My new group premiers this year in Paradox!

January 15 is the official premier of my new group RIOT in Paradox Tilburg during the Fontys Academy of Music & Performing Arts Nederlands Saxofoon Festival with saxophonist/clarinettist/composer Maarten Ornstein and percussionist/composer Bart de Vrees. We are in the process of writing new music as we speak. https://paradoxtilburg.nl/programma/riot-paradox-nls-saxofoonfestival/ It's a very exciting time in which I am rerouting my career to new paths and exploring the edges of styles. ‘RIOT’ is the final concert of the Netherlands Saxophone Festival organized by the AMPA Fontys Conservatory. Saxophonist Ties Mellema, professor of saxophone at AMPA, put together a program that marks the start of a new phase in his career. He will do this together with his new group ‘RIOT’ with saxophonist/clarinettist/composer Maarten Ornstein, percussionist/composer Bart de Vrees and students of the AMPA Conservatory in Tilburg. ‘RIOT’ will premier in jazz club Paradox in Tilburg. Ties, Maarten en Bart are members of the groundbreaking musicians collective ‘Splendor’ in Amsterdam. But their past goes back years. Ties and Bart played together in the Concertgebouw Orchestra and Maarten composed many important solo and ensemble works for Ties. In the mean time the three artists developed themselves, each on their own path. Ties decided to bring them together in a new group called ‘RIOT’ that unites their musical backgrounds into one. In Paradox Tilburg ‘RIOT’ will play new pieces that the trio made together inspired by music of Squarepusher, Boards Of Canada, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Eddie Harris, Johann Sebastian Bach, Aphex Twin, John Coltrane, Claude Debussy, and many others. An evening with soundscapes, sheets of sound, beats, improvisation and above all, everything in between.

International Saxophone Masterclass 26/27 March

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES THE AMATEUR WORKSHOP IS CANCELLED ON 27 MARCH

The International Splendor Saxophone Masterclass
for conservatory students and amateurs

FB events here: https://www.facebook.com/events/387810688458490/ (Tuesday); https://www.facebook.com/events/2075680829134341/ (Wednesday); https://www.facebook.com/events/227608594814285/ (presentation concert, Wednesday evening) (application form in Dutch below) On March 26 th and 27th the Amsterdam concert Hall Splendor will be turned into an international saxophone feast. The Axes Saxophone Quartet (Niels Bijl (NL), Fernando Ramos (PT), Jay Byrnes (AUS) and Ties Mellema (NL)) wil be playing and teaching in the Netherlands. A.o. They will teach a masterclass and do a workshop in Splendor. The activities will be open for conservatory students (bachelor and master) and amateurs. 26 March daytime will be the masterclass day for the students. 27 March daytime will be the workshop for amateurs. 27 March evening will be the presentation of a selection of the students, the saxophone ensemble and the Axes Quartet. Costs: 26 March: 75 per lesson (one hour), 50 for the second lesson. (entrance to the evening concert on 27 included) (ex. VAT/BTW) 27 March: 60,- per participant for the day (including the evening concert). (incl. VAT/BTW) 27 March, Concert at 20:15: 10,- Schedule: 26 March, 10:00-1700: Masterclasses for conservatory students by Niels, Fernando, Jay and Ties in separate rooms in Splendor. 27 March, 10:00-17:00: 10:00-11:15 Individual masterclasses in groups 11.15-12.30 - small ensembles. Every teacher will teach an either existing group or a newly formed group (in that case Axes will make sure there is sheet music) 12.30 lunch 13:30-14:30: Axes Saxophone Orchestra made up of participants rehearsal 14:30-16:00: Lectures and Q&A with Axes (how to practice, technique basics, sight reading skills, special saxophone techniques, improvisation) 16:00- 16:30 small ensembles play for each other in the Big Hall of Splendor 16:30-170:00 final Axes Saxophone Orchestra rehearsal 27 March, 20:15 Final presentation concert in Splendor, Amsterdam *A selection of the masterclass students of Tuesday and Wednesday *Axes Quartet *Saxophone Orchestra with participants (Participants fee is including entrance to this concert if you play during the concert. If not the entrance for participants is 3,50)

