Orkest De Ereprijs Concert

29 January (Wednesday)

7:30 pm | Walter Hall

Free admission

Curated by Norbert Palej

Program

Synopsis*

Klas Torstensson 

Rumba Ingombra

Christopher Trapani 

Thin Air** 

Calliope Tsoupaki

Hajiani Reality Music No1.

Reza Vali 

Organism* 

Nicoline Soeter

Gershwin & fire

John Krosrud 

Modular 4 for Fourteen* 

Seung-Won Oh

Hussy

Trevor Grahl 

* commissioned by Orkest De Ereprijs with support of Fonds Podiumkunsten 
** commissioned by Wonderfeel, won Matthijs Vermeulenprijs 

Biography

Orkest de Ereprijs performs works by living composers, as well as interdisciplinary projects by a diverse group of creators in genres such as dance, theatre and film. We commission young composers with professional pieces for our orchestra and perform these in The Netherlands and internationally, in order to support young talent. So far, we have commissioned over four hundred compositions. Our assignments and concerts are often multidisciplinary, involving singers, instrumentalists, electronic art, dance, theatre and film.

Our orchestra is the ensemble for contemporary music in the East of the Netherlands. We collaborate with many partners and take our place as a living instrument focusing on interdisciplinarity, education, talent development and innovation. Through this perspective, we have gained a unique and renowned position within young composed music world-wide. We reach a broad and diverse audience: young and old, connoisseurs and professionals, insiders and outsiders.

Gregory Charette has been conductor at De Ereprijs since 2021. Among other projects, he conducts the annual Young Composers Meeting, the yearly Andriessen Festival, re-Generation concert series and education projects with ArtEZ, University of the Arts.

Gregory is deeply committed to the performance and promotion of new music. In addition to his work with De Ereprijs, he is a regular guest conductor with ASKO | Schönberg and Collegium Novum Zürich, among other ensembles.

Swedish-Dutch composer Klas Torstensson (1951) has lived in the Netherlands since 1973. He has written music for a variety of settings: soloists, ensembles and orchestras. 

His opera The Expedition, about a tragic Arctic expedition in 1897, was premiered at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam during the 1999 Holland Festival. 

He has written several vocal works for the soprano Charlotte Riedijk, including Urban Solo/Urban Songs (with the Asko Ensemble), In großer Sehnsucht (with the Osiris Piano Trio) and L’autunno di Christina (with Riga Sinfonietta). 

His latest orchestral piece – City Imprints – premiered in Amsterdam and Gothenburg in November 2023. 

Christopher Trapani studied composition and poetry at Harvard College (USA), composition at Royal College of Music (UK), received his doctorate from Columbia (USA), and studied microtonality in Ottoman music in Istanbul and worked at the IRCAM (FR). Trapani still has strong roots in his native New Orleans. An almost elusive blend of European and American aesthetics that, created as if in a blender, leads to snatches of romantic horns, Delta blues, Appalachian folk songs, foxtrot, “shoegaze” guitar effects, Turkish makam and spectral sculptures of harmony. His explicit preference for intonation, microtonality and timbre causes remarkable ‘customizing’ of both familiar and exotic instruments. To his compositions, you must additionally add a study of literature, use of electronics, many awards, a musical body of work and chairs such as those at John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He calls himself an American-Italian composer. This “footprint” is (un)imitable! 

Calliope Tsoupaki, a Greek-Dutch composer based in Amsterdam, harmoniously blends Eastern and Western influences in her contemplative and spiritually infused compositions. Her music reflects her Greek heritage and passion for both early and contemporary music, resulting in a distinctive, timeless style. Trained at the Hellinicon Conservatory in Athens and under Louis Andriessen in the Netherlands, Tsoupaki has crafted over 100 works, spanning solo pieces to orchestral compositions, dance, theater, opera, and multimedia projects. Praised for its melodic warmth and emotional depth, her music has been described as “dizzyingly beautiful” by The New York Times. 

