The Gurdjieff Folk Instruments Ensemble played music by the vibrant Armenian mystic Gurdjieff, while the “Yerevan Jazz Night” brought the exuberant night-life of the Armenian capital to Osnabrück. The ladies of the Armenian a capella trio Zulal delighted their Osnabrück audience, as did “Light in Babylon”. The group “Eurasians Unity” was formed at the ‘Women in Jazz’ Festival in 2014 – female musicians from Iran, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria and the Lebanon met with colleagues from the German jazz scene. The project was further developed within the framework of the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück and included guest musicians from Armenia.

For the first time the Festival ran a “Morgenland Summer Academy” – over the course of a week young musicians from various schools in Osnabrück lived and worked with renowned musicians from the Middle East. The Morgenland Summer Academy was made possible and co-organized by the Friends of the Morgenland Festival.

Two guest appearances preceded the Festival: The Festival’s own formations, such as the Morgenland All Star Band, the Ensemble Hawniyaz and the jazz piano duo Gambarov & Weber, brought “Morgenland” to the famous Bimhuis in Amsterdam. And in July the Trio Hewar played at the Museum for Islamic Art, the Pergamon Museum, in Berlin.