During my travels this summer I visited the Isle of Skye. A breathtaking place, unwordly even, unlike any other. In an effort to portray this beauty I made a video and a soundtrack entitled “Skye”. Available on all major music download and streaming services!
The Isle of Skye. It feels like they took Scotland and boiled all its beauty down and put it on a seperate island. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The island has been overrun by tourism in recent years: day trippers driving their car up to the famous landmarks, taking pictures, and leaving again. Lucky for the adventurous people among us – you’ll find solitude off the beaten path. Well, off the tarmac, that is. The Isle of Skye is home to the aptly named Skye Trail, a rural multi-day hike that takes you from one end of the island to the other.
As crowded as the roads were – so lonely and solemn was the trail. There were days I’d run into only one person going the other way. We’d exchange hello’s and inform eachother about the state of the trail up ahead. There’s something peaceful about the whole ordeal; on the trail the only world that exists is the world you can see and feel. A beautiful yellowish-green landscape of rolling hills with the occasional cliff and sudden outburt of rocks.
I left heavily packed – it was my first long solo trip. Not only that, I’d be wildcamping (my first time ever) and my food allergies mean I need to be prepared for the full trip. My backpack weighed in at a hefty 16kg. I left home with a feeling of doubt – I came back in euphoria. What I thought of as the hardest trip I’d ever make turned out to be one of the most satisfying and rewarding journeys of my life till date.
I packed my camera and came back with my camera filled with video material and a soundtrack written in my head. They boiled down scotland and made it into the Isle of Skye. I took the Isle of Skye and boiled it down to a video.
Wayfare Concerto
Wayfare Concerto was commissioned as an ouverture by the Utrecht Student Orchestra (USConcert). With little more in terms of requirements than length and instrumentation, I had total creative freedom. Wayfare Concerto is the result: a large orchestral work encompassing humanity’s fascination with the great unknown: space.
The piece is divided into three movements. The first movement, “Wanderlust”, is about the itch to go to space. To the ends of history humanity has always been fascinated by the sky and everything beyond. The second movement, “Ode to Laika”, is an ode to Laika, the dog the USSR sent to space during the infamous “space race” between the USSR and the USA. Laika died shortly after leaving Earth’s atmosphere, due to overheating and stress. The third movement, “The Journey”, resembles an actual journey into space. The hectic preparations, the launch, the weightlessness and touchdown.
Behind this all was a motivation to first and foremost write an exciting and fun piece to play for the Utrecht Student Orchestra. Wayfare Concerto will première on tour with the orchestra in Graz, Austria. The Dutch première will follow in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
For upcoming performances of Wayfare Concerto, see the concerts page.
NKK NXT 18/19
I am part of the Dutch Chamberchoir’s talent development programme, NKK NXT. I contributed to the project in many ways: I’m one of the eight singers, had a share in the concept, wrote new choral music for the choir, designed the marketing material and shared in the marketing tasks.
NKK NXT was tasked with one thing: create the choral performance of the future. For half a year with seven others Sem worked together on the concept. The result is “I Want To Be Like You”, a performance that blurs the line between what is real and fake by envisioning what role technology will have in the future of choral music. For the concept “Alex Inc.” was created, an AI wanting to be human, using the singers of NKK NXT 18/19 to find what it is to be truly human in a series of simulations.
NKK NXT 18/19 performed multiple times, including a sold out three-day concert series in Het Huis Utrecht and multiple festivals. For upcoming dates, check the concerts page.
Photography by Veerle Basitaanssen and Sem Hak.
The Distant Light
The Distant Light, commissioned by Ensemble Nieuwe Muziek, tells the story of a girl trapped inside her room. Watching the world outside in the midst of winter. Even though all the trees are barren, the sun shines through them, making them appear full of leaves.
The text was written by Elea Bekkers. Illustrations by Paul van Gemen.
De Man die afdreef op de Zee
A man wakes up on the air mattress he fell asleep on. He’s no longer on the beach – he drifts on the open sea. No land in sight. He encounters no-one, only his own fears, desires and deamons.
“De Man die afdreef op de Zee” tells the story of someone waking up in the middle ocean and is part of a three-part opera I’m writing together with Elea Bekkers. Written for chamber orchestra, one singer and an air mattress and with a playtime of around 20 minutes, this compact monodrama takes the audience on a journey through mental and phsysical heartship.
The following are excerpts from the piece, sung by Elea Bekkers.
Formations
In 2017 the Dutch Student Chamber Orchestra approached me for advice concerning an encore for their programme at the time. “Sure”, I said, “I’ll think about it for a bit”. Suggesting existing music is not really my style though, so I offered to write them a short piece that would fit their programme perfectly. “Formations” was born; an ode to the beautiful phenomenon of a flock of sterlings flying.
String Quartet no. 3
Listen to an excerpt of my third string quartet.
Performed by Dimitrijs, Sarah Lynn Huizing, Bas Ammerlaan and Berend Stumphius at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music, The Netherlands.
