Tue, November 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM
AJA MONET
When the Poems Do What They Do
Pierre Boulez Saal
aja monet effortlessly moves between mediums. A poet, vocalist, and activist, her work blends political urgency with spiritual introspection. For her Pierre Boulez Saal debut, she invites the audience on an intimate two-part journey through sound and word. The first set will feature new, unreleased material from her forthcoming project alongside selected poems from her book Florida Water in a stripped-down, reflective atmosphere. In the second set, she will be joined by her full band to bring a selection of pieces from her celebrated album When the Poems Do What They Do to life.
Artists
Recitation and Vocals
Piano
Double Bass
Drums
Flute
EVENT TIMELINE
artist biographies
Writer, musician, and activist aja monet describes herself as a “surrealist blues poet” and in her work combines a wide variety of artistic and activist traditions and disciplines. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and made her first public appearances performing in poetry slams at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe on New York’s Lower East Side, where she was crowned Grand Slam Champion in 2007 at the age of 19, the youngest winner in the history of the competition. Since then, she has published several books and poetry collections, including My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, The Black Unicorn Sings, Inner-City Cyborgs and Ciphers, and most recently, Florida Waters. When the Poems Do What They Do, her debut album with her band, was nominated for a Grammy in 2024 in the Best Spoken Word Poetry Album category. She has received the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award, a Nelson Mandela Changemaker Award, and the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Vanguard Award, among other honors, and is the artistic creative director of V-Day, an international organization dedicated to protecting women and girls from violence. In her 2022 audio play Voices, she amplified the stories of Black women in Africa and across the diaspora.
Dallas-born and Los Angeles-based pianist, composer, and arranger Brian Hargrove is a graduate of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California and the Annenberg School of Communication in Philadelphia. He writes music for a wide variety of contexts and in a diverse range of idioms, from jazz to pop and hip-hop to contemporary avant-garde. He has worked with Michael Jackson, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and the Vesper Theatre Company, among others. A longtime member of Roy Hargrove’s The RH Factor, he currently tours with Solange and has also performed with Harvey Mason, Alice Smith, and the Pan Afrikan Peoples Archestra, among others.
Bassist Micah Aléc Collier grew up in the Chicago jazz scene and participated in the Jazz Institute of Chicago's Jazz Ambassador program and Ernest Dawkins’s “Young Masters” program, mentored by Vincent Davis, Michael Manson, and Junius Paul. With his band Proximity and the Aléc Trio, he performs in the Chicago area at venues such as The Promontory, Pritzker Pavilion, and The Jazz Showcase. He has also collaborated with artists including Dee Alexander, Marquis Hill, Kendrick Scott, Keyon Harrold, Corey Wilkes, and Makaya McCraven, and has appeared at the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Enjoy Jazz festival in Heidelberg. His debut album Becoming, released in 2023, combines the classic jazz of McCoy Tyner with influences from Marcus Miller and Chicago house music to create a highly individual fusion sound.
Belgian-Ghanaian multi-instrumentalist Esinam Dogbatse combines improvisation on the flute, African percussion, electronic elements, and influences from blues, hip-hop, trip-hop, and psychedelia to create a distinctive retro-futuristic sound. She performs both as a solo artist, working with samples and loop stations, and with a live band. She released the EP Sdban Ultra in 2018, followed by her debut album Shapes in Twilights of Infinity in 2021.
YOUR VISIT
How To Get There
Pierre Boulez Saal
Barenboim-Said Akademie
Französische Straße 33d
10117 Berlin
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Public Transport
U-Bahn U2 Hausvogteiplatz, U5 Museumsinsel, U6 Unter den Linden
S-Bahn S / U Friedrichstraße
Tram M1, 12 Mitte / Am Kupfergraben
Bus 147 Werderscher Markt; 100, 300, N5 Staatsoper
Bicycle
Bicycle racks are available on the street “Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.”
Car
Q-PARK parking garage Unter den Linden / Staatsoper
Bebelplatz 2
10117 Berlin
Theater rate (5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, paid in advance): €10
Please note there is a construction site across from the hall on Französische Straße. The street is narrowed, and cars or taxis are not allowed to stop in front of the Pierre Boulez Saal entrance.
Opening Hours
Box Office
Monday to Friday 2 pm to 6 pm
Closed on weekends and holidays
On performance days, the box office opens one hour prior to an event on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Papagena Call Center
Ticket hotline +49 30 4799 7411
Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm
Sunday and public holidays 2pm to 8pm
Food & Drinks
Casalot Catering welcomes Pierre Boulez Saal visitors before and after concerts, serving a variety of dishes of Arab cuisine.
On concert nights, the bar opens one hour before the start of an event and remains open after the performance. You may also place pre-orders for intermission right at the counter.
More informantion on our catering can be found here.
Coat Check
Small bags up to a maximum size of A4 (21x30 cm) and jackets may be taken into the concert hall. Luggage, helmets, large umbrellas, and other bulky items must be stored at the coat check.
The coat check is free and located behind the staircase in the foyer, on the left-hand side.
Accessibility
To book wheelchair-accessible seating, other seats for visitors with disabilities, or companion seats, please contact us directly.
+49 30 4799 7411
tickets@boulezsaal.de
All wheelchair seats are accessible by elevator. All visitors, including patrons using a wheelchair, will enter the Pierre Boulez Saal through the main entrance. Tickets will be checked at the hall doors.
In order to make access as easy as possible, we kindly ask that you inform us of your requirements when booking your tickets.
Restrooms for visitors with disabilities are located in the basement and on the balcony level and are accessible by elevator.
Four parking spaces for visitors with disabilities are available on the street Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.
