Over 2024 BIOFONIA’s first movement (8 minutes duration) took shape as a multimodal work inspired by the Atlantic rainforest and the indigenous peoples and cultures of these ecosystems, represented by the Guaraní people. Through a fusion of music and animation, the project explores the vital role these forests and their communities play in global biodiversity and climate balance.
As Brazil prepares to host COP30 in November 2025, Biofonia will be showcased as part of the international dialogue on climate and sustainability. The second instalment of the project AMAZONICA will also be featured in Denmark at the Cultural Meeting in August 2025, with a presentation at the Nature Meeting in 2026 currently being negotiated. These events aim to engage Danish audiences in a deeper understanding of South America’s rainforests and the knowledge systems that have sustained them for generations.
Cultural Collaboration: Working with Coral Guaray Oua (Brazil)
In June 2024, composer Mathias Madsen Munch and solo marimbaist Ronni Kot Wenzell visited the Iguape region in southern São Paulo state to further develop Biofonia. With help from the outstanding professionals at Fábrica de Cultura Iguape, DCI was able to facilitate the participation of the musical ensemble Coral Guaray Oua in the Guarani village Tekoá Itapuã.
The Biofonia team was invited inside the village house of prayers, the village´s most sacred place, for talks around the fire on everything from spirituality to politics with the chief, his son and daughter-in-law. Establishing mutually enriching artistic collaborations with indigenous communities requires nuanced listening to help establish the deep trust necessary. At DCI we are excited to learn more every time we enter to help these very special intercultural encounters come into being. In this case, the facilitation paved the way for a formal artistic collaboration agreement, signed by the creative partners.
At DKI’s initiative, a film crew from Fábrica de Cultura Iguape documented the project´s last day. In a rare gesture, the village chief allowed filming inside the house of prayers, usually off-limits to outsiders. The footage captured the musical sessions and interviews, later incorporated into educational materials presented for Danish school children in Viborg. Everyone was moved when the chief’s son shared that it was decided that the honorarium would go toward new musical instruments for the village. To us, this highlighted how art fosters dialogue on complex topics, resonating on both sides. Wall Street Journal correspondent Samantha Pearson accompanied the artists for a portrait of Ronni Kot Wenzell, set to be published in connection with COP30 in Brazil. Mathias’ activities are supported by OpEn, a Danish fund financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and The Danish Arts Foundation.
2025: Expanding the Vision
This year, after the successful premier BIOFONIA at Viborg Animation Festival in 2024, AMAZONICA expands on this artistic adventure, diving into the cultural and ecological narratives of the Amazon Forest. Through music, animation, and indigenous knowledge, it aims to highlight the Amazon not just as a natural wonder, but as a living, evolving cultural landscape that demands both artistic and environmental attention.
At the heart of the project is a four-week residency in May 2025, based in and around Iquitos, Peru, a vibrant gateway to the Peruvian Amazon. Here Mathias will engage in research, workshops, performances, and interdisciplinary exchanges with local musicians and cultural actors. This residency will lay the foundation for a large-scale artistic production, bridging cultures and celebrating indigenous heritage through music, storytelling, and visual art.
Bridging Art, Sustainability, and Global Dialogue
AMAZONICA will have visual world premiere at Viborg Animation Festival 2025, but its reach will extend far beyond. The project will also serve as a cornerstone for an international presentation at COP30 in Brazil, where it will be integrated into a larger orchestral work in collaboration with Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, one of Brazil´s top symphony orchestras. By harnessing the power of music and animation, AMAZONICA aims to raise awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Inspiring Change Through Music
At the core of the activities in Denmark is a collaboration with the North Jutland Youth Symphony Orchestra. These young talents will engage with the cultural and musical traditions of one traditional people in the Peruvian Amazon, and discover how a rich cultural heritage and its vital connection to the rainforest can be expressed through music. Through a series of workshops, participants will be invited to reflect on themes such as cultural exchange, representation, and the role of art in global conversations.
The project is set to culminate in a live performance at Naturmødet 2026, where the students will present their unique musical interpretations of AMAZONICA, sharing their insights with young audiences from Hirtshals and beyond. As they develop both artistically and personally, these musicians will gain creative autonomy while deepening their understanding of their role in a global context—where music serves as both a medium of expression and a catalyst for change.
Expanding Cultural Exchange
Built on prior research conducted in Peru, in collaboration with Peruvian arts organization Correlación Contemporánea, the project offers a rare opportunity to engage with indigenous knowledge and traditions.
A Platform for Youth Engagement and Artistic Expression
Beyond concert performances, AMAZONICA will also be presented as an audiovisual art project. Viborg Animation Festival will continue its collaboration from BIOFONIA into the Filmmakers Workshop in 2025, where young filmmakers from around the world will create their own visual interpretations of the rainforest, inspired by the project. This initiative will be led by Ouros Animation, the animation artists who animated BIOFONIA in 2024 and remain deeply engaged in the project. The Filmmakers Workshop will premiere at VAF 2025 and later set to serve as a visual backdrop for North Jutland Youth Symphony Orchestra´s performances at Naturmødet 2026. The video works will also serve as documentation and as a tool for further project development, particularly in Latin America.
Who is Mathias Madsen Munch?
Mathias Madsen Munch (MMM) has made a name for himself through innovative projects that use music as a gateway to engagement. Recently, he returned from Hong Kong, where his interactive concerts for children were performed with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. He has also led impactful projects in Latvia and Russia in collaboration with local embassies and the Danish Cultural Institute.
In 2024, Munch was the most performed living classical composer in Jutland’s concert halls. Recognizing his contributions, the Augustinus Foundation recently awarded him 500,000 DKK to support collaborations with regional symphony orchestras in Denmark for 2025 and 2026.
Munch received his first grant from CISU in 2024 for BIOFONIA, which aimed to bring the rainforest to life through an audiovisual format with assistance from producer Rasmus Madsen Munch, arranger Thomas Bryła, violinist Jens Elfving, and Gry Bossen (Team leader of politics and engagement at the NGO Forests of the World). The project quickly expanded in scale and ambition, thanks to the Danish Cultural Institute’s efforts in connecting it with the Guaraní people and COP30. With AMAZONICA, the vision grows even stronger—bridging continents, cultures, and generations through the universal language of music.