photos : Kurt Van der Elst
Dick van der Harst
(° 1959) is a musician, arranger and composer. He has been composer in residence at LOD since 1989. Van der Harst has created music theatre productions with among others Thierry Salmon, Guy Cassiers, Alain Platel and more recently with Eric De Volder. His first collaborative effort in 2004 with Walloon Director Dominique Roodthooft resulted in "l'opéra bègue/the stutter opera". In addition to his work in theatre music, Van der Harst writes music for his own ensembles (including Audible Life Stream) and for others (Oxalys, Quatuor Danel.).In 2001, Dick van der Harst was awarded the Louis Paul Boon Prize "for his societal commitment and the bond with mankind that can be found in his entire oeuvre." In "Achter 't eten" he takes a new step in his search for the ultimate in music theatre, theatre in which differences between the character that speaks and the character that sings disappear. For this he, together with Eric De Volder, was awarded the Grote Theaterfestival Prijs in 2004.
His most recent music theatre production "Stories of Europe - The Attendants' Gallery", a creation together with actor/director Koen De SutterPeople from countries in the margin of our continent were set on stage to express by word and song their stories and to share their cultural identities with each other and the audience.
In the popular "Het huis der verborgen muziekjes II" ("The house of the hidden little music II"), Dick brings together different musical cultures and by their meeting and interaction, he initiates the creation of a new musical language.
For the CD "Gloria", the composer collected Christmas and St. Nicholas songs from our regions and from the cultural traditions of the Latin-American, Italian and Turkish communities of Ghent. He combined them in a most original way and adapted them for the voices of Paola Bartoletti, Anna Pardo Canedo, Melike Tarhan & Els Van Laethem and for bandoneon, clarinet, bass clarinet and cello. In May 2008, the song cyclus "Cara Mia" travelled past numerous chapels in the agglomeration of Ghent.
From 2006 until 2008 Dick van der Harst was named city composer of Ghent.
The Nieuw Gents Stadsblazerscollectief
was founded by Dick van der Harst at his appointment as city composer of Ghent in 2006. Apart from the composer, the ensemble consists of four other musicians. Starting out from the openness and freedom in chamber music, clarinet player Jean-Philippe Poncin makes excursions to jazz, contemporary music and rock. The last three years, apart from his work as clarinet teacher, he has mostly been working for LOD where he collaborated in several projects of composer Dick van der Harst: "Dakrisména Poulià", "l'Opéra bègue/Stotteropera", the brass band "Banda Azufaifo", "Het huis der verborgen muziekjes II" ("The House of the Hidden Little Music II") and "Stories of Europe - The Attendants' Gallery".Also playing the clarinet is Kurt Budé, who played numerous times in LOD productions such as "l'Opéra bègue/Stotteropera" and "The Attendants' Gallery - Stories of Europe". Apart from this, Kurt is also composer-arranger and teacher.
On percussions, the Nieuw Gents Blazerscollectief can count on Wim Konink, who, apart from head teacher percussions at the Conservatory of Ghent, also plays in different music genres and disciplines such as music and dance theatre (e.g. for LOD he played in "Banda Azufaifo", "Stories of Europe - The Attendants' Gallery" and "Yerma vraagt een toefeling"), as well as in classical/contemporary and improvised music (e.g. together with Quatuor Danel and Marcel Andriessen).
Michiel Weidner, one of the founders of the Nieuw Sinfionetta Amsterdam, is guest musician with the ensemble and can be heard on cello and cymbalon. Michiel arranges, initiates chamber music projects, works in the field of music education and music theatre, and combines this wide range of activities into one homogenous whole. For LOD, he plaid in "The Sand of Time", "Ver van huis" ("Far Away From Home"), "Saudade", "De Zeven Hoofdzonden" ("The Seven Capital Sins") and "De Vuurvogel" ("The Bird of Fire").
Zefiro Torna
The Flemish vocal-instrumental ensemble Zefiro Torna was founded in 1996. Its allegorical name refers to the way in which the mythological god of the west wind, Zephyrus, manages to chase the bitter winter away year after year. This myth served as a source of inspiration for many poets and composers in the middle ages, the renaissance and the baroque. Zefiro Torna consists of Els Van Laethem, Cécile Kempenaers (vocals), Liam Fennelly (viola da gamba, viol), and Jurgen De Bruyn (lute, guitar and artistic direction); musicians who have won their spurs in ensembles such as the Huelgas ensemble, Collegium Vocale, Capilla Flamenca en Het Muziek Lod. If the programme requires it, the ensemble is joined by excellent vocalists and instrumentalists from Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Slovakia. This way, they can count on the Slovak mezzo soprano Petra Noskaiiovà for Assim.Zefiro Torna brings the cultural heritage to life in a unique fashion, departing from a deep respect for the past. Authenticity is combined with creativity. The ensemble opts for historical instruments and a historical approach to performance practice - for which it calls on the assistance of musicologists - yet they add their very own elements. They incorporate literature, theatre, contemporary dance and modern or ethnic music in their productions. These are at times thematic, at other times strongly conceptual or experimental, always showing a strong sense of inspiration.
Zefiro Torna gained international acclaim for their multifaceted approach. Their success has led to numerous concert tours, appearances at important international music in Athens, Berlin, Bologna, Olten (SW), Madrid, Maastricht, Middelburg, Moravia (CZ), Pays d'Auge (F), Utrecht, Vantaa/Finland, Vilnius, Alden Biesen, Vienna, Amuz, Antwerp/Laus Polyphoniae, Bozar, Bruges/Musica Antiqua, Charleroi-Danses, Concertgebouw, Festival of Flanders, Festival of Wallonia, Flagey and recordings for the Flemish, Walloon, Dutch and German radio.
In January 2006 Zefiro Torna was offered the Tech-Art prize by the Flemish Chamber of Engineers, meant to stimulate innovative realisations and entrepreneurship. That same year, Zefiro Torna played the annual Palace Concert at the Royal Palace in Brussels. And in 2007 the ensemble was honoured to play a central role at the Bruges Musica Antiqua Festival.
Up to now, the ensemble released four CD's through the labels Eufoda, Et'Cetera and Homerecords. In 2005 their CD entitled "El Noi de la Mare" won the Klara Muziekprijs for the best Flemish production of classical music. 2007 for Zefiro Torna was the year when their CD "De Fragilitate" was awarded the prestigious Diapason d'Or. In Fall 2008 their newest Klara CD "Greghesche, a musical treasure of the Venetian renaissance" was released.
