zaterdag 29 april 2006
dinsdag 25 april 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 so it's official now
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
so it's official now. I will be the new professor of saxophone at the Fontys Conservatory in Tilburg, next to my job in Artez. That will be two teaching days. A big change for me. But I must say, teaching young professionals in training is artistic to me. I am more of a coach than a teacher. The students theemselves are responsible for their playing and I try to show them how they can get the best out of themselves.
Friday Ailed and me will go to Mexico. Holidays! I need it! The night before the quartet will play at a provate party at Martijn Sanders' place. The luxury flyer to hand out to his guests is finished. It was quite some work, but rewarding. We're proud of it!
Friday Ailed and me will go to Mexico. Holidays! I need it! The night before the quartet will play at a provate party at Martijn Sanders' place. The luxury flyer to hand out to his guests is finished. It was quite some work, but rewarding. We're proud of it!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Sunday afternoon, at home, listening to Gould playing Bizet. Long time since I've listened to that recording. I have this periods I discover my old records and go through them all. Especially with my new speakers they sound great.
It's Easter today and yesterday I saw the beginneng of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ on tv. What a bad movie, at least, the first 20 minutes, then I fell asleap. I never fall asleap during movies, not even bad ones!
It's Easter today and yesterday I saw the beginneng of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ on tv. What a bad movie, at least, the first 20 minutes, then I fell asleap. I never fall asleap during movies, not even bad ones!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Thursday morning. ABout to go to a Escher Ensemble rehearsal. Although I quit the ensemble some time ago they asked me to do a small project in the Meervaart in Amsterdam. Why not! It's a school project and I think it will be a good experience.
Yesterday I taught at Artez. I had a good time again, the students worked well yesterday.
Not much news today...
Yesterday I taught at Artez. I had a good time again, the students worked well yesterday.
Not much news today...
Saturday, April 08, 2006
8 in the morning, saturday. 4tet rehearsal at 900 and then off the Luxemburg for a concrt on Sunday. Those Luxemburg concerts are always a lot of fun but they break the week using two days.
Yesterday we had the presentation of the first draft of the new graphic material by artmiks (www.artmiks.nl). It will be very nice! A lot of money but I think it's worth it!
Also,
if you have nothing to do tonight, check out my good friend Ivo Bol, he's got a performance tonight in Korzo Den Haag, www.ivobol.nl.
Yesterday we had the presentation of the first draft of the new graphic material by artmiks (www.artmiks.nl). It will be very nice! A lot of money but I think it's worth it!
Also,
if you have nothing to do tonight, check out my good friend Ivo Bol, he's got a performance tonight in Korzo Den Haag, www.ivobol.nl.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Very busy these days. Arranging a lot of stuff with our new management in the States. A fantastic opportunity for us to play abroad, something we've always wanted and we've been looking for. They're great people with a lot of heart for music and very enthusiastic. They're really putting a lot of effort into it (www.concertartists.org). In the mean time I haven't had the time to put time into my new CD. One of these weeks should work finally.
Also, I ad an invitation to teach in Venezuela, which will be a lot of fun I think. They can pay for my flight, that's very nice and I just love to go there. Preferably with Ailed of course! I have to find a date to go there but they urged me to come soon.
In the mean time I am teaching at the Artez Conservatory, as a regular professor of saxophone now. A steady jod, who would have thought. I love to teach, but I still have to find out a lot of things. The students are great and hard workers for the most part.
The quartet isa going well. We've had coaching to work better together as a team and I feel that has been very helpfull for us. The coach, Peter Hellema was great. We needed some input from the outside. Now musically we will explore more things also. We have made an appointment with Pieter van Dijk for a lesson in Sweelinck and Bach. Pieter is a great organplayer in Alkmaar. He also teaches at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and he has great students. We have worked with him before in his festival in Alkmaar and that was always a lot of fun.
Also, I ad an invitation to teach in Venezuela, which will be a lot of fun I think. They can pay for my flight, that's very nice and I just love to go there. Preferably with Ailed of course! I have to find a date to go there but they urged me to come soon.
In the mean time I am teaching at the Artez Conservatory, as a regular professor of saxophone now. A steady jod, who would have thought. I love to teach, but I still have to find out a lot of things. The students are great and hard workers for the most part.
The quartet isa going well. We've had coaching to work better together as a team and I feel that has been very helpfull for us. The coach, Peter Hellema was great. We needed some input from the outside. Now musically we will explore more things also. We have made an appointment with Pieter van Dijk for a lesson in Sweelinck and Bach. Pieter is a great organplayer in Alkmaar. He also teaches at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and he has great students. We have worked with him before in his festival in Alkmaar and that was always a lot of fun.
vrijdag 31 maart 2006
vrijdag 10 maart 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006 Thursdaymorning today, my sister's birthday w...
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Thursdaymorning today, my sister's birthday which we will celebrate tonight in Manzano, a Spanish restaurant on the Rozengracht.
Wilders wants to take the anti discrimination article of our constitution and replace it by an article that confirms the Christian humanistic and Jewish dominance in our society. He wants 'us' t o be proud of our country again... My God... I can hardly belive this shit...
I am aranging a prelude and fugue by Bach for saxophone quartet, this time in major, we have too many minor pieces already and this seems to work... It's a lot of work though, 10 minutes of music.
This week Residentie Orchestra with Blood on the Floor by Turnage, very good music and excellend soloists: Peter Erskine, Jesse van Ruller and David Kweksilber.
In August I will be a soloist with the New Cool Collective, and I might just play a solo version of Grab It XXL. I'll keep everyone inofrmed, it will be exciting!
