Horn star Sarah Willis with her ensemble "The Sarahbanda" at the end of the 2026 Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera Summer Festival
World-class horn player Sarah Willis brings the international summer festival at the Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera to a glittering close: the American-British brass virtuoso and Berlin Philharmonic player will be bringing her eight-piece ensemble "The Sarahbanda" with her: classical works and Cuban music merge to create an energetic world of sound that cannot be experienced anywhere else between Brandenburg and the Caribbean.
The program includes iconic Cuban classics such as "Sandunguera", "Pare Cochero", "La Comparsa", "Guajira Sencilla" and "Chan Chan". In sophisticated arrangements, the pieces focus on the sonorous interplay of horn, saxophone, violin, piano and percussion. In addition, there are refreshed versions of European works - including Mozart's "Romanza" and Bizet's "Habanera" from the opera Carmen.
Traditional Cuban dance rhythms such as son, mambo, guaracha, bolero and guajira meet contemporary arrangements in which the horn blends organically into the typical Cuban banda line-up. The imaginative, passionate and at the same time bold playing of the ensemble gives the variety of these dances their very own touch. Guaranteed to get your inner dancer going!