Reza Vali was born in Ghazvin, Iran, in 1952. He began his music studies at the Conservatory of Music in Tehran. In 1972 he went to Austria and studied music education and composition at the Academy of Music in Vienna. After graduating from the Academy of Music, he moved to the United States and continued his studies at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his Ph.D. in music theory and composition in 1985. Mr. Vali has been a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. Vali’s orchestral compositions have been performed in the United States by the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestra 2001. His chamber works have received performances by Cuarteto Latinoamericano, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Carpe Diem String Quartet, Kronos Quartet, the Seattle Chamber Players, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. His music has been performed in Europe, China, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Australia and is recorded on the Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, New Albion, MMC, Ambassador, Albany, and ABC Classics labels. 

Nicoline Soeter composes contemporary music for acoustic and electronically amplified instruments. Her compositions are particularly imaginative in sound; characterized by original inventions in harmony and instrument choice. 
Nicoline Soeter recently composed new works for Orkest De Ereprijs, Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (NAP), soprano Juliet Fraser & Explore Ensemble (commissioned November Music) and mezzo-soprano Barbara Kozelj. In Ensemble VONK she works as composer and artistic director directly with the musicians or as co-creator in a production with other composers and theater makers. She has previously written compositions for, among others, Erik Bosgraaf, Heleen Hulst and An Raskin, Toeac and Klaartje van Veldhoven, Tiptoe Company and Ensemble 306. She worked with directors Annechien Koerselman and Robin Coops and was coached by Joep van der Geest on the performance GROND, a co-production of Ensemble VONK & Het Zuidelijk Toneel. 
Nicoline Soeter won the Art and Philosophy prize from bkkc, Tilburg University and Avans Hogescholen in 2013. Her work has been performed at festivals such as November Music, Grachtenfestival, Oranjewoud Festival, Gaudeamus, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK) and Transit Festival (BE) and programmed at music venues such as Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, TivoliVredenburg, Stadsgehoorzaal Leiden, Philharmonie Haarlem and Muziekgebouw Eindhoven. 

John Korsrud is a trumpetist composer and orchestral conductor from Vancouver. 

He has received commissions from the Vancouver Symphony, the CBC Orchestra and several Dutch ensembles, including LOOS, Combustion Chamber and the Tetzepi Big-tet. His 17- members Hard Rubber Orchestra, founded in 1990 toured Europe, Canada and released several CDs. 

John often creates multi-media shows, like “The Ice Age: The World’s First New Music Ice Show” (Kerrisdale Arena, 2000). This featured the 17-piece orchestra, 12 ice dancers (including Canadian champion, Emanuel Dandhu), ice hockey players, curling players, video and choreography with an ice machine.  

John completed his studies at the University of British Columbia in 1990 and studied with Louis Andriessen at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague from 1995-1997. 

Seung-Won Oh 

A native of South Korea, Seung-Won Oh is an acclaimed composer who was described as “a name to remember”(2003) in the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant writing about her first professional commission work for a percussion sextet, DaDeRimGill. 

Oh’s background is as varied as her accolades. She began her studies at Korea’s Ewha Woman’s University, where she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. She went on to earn her Ph.D in the United States, at Brandeis University, before her studies led to Louis Andrissen’s tutelage at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. It was during her time in the Netherlands that she began to explore the rich musical traditions of her own heritage which enabled her to quickly establish her musical identity and the reputation as a composer. 

The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation at the Bellagio Center, the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship through the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Barlow Endowment for music composition, Oh is celebrated both in her home country and abroad: at the 3rd Seoul International Competition for Composers she received both first prize and the audience prize. In 2007, she won third prize for the Lutoslawski Award in Poland, and was the winner of the 2010 Toonzetters award given to the best Dutch contemporary composition of the year. In 2023 with YeonDo, she won the Kees van Baarenprijs awarded to a significant orchestral work or music-theatrical work. 

