Tim Isfort

Tim Isfort, born in Mannheim in 1967 and raised in Moers, began his artistic career as a bassist, composer, and arranger deeply rooted in the local Moers scene. Following his studies in classical double bass in Essen and jazz bass in Arnhem, he quickly earned a reputation in contemporary and improvised music—founding the Tim Isfort Orchestra in 1995 and collaborating with prominent artists such as Blixa Bargeld. Over the decades, his versatile work spanned theatre compositions, interdisciplinary cultural projects, international cultural exchange initiatives (notably in Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and the direction of renowned events including Duisburg’s Traumzeit Festival and the co-founded Platzhirsch Festival. At the end of 2016, Isfort assumed artistic leadership of the prestigious moers festival, continually reshaping it through bold concert formats, sociopolitical discourse, long-term financial stabilization, and innovative concepts like the Pay What You Want ticketing system. He underscored this socially conscious, free-spirited approach in recent editions: in 2025, he highlighted the widespread decline of venues with the striking "Boulevard of Silence" installation, and for the 55th anniversary edition in 2026, he brought the festival back into the heart of downtown Moers—setting an unmissable political-artistic statement by filling concert intermissions with densely layered recordings of Donald Trump's speeches.