Sa 18/04/2026

BIG BANG Festival

Musical adventures for young audiences

Past event

Family/Festival/Music for young audiences

Family event for everyone from Age 5 to 105

Trailer: BIG BANG Festival 2026

The BIG BANG Festival is back and will make the Festspielhaus resound! A day full of music, discoveries and surprises awaits you - with magical sound ideas from the Zonzo Compagnie and a programme that will delight the curious of all ages. Immerse yourself in this unique musical adventure!

Music/Performance/Sound Art Look forward to surprising performances, unknown sounds and musical experiments that fill every corner from the stage to the foyer. This year you can explore a magical place full of musical plants with Solarium or make a whole flock of birds sing in the Pleyel foyer. The Festspielhaus becomes a huge musical playground with plenty of space to discover!

The Belgian Zonzo Compagnie is internationally recognised as a pioneer of music projects for young audiences. With the award-winning BIG BANG Festival, which is established in more than a dozen countries and has been honoured with the prestigious EFFE prize for European cultural festivals, the company creates an innovative musical experience for children and young people.

Zonzo Compagnie production
In collaboration with Jeunesse, City of St. Pölten

Who, what, when, where ...

All times and productions at a glance as well as the FAQ's

To the timetable & the floor plan

Look through the Programme

Concerts to listen to and marvel at, programs to participate in and sound artworks to discover for yourself

All programmes at a glance

From 11.00 to 17.00 at the Festspielhaus St. Pölten

FEST

ZONZO Compagnie (BE)

Concert/Dance Ready for a musical rebellion? Singer Junior Akwety, sound artist Jochem Baelus and clarinettist Lotte Vanhamel are putting their fate in the hands of the young audience and calling for a revolution!
Location: Hinterbühne
Duration: 30 minutes

JUMPING JUNGLE (AT)

Group photo of Jumping Jungle, invited to the BIG BANG festival 2026. — © Julia Wesely

Concert Jumping Jungle brings fresh jazz and funk grooves to the stage. Eight young musicians, all aged between 12 and 16, take the audience on an energetic journey through jazz, soul and funk – with their own arrangements, a real zest for playing and plenty of rhythmic surprises. Location: Foyer/Ground Floor

DUVEKOT/DOVECOTE

Ghentlemen (BE)

The project "Duvekot" – the Danish word for "dovecote" – can be seen in an interior view; inside "the smallest concert hall in the world" with theatre-boxes in which handmade birds sit, and in the middle a man with headphones who is apparently listening to music. — © Marc Naesen

Concert Duvekot is Flemish and means ‘dovecote’. But this is no ordinary one! Come and be amazed by the world’s smallest concert hall and enjoy some wonderful live piano music!
Location: Front square
(in case of bad weather: foyer/ground floor)

ZOU!

Cie. Sons de Toile (FR)

Photo of the company “Sons de Toile,” two identically dressed men interacting with each other via their hands, as in their performance “Zou!,” in which body sounds become music. — © Le Studio de Jielbe

Body Percussion Working in pairs and using only their bare hands, Simon Filippi and Julien Vasnier compose live, anywhere and at any time. Inspired by the sounds of their surroundings, they use their own bodies – and the audience! – as instruments. A handful of toes, dozens of vocal cords, a host of mouths and a few pairs of ears come together to form a vast improvised orchestra.
Location: Kleiner Saal (Small Hall)
Duration: 30 minutes

SOLARIUM

L'Eau de Bain (CA)

Sound Art Installation What if we were to listen to our houseplants every now and then? Young and old alike are invited to play in a little magical garden and create various botanical harmonies.
Location: Probebühne 2 (Rehearsal Stage 2)

DIESE VÖGEL FLIEGEN NORDWÄRTS (THESE BIRDS ARE FLYING NORTH)

Serge Verstockt (BE) . Champ dAction (BE)

The photograph shows a child jumping up and down – various cages are hanging from the ceiling, with handmade birds sitting inside them. — © Dries Segers