Seung-Won Oh has taught at Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Florida at Gainesville, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, DePaul University in Chicago and Royal Conservatory of the Hague. Since 2021, she has been a full time composer. 

Trevor Grahl (b. 1984, Canada) studied composition, electronic music and piano at McGill University, followed by a Masters in composition at the University of California. A second Master followed at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Richard Ayres.  

Grahl’s compositions are characterized by multiple layers and the influence of “other musics” that form an integral structural factor in his work. Works by Grahl have been performed in North America, Europe and Asia by the Ives Ensemble, Asko|Schönberg, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Orchestra, among others. Having already received several accolades, Grahl’s composition Sockamagee! was winner at Young Composers Meeting 2010 of orchestra’s honorary award. 

In addition to his work as a composer, Grahl also performs as timpanist and organist and for this he worked with Guiliano Bracci and the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra, among others. He also teaches composition and orchestration at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.  

** 

Synopsis – Klas Torstensson 
Synopsis is a composition dating from 2023, written at the Orkest De Ereprijs’ request for its “Museum Tour”. The Kröller-Müller Museum, the theme of this composition, is an art museum located near the Dutch village of Otterlo. In the words of the composer: 

“The museum garden of Kröller-Müller makes an overwhelming impression even from the entrance: a beautiful, expansive, beautifully situated park, and sculpture garden. In the middle of, or next to, lawns lined with rhododendron bushes, the sculptures loom up. Each of the sculptures is beautiful, intriguing or imposing. 

Some artifacts attract strong attention as “interventions in nature,” others invite contemplation, while still others are pushed away by their surroundings or, on the contrary, by the emphatic presence of neighboring sculptures. 

Rather than making one specific image the subject of my composition for The Prize of Honor, I decided early on to make the museum park as a whole – and the way I had (re)experienced the park in 2022 – the subject. Sound plains and rolling hills, with sound objects placed at irregular intervals in time.
 A leading role is played by the Rietveld pavilion: clean lines frame planes of varying texture or granularity. These surfaces are interrupted by percussive chords.” 

Rumba Ingombra – Christopher Trapani 

Rumba Ingombra (Encumbered Rumba) begins as a dense, propulsive polyrhythmic dance and ends six minutes later as a soggy lament. 

Everything that feels light at first becomes increasingly heavy: activity is supplanted by stasis, the harmonic rhythm slows to a crawl. There are references throughout to familiar sounds of wind and harmony orchestras: the patter hits of son and salsa, big band swells, the processions of Sicily and Malta during Holy Week. 

A duet on two trombones leads the explosive opening section. After an overactive minute, staccato attacks step into the background structure under muted brass chorales. A stuck groove in the reeds drags the tempo down further, until a bass drum and cymbal introduce an even icier tempo. A minor tune from a marching band melts together before disappearing in a wave of white noise in the wind and cymbals. 

Thin Air – Calliope Tsoupaki 

Tsoupaki served as the Composer Laureate of the Netherlands from 2018 to 2021, addressing social issues through her musical creations. Her composition “Thin Air,” created in response to the pandemic, earned her the prestigious Matthijs Vermeulen Composition Prize in July 2021 and has been performed worldwide over 50 times. 

Hajiani Reality Music No1. – Reza Vali 

Hajiani, Relity Music No. 1 was originally written for the Karnâ (Persian oboe) and electronics and I have made a version for the alto saxophone and electronics. The piece consists of two Persian bagpipes (Neyanbân), the sounds of which are projected through the speakers, accompanying the live performance of the alto sax. All three instruments play the same music. However, they are about eight seconds apart from each other thus creating a three-voices canon. 

Organism – Nicoline Soeter 

Nature often plays a role in my work. In the composition ‘Organism’ I wanted to express the 

theme of connection in relation to nature. I wanted to write music in which fourteen 

instrumentalists sound together like a living organism. In recent years I have often been 

inspired by a view of nature in which humans do not dominate their environment but are 

consciously part of it. 

