Joachim Striepens - clarinet - born in Werne in 1966, studied instrumental pedagogy and the artistic maturity examination at the Detmold University of Music, Dortmund Department, and, with Christina Mitropoulos-Bott - as Duo Katarakt - at the Folkwang University of Music in Essen, where he completed the advanced chamber music program with Prof. Vladimir Mendelssohn.
He was a DAAD scholarship holder and, in 1993, won first prize for the best interpretation of contemporary music with Duo Katarakt at the International Duo Competition in Belgium.
A particular focus of Joachim Striepens' diverse artistic work lies in the performance of contemporary music. Numerous world premieres of works, some of which are dedicated to him, demonstrate his close collaboration with both young and established composers.
In 1999, he founded the e-mex neue musik ensemble in the Cologne/Ruhr area, which has since earned an excellent reputation. Regular concert recordings, for example, by WDR, DLF, or SWR, and appearances at festivals such as the "Klang.Körper-Festival" in Cologne, the Ensemblia Moenchengladbach, or the Stanford Music Festival (USA) document this. In 2006, Deutschlandfunk produced a portrait CD of the Italian composer Valerio Sannicandro and the e-mex ensemble, which was enthusiastically received by critics.
Joachim Striepens regularly plays with the ensemble tra i tempi and the nova-ensemble and has performed as a guest musician with, among others, the musikFabrik NRW, the Ensemble Cologne, and the oh-ton ensemble.
His interest in new improvisational concepts is reflected in projects such as "gelb schweigt anders" (yellow silences differently) - electroacoustic improvisations - and the staged concert "Veni Creator Spiritus," which he developed in 2003 together with his brother Ansgar Striepens (trombone) and the New York-based singer Theo Bleckmann for church spaces.
He has participated in productions at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Duesseldorf/Duisburg, the Schauspielhaus Bochum, and the Schauspiel Bonn. He has performed at various festivals, including the World Music Days in the Ruhr Area, the Duesseldorf Altstadtherbst, the Lento Festival in Dortmund, and the Beethoven Fest Bonn.
Radio and television recordings for: Danish Broadcasting, Radio France, Radio Bremen, DeutschlandRadio Berlin, Deutschlandfunk, SWR, and WDR.
CD productions with the e-mex neue musik ensemble, the musikFabrik NRW, the Ensemble tra i tempi, the Henze Chamber Ensemble, and the Ensemble Horizonte.
Numerous recordings for radio play music and audiobooks (CD).