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About the international Axes Saxophone Quartet Niels Bijl (NL) Niels Bijl centered his musical life around versatility, enthusiasm and making music at a high level. Niels is a driving force behind the development of new repertory for tenor saxophone, the founder of the Axes Quartet, the Baritone institute, co-founder of the Four Baritones, baritone saxophone quartet and an old music specialist with his duo with Ronald Moelker. He is also active in musical theater with actor René Groothof and accordeonist Nico-Jan Beckers (Rood Verlangen). Niels is chamber music coach for the Academia Musica, a private tutor and an esteemed guest teacher at conservatories all over the world. Fernando Ramos (PT) Fernando Ramos is a distinguished Portuguese-based saxophonist. He performs regularly throughout Europe, Latin America and Australasia. As a prominent educator, he tutored a whole a new generation of saxophonists from Portugal and various parts of the globe. He regularly gives workshops and masterclass for all types of sax enthusiasts - from the amateur aficionado to professionals. A graduate from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Fernando is the resident saxophonist of the Oporto Symphony Orchestra and frequently collaborates in projects with the Remix Ensemble and the Casa da Música’s educational department. He teaches at the prestigious Porto Superior School of Music and Performing Arts - (ESMAE) as well as the University of Aveiro. A member of KinetixDuo, QuadQuartet, STP|trio, ~Grain[z] ensembles, he also established the sax ensemble FLUX Collective. Jay Byrnes (AUS) Saxophonist, Arranger and Educator Jay Byrnes, is one of the most pre-eminent faces in the Australian music scene.Jay is acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and rigorous attention to stylistic performance. His passion is to guide students of all ages and levels in the art of music performance. Saxophone Lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of music and baritone saxophonist of Nexas Quartet. www.jaybyrnessax.com Ties Mellema (NL) Ties Mellema is not only one of Holland's most prominent saxophonists. He is also an arranger, composer and sound creator. Ties is always looking for new directions in his playing and performance. He has been active in the field of music theatre, electronic music, pop music, jazz music, world music and much more. As a saxophonist he won several prizes, as a soloist like the Netherlands Music Prize (the most important prize a Dutch musician can win) the Vriendenkrans van het Concertgebouw, and as a member of the famous Amstel Quartet, like the New York Concert Artists Guild Award and the Gaudeamus Competition. Ties has played and taught all over the world, from the Amsterdam Concertgebouw to Siberia and from Carnegie Hall to Tokyo. www.tiesmellema.nl _______________________________________ Aanmeldingsformulier (stuur dit naar Ties Mellema op Facebook, cut en paste onderstaande tekst) Ik meld me hierbij aan voor de Axes Saxophone Workshop op 26 en 27 maart in Splendor Amsterdam. Naam: ……………………………………………………….. Adres: ……………………………………………………….. Postcode: ……………………………………………….. Stad: ……………………………………………………….. Emailadres:.................................................. Ik ben vakstudent (26 maart)/liefhebber (27 maart): Ik wil graag … lessen. Ik zou in ieder geval graag les hebben van: …………………………………….. Welk repertoire ga je spelen?: Welke saxofoons speel je?: *Indien van toepassing: Ik meld mij aan met een ensemble: Naam ensemble: Leden ensemble: Bezetting: Opmerkingen: (Wij proberen iedereen zoveel mogelijk in te delen bij de docent van hun voorkeur, maar kunnen dat niet garanderen.) Wij sturen je een bevestiging en voordat de workshop begint een factuur voor het verschuldigde bedrag.

Music: advice needed!

Hey guys,

This year I am hard resetting my body. One of the things that is going on is that I am rediscovering music. I started watching Netflix last year but i got fed up with it in November. Then I started listening to music again. Since five years until November I hardly listened to music. In November I got myself a Spotify subscription and have been discovering all kinds of new (new for me) music. But also music that I knew with new ears. It's been an adventure. 

I started with John Coltrane (https://open.spotify.com/album/4vIJFprkZ7vyN6nhcBgQmG), Sonny Rollins (https://open.spotify.com/album/4lZ0JM0RUD4jddNbD63O7b) and Hank Mobley (https://open.spotify.com/album/2prCz4HRmedo4uyhAtXX9Q). 

A whole new world opened to me. So it seemed. I always enjoyed the energy of these saxophonists of course. But their energy seemed to hit a different spot now. It seemed to go deeper. 

Now I have been listening to Jürg Frey (https://open.spotify.com/album/7tU4Y1ak1TVAv6Rdr7zE9H) 

and David Lang ((https://open.spotify.com/album/0tvI3qVV6BYbj12cGnNArr).

And this is me new for me. I've always listened a bit to minimal music. I've always enjoyed Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich (https://open.spotify.com/album/3lNs2UnRog90lU3dusjkWK) but now there is more going on. My taste for minimal music seems to be coming from a yearning for tranquility and quietness.  And this is very new to me. It's new that musical taste seems to be dependent on my mood and on what I need spiritually. And I have to get used to the fact that my taste can be very different at the end of the day than when i get up. It always was  a too 19th century notion to me that I need to be in a certain mood for a certain type of music. Good music is good music, right? No!

A friend told me some months ago that there is only one type of music: good music. I do not agree (today...). There is music that I connect with on a certain moment, depending on my emotional state. And sometimes it's not the best music. But it's music that hits a certain spot in me. 

My question for you is: can you advise me any music to listen to based on my current preference for the minimal music of Jürg Frey and David Lang?

Please post them in the comments. 

Thanks!

Ties