Wilders wants to take the anti discrimination article of our constitution and replace it by an article that confirms the Christian humanistic and Jewish dominance in our society. He wants 'us' t o be proud of our country again... My God... I can hardly belive this shit...
I am aranging a prelude and fugue by Bach for saxophone quartet, this time in major, we have too many minor pieces already and this seems to work... It's a lot of work though, 10 minutes of music.
This week Residentie Orchestra with Blood on the Floor by Turnage, very good music and excellend soloists: Peter Erskine, Jesse van Ruller and David Kweksilber.
In August I will be a soloist with the New Cool Collective, and I might just play a solo version of Grab It XXL. I'll keep everyone inofrmed, it will be exciting!
Monday, March 13, 2006
yet another entry!
Yesterday we finally booked our trip to the US. We won't start in Atlanta and travel to LA in 22 days. That was too much we found out :-) We'll start in Denver and travel in a circle to Utah and California. We'll go to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Frisco, La, vinyards and everything that we'll encounter in the mean time.
Yesterday we finally booked our trip to the US. We won't start in Atlanta and travel to LA in 22 days. That was too much we found out :-) We'll start in Denver and travel in a circle to Utah and California. We'll go to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Frisco, La, vinyards and everything that we'll encounter in the mean time.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
that was a long time ago. A lot has happened. I've been in NY with my quartet and things went well. We participated in the Concert Artists Guild Competition and we were winners of the CAG Comp. 2006! We also won the audience prize. The prize includes at least two years management in the US. We will make our debute in Carnegy Hall, NY next season. From 2007-2008 we will make some tours through the States every year like three. Really exciting.NY was great too. Next to Amsterdam the greatest city in the world! We heard some exciting jazz concerts and walked around ther city. The best part of the city is Greenwich Village. The most European part of the town. Very young and cosy, lots of retstaurants and good athmosphere.
dinsdag 14 februari 2006
zondag 5 februari 2006
Monday, February 13, 2006 Blog: In the train to Arnhem, on my way to m...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Blog:
In the train to Arnhem, on my way to my new job. Sounds funny, that I've got a job. Until August I am hoofvakdocent (professor of saxophone) saxofoon at the Artez Conservatory in Arnhem. I am substituting for a sick teacher. I've always been dependent on free-lance income and starters subsidy for artists. This job is a lot of fun. There are not many students but they work hard in general. I have to get used to them and to the teaching in general. And of course they have to get used to me :-)
Today I read more about the cartoon thing. Ridiculous shit going on, excusez le mot! I almost can't believe it, it's to surreal. And it's actually happening. This morning someone said on TV that this wasn't about religion. I guess it would be about politics then?
If you have time: go check out Niels' concert in Hengelo in the Waterstaatskerk on February 17th. Niels is my good friend and colleague. A master saxophonist in every sense of the word. He will play a very interesting programme on the tenor saxophone, his favorite saxophone, and the most lyrical of all saxophones. I think he's right in that. The tenor is one of my favorites also. Maybe the most favorite. The tenor has something so typical and so seducing, almost erotic. Take the Bolero solo for example! The soprano exactly the same notes but they sound so much sexier on the tenor!
11 Feb. Saturday
We played at the Nederlandse Muziekdagen yesterday. We played well I think. There were some reviewers. Let's see what and of they'll write on Monday. The hall was sold out, that was great.
We played Andriessen's Facing Death for the first time and we did quite ok. We need to plat it more. But there's a problem. The piece is a rental, and the costs are too high for us to pay them ourselves. I am going to try to talk to the publisher to see if we can arrange something. Also, I think it is very bad system, the result is that we won't play pieces that are rentals. Contemporary music is hard enough to program already! I am also writing an open letter to Dutch organizations to tell them what us going on.
In the train to Arnhem, on my way to my new job. Sounds funny, that I've got a job. Until August I am hoofvakdocent (professor of saxophone) saxofoon at the Artez Conservatory in Arnhem. I am substituting for a sick teacher. I've always been dependent on free-lance income and starters subsidy for artists. This job is a lot of fun. There are not many students but they work hard in general. I have to get used to them and to the teaching in general. And of course they have to get used to me :-)
Today I read more about the cartoon thing. Ridiculous shit going on, excusez le mot! I almost can't believe it, it's to surreal. And it's actually happening. This morning someone said on TV that this wasn't about religion. I guess it would be about politics then?
If you have time: go check out Niels' concert in Hengelo in the Waterstaatskerk on February 17th. Niels is my good friend and colleague. A master saxophonist in every sense of the word. He will play a very interesting programme on the tenor saxophone, his favorite saxophone, and the most lyrical of all saxophones. I think he's right in that. The tenor is one of my favorites also. Maybe the most favorite. The tenor has something so typical and so seducing, almost erotic. Take the Bolero solo for example! The soprano exactly the same notes but they sound so much sexier on the tenor!
11 Feb. Saturday
We played at the Nederlandse Muziekdagen yesterday. We played well I think. There were some reviewers. Let's see what and of they'll write on Monday. The hall was sold out, that was great.
We played Andriessen's Facing Death for the first time and we did quite ok. We need to plat it more. But there's a problem. The piece is a rental, and the costs are too high for us to pay them ourselves. I am going to try to talk to the publisher to see if we can arrange something. Also, I think it is very bad system, the result is that we won't play pieces that are rentals. Contemporary music is hard enough to program already! I am also writing an open letter to Dutch organizations to tell them what us going on.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Almost Nederlandse muziekdagen in Vredenburg. Exciting stuff. A very hard programme with de Man, Keuris, Andriessen and Germanus. We had a rehearsal with Andriessen in which he said some remarkable thing: he wanted us to play less loud and slower!Go check it out if there are still tickets
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)