Sound Art Installation Our foyer transforms into a giant bird aviary featuring almost 60 mechanical birds that respond to the voice of every visitor and express their delight with cheerful chirping. What an impressive cacophony of birdsong!
Location: Pleyel Foyer

CANDLELIGHT FICUS (AT)

Concert Candlelight Ficus is far more than just an evergreen houseplant! The Graz-based funk-pop band’s high-energy live shows are guaranteed to leave no stone unturned and no foot rooted to the spot: pure feel-good vibes!
Location: Großer Saal (Main Hall)
Duration: 30 minutes

CELLO FOR ONE

Jasmin Pollatschek (AT)

Atmospheric photo from the "BIG BANG Festival – Music Adventure for Young Audiences"; a girl stands in the foreground wearing a "BIG BANG" crown on her head and clapping her hands. — © Paul Stambera

Concert Cellist Jasmin Pollatschek plays just for you! You’ll be the only one there to enjoy a short, intense surprise concert.
Location: Foyer/Ground floor
Duration: 1–2 minutes

CLOUDBUSTING

ZONZO Compagnie & Aline Goffin (BE)

Photo of Aline Goffin, her fingers forming glasses in front of her eyes, an electric guitar hanging from a strap in front of her, wearing a striking glittery fringed jacket. — © Karolina Maruszak

Concert/Illusion In Cloudbusting, singer and performer Aline Goffin takes her audience on a journey through Kate Bush’s inimitable universe. Fascinating holograms accompany the music, blurring the boundaries between illusion and reality.
Location: Probebühne 1 (Rehearsal Stage 1)
Duration: approx. 15 minutes

TRAUMTELEFON LIVE (DREAM PHONE LIVE)

Philipp Parteder, Dominik Artner & Robin Gader (AT)

The young audience at the BIG BANG Festival sits eagerly on the floor awaiting the next performance. A girl in the front row claps her hands ecstatically, while a boy two seats away from her wears a BIG BANG cardboard crown. — © Paul Stambera

Staged concert/AI visuals Pyjama party at Robin’s! If only the phone wouldn’t ring non-stop and the TV didn’t know more than we do! So let’s turn the tables, stay tuned, turn it up and send our dreams on adventurous journeys on Robin’s musical wings.
Location: Probebühne 1 (Rehearsal Stage 1)
Duration: approx. 15 minutes

MOBILE TOUCH

Frank Baldé & Fedde ten Berge (BE)

Sound Art Installation A collection of innovative instruments awaits you. You don’t need years of practice; you’ll learn to play them in a fraction of a second: a gentle touch is all it takes to bring these curious inventions to life.
Location: Foyer/2nd floor

LIMUKA 4 KIDS (AT)

Live Music Karaoke Choose from 400 songs to perform live in front of an audience as the lead singer of a band. Would you rather listen or dance in the audience? Then come and enjoy a very special concert at LIMUKA 4 KIDS!
Location: Backstage
Duration: approx. 75 minutes

RÖHR'N & RIFF'N

Veronika Kulenkampff (AT)

Photo from the BIG BANG Festival, showing children and adults working together at a kind of craft table. — © Paul Stambera

Workshop Have you ever listened to the birdsong and the buzzing of insects? If so, you’ve surely noticed their wonderful symphonies and extraordinary songs. Veronika Kulenkampff, a qualified sustainability educator, will help you build an insect hotel for your garden or balcony, so that the music of nature can be heard loud and clear again!
Location: Foyer/3rd floor

FESTIVALREPORTER:INNEN (FESTIVAL REPORTERS)

Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (AT)

Photo from the BIG BANG Festival, showing a table surrounded by children and adults, with a colourful garland hanging in the background. — © Paul Stambera

Workshop In the afternoon, you’ll have the chance to share your impressions of the festival as a reporter. Professionals will be on hand to help you – and your articles will even be published on the NÖN website!
Location: Foyer/Ground floor