An exciting and successful year lies behind the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen. To conclude, the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen will perform its semester concerts on December 9 and 11 under the direction of Jos Simons.
An exciting and successful year lies behind the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen. One highlight was their participation in an international orchestra competition: On July 16, the young musicians won a gold medal with distinction at the World Music Contest (WMC) in Kerkrade. With a score of 90.00 points, the ensemble not only achieved fifth place among a field of international top orchestras, but was also the best wind orchestra from Germany in its category.
After a two-month rehearsal break, the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen is now returning with two concerts, on Friday, December 9, at 7:30 PM and on Sunday, December 11, at 5:00 PM, in the Aula of the main building of RWTH Aachen at Templergraben 55. Under the direction of Belgian conductor Jos Simons, who has taken over the musical direction of the orchestra for one semester as a guest conductor, it will present the concert program studied over the past two months, featuring works from the highest level of difficulty in the wind orchestra repertoire. For conductor Jos Simons, who is regarded as an absolute wind music professional, the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen is the first German orchestra he has worked with, having previously conducted predominantly the leading wind orchestras in Belgium and the Netherlands. Last July, he led the Harmonie St. Cecilia Grevenbicht-Papenhoven (NL) to victory in the first division at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade.
The concert program showcases the full breadth of symphonic wind music. Following the opening with the well-known “Festive Overture” by Dmitri Shostakovich, the lyrical composition “I shall love but thee” by Belgian composer Jan Van der Roost presents a special work for solo voice and orchestra. Here the Bläserphilharmonie Aachen will accompany Belgian opera singer Anne-Sophie Lermyte. In the subsequent “Praise Jerusalem!”, experienced wind orchestra composer Alfred Reed sets an Armenian hymn to music, skillfully deploying all registers. Spanish composer Saül Gómez Soler creates a connection between visual art and music in “Leonardo Dreams” by setting to music several facets from the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. The work is accompanied by images and films that establish a visual reference to the individual sections of the composition. In “Jungla”, a tone poem about the Central African jungle, composer Ferrer Ferran particularly challenges the percussionists: the extensive percussion instrumentation is further expanded by African djembes. The concerts are rounded off with the furious “Wedding Dance” by Jacques Press.
Tickets priced at €7.50 (€5.00 reduced) are available at www.blaeserphilharmonie-aachen.de.