Christoph götzen

CHRISTOPH GÖTZEN

is a guitarist, improviser, composer, curator, and educator with a primary focus on improvised and contemporary music.

Career highlights include performances at Roulette Intermedium (New York City), The Stone (New York City) and the Monheim Triennale II (Germany) with Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson, Vinterjazz Festival (Copenhagen, Denmark), Aarhus Jazzfestival (Denmark), Radio Central (Antwerp, Belgium) with Gabby Fluke-Mogul, N:EAR Festival (Slovakia) and Leuven Jazz Festival (Belgium).

As director and bandleader of the European Music Collective, he has led numerous residencies, performances, tours and recording sessions across Europe including world premieres at Moers Festival (Germany), ContemPLAY Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania), Banka Studios (Maastricht, The Netherlands) and the Kintai Music Festival (Lithuania).

Christoph’s music is guided by an intuitive yet precise artistic voice. He explores sound in ways that align with the free-spirited ethos of improvised and contemporary music. His work spans a broad spectrum – from solo guitar performances to large ensembles – always shaped by the unique circumstances of each project. Collaboration, synthesis, and an ever-curious mindset are central to his creative process, forming a musical identity that is both distinctive and continually evolving. With improvised music as his foundation, Christoph continuously develops and engages with a broad spectrum of materials, including composition, conducting and collective creation.

His practice has been extended through interdisciplinary collaborations with artists from the fields of dance and theatre. These collaborations have included residencies and performances with institutions such as Cooperativa Maura Morales, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, Conservatory of Antwerp, European Opera Academy, and others.

As a curator and cultural worker, Christoph has directed the Strange Music Festival from 2021 to 2023 in Düsseldorf, Germany and co-curated the Klankhaven concert series in Antwerp, Belgium, from 2022–2023. Currently he is board member of Club Primi, promoting contemporary music in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Christoph is active as an educator, organising a variety of workshops and masterclasses. In 2025, he was invited to be teaching in New Delhi and Bangalore, India, being likely the first educator to introduce free improvisation at the country’s leading music institutions.

From 2020-2023, Christoph studied Jazz-guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp (Belgium) and is currently studying Music Performance at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen (Denmark). Throughout his education, he has attended numerous workshops and masterclasses across Europe and the USA at institutions such as the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, Brooklyn Conservatory, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Leuven Conservatory, Conservatory of Maastricht and the Estonian Academy for Music and Theatre. Notable teachers and lecturers Christoph has studied with include Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Yaron Deutsch, Julian Lage, Billy Hart, Ingrid Laubrock, Nikolaj Hess, Sidney Corbett, Vykintas Baltakas, Liudas Mockūnas and Jon Irabagon, among others.