Max is a founding member of Apparat, a Berlin-based brass ensemble dedicated to contemporary music. Having premiered several of his own works, the ensemble — collaborating with a range of unique Berlin-based brass instrumentalists — has presented programs in venues such as the Philharmonie Luxembourg and Berlin’s Akademie der Künste. In 2024 the ensemble appeared at a series of festivals including the Ultraschall Festival Berlin, Eclat Festival Stuttgart, and the Klang Festival Copenhagen, alongside concluding an eight-concert series at Berlin’s KM28. The ensemble’s programming encompasses collaborations with improvisers, sound-artists, and expansion into large ensemble formations.
A founding member of EnsembleKollektiv Berlin — Berlin’s largest contemporary music ensemble — since 2021 Max has been the ensemble’s Artistic Director. Originally formed through the collaboration of four of Berlin’s leading contemporary chamber music formations, the ensemble regularly appears at Berlin’s major contemporary music festivals including Musikfest and MaerzMusik of the Berliner Festspiele. Lauded both for its presentation of core late twentieth century repertoire and for its realization of new large-scale commissions, the ensemble’s unique history and structure reflects the collaborative ethos of Berlin’s Freie Szene. Recordings of EnsembleKollektiv have been published by Wergo, Kairos, Edition RZ, and Sub Rosa.
Together with Liam Hockley, he co-directs Arbour Concerts based in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. Having in its initial concerts presented works by Steven Takasugi, Michelle Lou, Evan Johnson, Marc Sabat, Horațiu Rădulescu, Ana-Maria Avram, Mark Andre, and György Kurtág, the series is committed to collaborating with both local and international performers on the world-class presentation of contemporary music.
