Looking back on 2022/2023
The past season has been one of my busiest. Four overseas tours in four consecutive months, two première concerto performances, debut appearances of Vector Quintet and illusTrio, performances at the European Clarinet Congress and ClarinetFest in the USA, were just some of the many wonderful opportunities I had this past season. Looking ahead, there are some very exciting projects coming up!
The past season has been very productive for my duo with Dutch pianist Vera Kooper. We had many performances in the Netherlands, including a live radio appearance in the famous Spiegelzaal at the Concertgebouw, but the highlight for us was undoubtedly our two-week tour of South Africa. We gave nine concerts across the country, three days of master classes at universities and music schools, as well as a workshop to disadvantaged youths in Soweto. Although our tour schedule was jampacked, we managed to squeeze in a two-day safari getaway in Pilanesberg Game Reserve. You can watch the highlights of our tour, and hear some excerpts of our tour programme here:
Acknowledging the late composer... Giving the world première of Roelof Temmingh's clarinet concerto, which was written for me, was an incredible honour. The première performance, pictured here, was with maestro Yasuo Shinozaki and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. The following week I had the pleasure of giving a repeat performance with the Kwazulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and that time the conductor was Lykele Temmingh, the brother of the composer.
Two very exciting events were my travels to Denver, Colorado (USA) and Krakow (Poland). In Denver I was invited to perform as a headline artist in the main evening concert of the International Clarinet Association's annual event ClarinetFest (this year marked the 50th anniversary of the event). I played David Earl's clarinet concerto (dedicated to me) with the Fort Collins Symphony and maestro Wes Kenney. This performance was the American première of the piece. I also gave a recital and a master class at ClarinetFest.
In Krakow I attended the 11th Clarinet Congress of the European Clarinet Association where I performed a recital of works by female composers.
Two ensembles I co-founded during the pandemic, Vector Quintet and illusTrio, gave their debut performances this past season. One of Vector Quintet's concerts was a production with narrator titled Origin Story, in which we explore the collective past of our species, and speculate about ways in which to make sense of our future. We received a grant from the NORMA fund to make this production possible. A quick teaser of Origin Story, which we hope to perform again in coming seasons, can be seen here:
I had interviews with two magazines, Adams Magazine (read the article here: https://www.adams-music.com/magazine/uitgave_51#p20) and De Klarinet (order it here: https://deklari.net/). The photoshoot for Adams was so much fun, the photographer made me feel like a real model!
WHAT'S NEXT??
2023/2024 has some very exciting prospects. In November I will record an album with Vera Kooper for Channel Classics, on which we will play original works for clarinet and piano by female composers. A good few of these pieces have never been formally recorded before! In January of '24, I will give the European première of the Clarinet Concerto by David Earl with the VU Orkest and maestro Arjan Tien in the Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. I will also be making my solo debut in the great hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam when we give the second performance of this piece. In April Vera Kooper and I will go on an international tour again, this time to Indonesia.
Make sure you follow my journey on social media!