourself trying to fight for your vision. But I think we kind of understand each other. And right away, we found  a certain commonality in the ideas that are driving this work. So, that's quite enjoyable.

Thinking about your own personal journey as a composer and musician, what makes you smile about some of the things you've achieved? 

I don't like it when I go to the theater and I feel like music is this kind of separate entity and, the other elements are commentary or illustrative in its function. So for me personally, I'm trying to explore kind of where these worlds meet.

Looking at sound, light, visuals, bodies on stage, language, speech ,  and then asking where we can kind of meld these things together. And for me, I feel like that was the challenge and the reward of working on a project like this.

When it came to working closely with Emily Howard, tell us what you enjoyed about that side of things?

I feel like the way Emily's music and mine functions is kind of similar, even though Emily does work with these kind of natural elements and phenomena. The way it's introduced in this piece is she's actually using a string quartet in her contribution to the work. And it almost feels like when it's coming out of the ether into, and it feels kind of like distant memories.

So you're kind of, in a way, brought back into this world as we know it,  and then she kind of fades back into like this kind of world without string quartets. So it's quite an interesting juxtaposition. 

Other than this body of work that you're doing, in terms of the rest of 2025, what does that look like for you as well?

 Well, I've been involved in a lot of music for performance or the stage for the last couple of decades. Mostly in Europe, working with different choreographers and performance artists in Europe.  So I'm continuing my work with music for performance. And then I also have been scoring films.

And then I've been doing work with visual artists. So, of course, Germaine, who is coming out of the visual art world, but she is more of a performance. I just completed a video for the artist Adam Pendleton.

He's opening at the Hirshhorn Museum  in Washington, D.C.  And I'm kind of re-entering the world of performing music. Just had a release with sound artist Stephen Vitiello and Brendan Canty, who was the drummer from the infamous D.C. hardcore band Fugazi. We just made a release and we've been toying with the idea of performing live. Amazing. So this may be the year that I start performing music again.

Emily Howard

Photo Credit: Emily Howard

Great news to hear that you're making another return to the Manchester International Festival. So with this not being your first rodeo, tell us a little bit what you love about the festival?

Well, I love the structure of the festival. I like the fact that they bring different art forms together. And I like the fact that they like to create new working relationships and be very hands-on in how it goes. You know, it feels like a very friendly festival as well. I love the fact that you can walk in and people chat to you.

I'm a big fan of the Manchester International Festival. I've been in Manchester based now for probably 20 years, and I have been going for a long time. So I know the festival well. It feels like home to me.

You're involved in Germaine Kruip’s works of genius. So how did you feel being invited to be part of that project, along with Hahn? 

Yeah quite excited, especially because it's like, I knew it would be something I've never done before. I think it's very important to take your art to different places and to experience different things and to be challenged in different ways. And I think that this project does that. I think it really helps. Just to be taken out of your comfort zone to do something new. 

What was it like knowing that  you, Hahn and Germaine would be creating this universe together, but also individually as well? 

 I quite like it. My music is reacting and using the brush sculptures with the percussionists, which is amazing because they're made by one of the finest music producers of musical instruments. So for orchestral triangles, Germaine has got some orchestral rhombus shapes. So that's really exciting to me because, I write a lot of orchestral music and a lot of music for acoustic instruments. So to have different shapes on the stage with these sculptures made from this material, first of all, that's very exciting.

But then it became clear that as well as resonating the sounds and because a lot of that is done with the sound design that Hahn is dealing with, but to react against that and to have a completely different sound, that was kind of something that was very much given over to me. A I wanted to have a string sound because I love the fact that strings can come from absolutely nothing and then go into something really quite big  and then back again.

I love the fact that we've actually got recorded string sound, this wonderful string quartet from the students from the Royal Northern College of Music. What I like about it is in this piece, you hear it and it sounds acoustic, but you can't quite place it. And then seeing where it is going to be approached and positioned  by Hahn is very exciting. 

How do you think  working on this project has helped you to view the live experience of music differently? 

I am a composer who writes concert music, and I really do think about sound first, I do. I mean, it's like the most crucial thing, and I find it very interesting to work with Germaine, who really thinks about light first.

And so, I think when Germaine and Hahn are working,  the sound comes from the light, and my role is absolutely to have sound that is and exists  on its own, quite unashamedly, and, you know, maybe it's the relationship changes, like the sound is there, and the light would respond to it.  So, there's something very attractive about that so I think in that way, it's made me, makes me view music slightly differently.

Being based in Manchester, what makes you smile about the creative scene in that beautiful city?

 Loads of things. I think it's, there's so much going on. We are really lucky across most, many different art forms. I like the diversity of it. I like the fact that you've  certainly got a huge range of all kinds of music and art and theatre.

And  somewhere like Factory International and Aviva Studios  is  great to have  in Manchester and to have the blend of all the different kinds of people coming together. It's a hotspot for interdisciplinary work. 

As it gets closer and closer to the 17th July 2025, what's on your to-do list?

 I mean, just getting back again into the zone myself, because we head back into rehearsals and with that comes a lot of  teamwork and lots of discussions with the team and working towards tightening everything up.

Sending our thanks to both Hahn and Emily for taking their time to speak to us.

For a chance to experience this powerful artwork for yourself, A Possibility runs between 17th - 20th July 2025 at the RNCM in Manchester.

Tickets available via https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/germaine-kruip-a-possibility/