Agenda

The New European Ensemble and organist Laurens de Man previously performed together at the Orgelpark in 2024, when he became the first organist ever to receive the Nederlandse Muziekprijs (Dutch Music Prize) — the highest distinction awarded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Laurens de Man, a professor at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and a versatile musician at the absolute top of his field on both organ and piano, is the centerpiece of tonight’s program and performs in every work.

This concert is dedicated entirely to innovation and is the result of a special talent development project with the composition department of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. For these composers-in-residence, it is a unique opportunity to experiment and push the boundaries of the Orgelpark’s immense instrumental possibilities. One of the highlights is Martijn Padding’s Ma Vie en Couleurs; a layered work in which violist Emlyn Stam guides the listener through a vivid and contrasting palette of colors. Experience these brand-new compositions, written specifically for this groundbreaking combination of organ and ensemble.

New European Ensemble: dare to listen, dare to discover.

In Spectrum, the New European Ensemble invites the audience to listen to new ways of thinking and feeling.

Composer Bryan A.J. Segers has written a powerful new work that makes the sensory richness and complexity of life within the autism spectrum audible. His music intertwines sound, voice, and text into a multicolored auditory landscape where vulnerability and strength go hand in hand. The spoken fragments are based on conversations with neurodiverse Dutch individuals and, together with the music, form a layered reflection on perception, communication, and identity.

The evening is presented and introduced by Mike Boddé in Enschede and The Hague. Jesse van Meer will present and introduce the evening in Tilburg.

In Spectrum, neurodiversity is not seen as a diagnosis, but as a source of creativity — a different way of experiencing, understanding, and sharing the world.

This standing concert in Amare’s Conservatoriumzaal promises to be an unforgettable experience, as the New European Ensemble joins forces with HIIIT, Ensemble Klang, and Het Muziek. In this ‘Minimal Rave,’ the boundaries between concert hall and dance floor dissolve: first, immerse yourself in the hypnotic minimal music of Philip Glass, before losing yourself completely in the energetic Hoketus by Dutch star composer Louis Andriessen.

Music in Similar Motion

“The real innovation in ‘Similar Motion’ is its sense of drama. The earlier pieces were meditative, steady-state pieces that established a mood and stayed there. But ‘Similar Motion’ starts with one voice, then adds another playing a fourth above the original line, and then another playing a fourth below the original line, and finally a bass line kicks in to complete the sound. As each new voice enters, there is a dramatic change in the music.” — Philip Glass

Hoketus

In Hoketus, the core element is the hocket technique. Characteristic of this technique (which dates back to the Middle Ages) is that the notes of a melody are distributed across multiple players. The ensemble in Hoketus is divided into two identical groups—consisting of pan flute, tenor saxophone, Fender piano, piano, and congas—that complement each other and therefore never play simultaneously. Yet, there is a catch: in terms of harmony and melody, Hoketus offers a much “spicier” take on American minimalism.

The history of music includes thousands of works written for special occasions. A burning love, a birth, the opening of the Olympic Games, a cherished memory, or a cat or two. Big or small, serious or light: in What I Really Want to Say, the six instrumentalists of the New European Ensemble placed the ball entirely in your court, the audience’s.

It is up to composers Elizabete Beāte Rudzinska, Jasper de Bock, Alice Yeung, and Hesce Mourits to transform the most beautiful submissions into sounding notes. The result: a concert full of stories, wishes, and intentions from the audience.

So what’s on your mind?

The renowned Javanese singer and composer Peni Candra Rini—one of the jury members for the Gaudeamus Award 2026—presents her new work The Wheel for gamelan, in collaboration with the New European Ensemble. This 45-minute chamber piece reinterprets the traditional Javanese macapat cycle: eleven poetic songs in liturgical Javanese that trace the spiritual and existential phases of human life.

Rather than drawing on traditional repertoire, the work deconstructs and reconfigures the acoustic spectra of gamelan instruments, combining their distinctive timbres with the sound colours of a contemporary chamber ensemble. The resonance, overtone structures, microtonality, and cyclical temporality of the gamelan form the generative core of a new musical language. A piece in which the New European Ensemble invites you to dare to listen and discover an innovative interplay.