Combined ensembles in the Wednesday concert

From Monday March 22 to Friday March 26 the DKDM Brass Ensemble from the Royal Danish Academy of Music (Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium), Copenhagen, with their conductor Mogens Andresen, visited the Amsterdam Conservatory (Conservatorium van Amsterdam) in The Netherlands.

The instrumentation of the DKDM brass is: piccolo trumpet, Eb trumpet, Bb trumpet, Bb cornet, flugelhorn, two French horns, three trombones (alto, tenor, bass), euphonium, tuba and percussion. In his arrangements, Andresen makes subtle changes of timbre by using different instruments from the trumpet family as well as a variety of mutes.

This week originated from a friendship between Mogens Andresen and Raymond Munnecom (principal bass trombone with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra). They first met during the World Music Concours (WMC) of 1997 in Kerkrade, where Andresen was a special guest with the Dutch brass ensemble Flexible Brass.

Masterclass: Frits Damrow (L) and Dennis Riknagel Andersen (R)

On Monday there was a masterclass by Frits Damrow (principal trumpet with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra). He worked with Dennis Riknagel Andersen (trumpet soloist of DKDM brass) and DKDM brass on Napoli by Herman Bellstedt, arranged for solo trumpet and brass ensemble.

The first concert was on Wednesday March 24 in the Bachzaal in Amsterdam. A brass ensemble from the Amsterdam Conservatory (established especially for this occasion) played music by Richard Strauss, Carl Nielsen and Mogens Andresen under the direction of Frits Damrow and Raymond Munnecom. The DKDM brass played works by John Dowland, Joseph Horowitch, Mogens Andresen, Herman Bellstedt, Hans Schreiber and Joe Zawinul. Featured were soloists Lisa Jensen, horn, Dennis Riknagel Andersen, trumpet, and Jesper Hellested, tuba.

Especially impressive were two works which were played by the DKDM brass and the Amsterdam Conservatory students together: Olympic Fanfare by John Williams, conducted by Raymond Munnecom and Passtime with good company by Henry VIII, conducted by Mogens Andresen. The concert was closed by a brilliant encore played by Dennis Riknagel Andersen on Eb trumpet.

On Thursday there was a Brass Recital Evening at the Amsterdam Conservatory. Traditionally this evening, organized once a month, is intended for the students to play solo repertoire with piano, however, especially for this occasion, there was more ensemble playing. First the students from Amsterdam played Bagatelle from Antonin Dvorak and Gleich wie das Feuer by Schildt, both conducted by Mogens Andresen. Both pieces were studied on Thursday morning during a workshop with Andresen. Ivan Meylemans (principal trombone with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) conducted the Octet by Gordon Jacob. Nine (!) trombone students from both Amsterdam and Copenhagen played this piece. Mogens Andresen conducted the Nonet by J. Fröhlich. Originally this piece was written for nine horns, but this performance was given by seven horns and two euphoniums. A brass quintet from Amsterdam played the Victor Ewald Quintet.

After some solo performances by brass students from Amsterdam, a number of trumpet ensembles, coached and conducted by Frits Damrow, played a number of pieces. First Eric Ewazen’s Sonoran Desert Harmonies, played by students from both Amsterdam and Copenhagen. A trumpet quartet from the Amsterdam Conservatory played Canonical Trilogy by Fischer Tull and Galliard Battaglia by Samuel Scheidt. A trumpet sextet conducted by Frits Damrow played the world premiere of Thomas Geerts’s Persuasion, an exciting piece for six trumpets. Mogens Andresen treated us on a jazzy solo-piece for bass trombone. Finally he conducted the brass ensemble in Ruby Tuesday by the Rolling Stones.

DKDM trumpet section, Friday concert

On Friday there was a lunchtime concert by the DKDM brass in the Bethaniënklooster in Amsterdam. They played two works by William Byrd. Dennis Riknagel Andersen played a theme and variations on a traditional German Christmas song “Maria”, performed brilliantly on piccolo trumpet. Next were Three Chorales by Bo Grønbech, The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini, Oh What a Day by Sven Asmussen, Wanderlust by Paul McCartney (with a piano solo by Torben Purgaard) and, as encores, the Olympic Fanfare by John Williams and again the Eb trumpet solo with Dennis Riknagel Andersen.

The whole project was a big success. Plans are already being made for a return visit of the Amsterdam brass ensemble to DKDM in Copenhagen.

Websites:
DKDM, Copenhagen (Danish and English)
Amsterdam Conservatory (Dutch and English)