Gershwin & fire – John Krosrud 

‘Gershwin & Fire’ is a piece based on the words Earth, Wind & Fire ( the funk band of the 1970s). Hence, this piece is a little funk, a little jazzy and a little classical. 

Modular 4 for Fourteen – Seung-Won Oh 

The composition that is flexible but not entirely indeterminate has been in my mind for a long time. For me, the flexibility should address the issue of an ever-changing line-up (involved instruments), duration as well as the characteristics of the performing environment. 

The development of modular composition has been powered by this need and initiative. 
In the Modular composition series, the final work is essentially another level of composition 
that is produced by putting together carefully chosen pre-written music from the gamut to express certain musical goals of the designated performance. The gamut consists of varying degrees of written materials encompassing fundamental elements such as pitch, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, line/melody, timbre, motives, gestures, solo passages, modules (ensemble excerpts), etc. The compositional process of Modular Series is unique: first, the primary components are composed based on the pre-harmonic scheme and type of sound profile of the work. The final design of the entire composition is put together only after considering the involved instruments, duration of composition, and nature of the performing stage. 

Modular 4 for Fourteen is the fourth work of the Modular composition series. The air sound and microtonal pitch bend in repeating units encourages personalized interpretation. 
Further, these gestures are duplicated in other instruments unsynchronized. Naturally, the intended un-synchronization of similar gestures not only creates a traditional sense of contrapuntal 

relationship between the layers but also the rich timbral texture. 
The players in Modular composition are the co-architect of composition: the parts provide a clear direction of musical goal but minimal information for music to operate. The players fill in and add flesh to grow and ripen to the full flavor of the final product. 

Reflecting the strong identity of Orkést Ereprijs, Modular 4 for Fourteen is composed for three groups 
in the orchestra: two similar-sounding quintets (group 1 and group 2) emulates personal and musical take on the relationship between object and its shadow. Group 3 remains steadfast in drone-like ostinato forming a distant connection to the other groups. By the end of time travel, group 1 and group 2 swap their positions, hence raising the question of what are the ultimate object and true shadow. 
Are they absolute or relative? 

Hussy – Trevor Grahl 

Hussy is a free transcription of “Shipoopi”, a song and dance number from Meredith Wilson’s American musical comedy The Music Man from 1957. I had a close association with this musical since my childhood, and felt compelled to create this work not only out of an old love for the original music and dance, but also since I’ve recently been re-visiting various musical experiences of my youth in order to ponder possible connections to my musical language and interests today. The transcription incorporates various kinds of material from both Broadway and film versions: direct, unambiguous quotation drawn directly from the source material; material in which the source has been has been used as a basis for transformation into another type of material; and finally, freely composed material inspired by, but not necessarily related to the source. Through these different articulations of material, I wanted to create a dramaturgy which would capture and in some sense, pervert the glorious extravagance and excess gesture so abundant in this number. 

I found my creativity remarkably stirred by encouragement from my teacher Richard Ayres, constantly urging students to undergo musical self-examinations and, put simply, to ‘do what they want’, without fuss. Additionally, early discussions about the idea of composition as transcription with Michael Finnissy proved extremely rich, leading to new possibilities affecting my musical thought and the way I perceive musical form. Finally, (and perhaps most importantly), I was intensely stimulated by the sharing of 

hilarious, albeit serious, observations with Matthew Ricketts on the nature of excess and extravagance  inherent in the dramaturgy of Shipoopi. It is to him that I dedicate this work. 

About the title: ‘Hussy’, a rather archaic word for a woman considered brazen or immoral, is taken from the first line of Shipoopi: Now, a woman who’ll kiss on the very first date is usu’ly a hussy/And a woman who’ll kiss on the second time out is anything but fussy. Rather than view it as a base insult, I find a humorous connotation in the word’s anachronism, and its onomatopoeia. 

Published