Metropole Academy Concert

On Tuesday April 24 Metropole Orkest will be back with a special Academy project. ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ will take place in Studio 1 of the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep in Hilversum.

We asked the Metropole principals who their heroes and teachers from the past are, and we’ve invited those heroes to come over to Hilversum and teach the Academy Students. This’ll be the first Academy project where we divide the orchestra into three separate ensembles.

String Orchestra
Pierre Blanchard is a leading jazz violinist, composer and arranger from Paris, France.
He was invited for this project by our principal 2nd violinist Herman van Haaren.
Herman: “To me, Pierre Blanchard is a very soulful heartfelt violinist in jazz with a remarkable love for strings.”

Big Band
Johan Plomp studied double-bass and arranging at The Hilversum Conservatory with Victor Kaihatu, Rob Langereis, and Kenny Napper. Since 1996 he teaches theory and arranging at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

There are also some special coaches coming over for the big band section rehearsals
For the trumpets and trombones that will be Jarmo Hoogendijk. Jarmo is very special to the Metropole Orkest, because he taught all four of our trumpet players Ray, Rik, Nico and Martijn. Simon Rigter will teach the saxophones and Rob van Bavel will visit to lead the rhythm section.

Percussion Ensemble
Martin Verdonk was invited by MO’s percussion player Murk Jiskoot.
Martin was born in Curacao (1959). He studied percussion at the Rotterdam conservatory and also at the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba. As an allround percussionist Martin worked with many leading bands and artists.

Tickets for this concert are free. If you want to, it is possible to make a small donation when you reserve your ticket.