Last week, we were in Utrecht at the Gaudeamus Festival. During her Master in New Audience and Innovative Practice, Italian harpist Michela founded a trio consisting of a harp, a double bass and percussion. Since Michela only found 2 pieces for this combo, she decided to collaborate with our composition department and now there are 9 new pieces for her trio. Three of the new compositions will be presented at the Gaudeamus Festival. Martín Mayo is one of the composers. Martín is originally from Venezuela and grew up in the United States. For his studies he came to The Hague. In his compositions, he brings different influences and cultures together. His piece ‘Responsorial’ which he wrote for the Amici Trio is playful and rhythmic but also has quite a lot of attitude and character. He sits right next to the trio and accompanies the musicians on this computer. There is a lot of interaction happening during the performance which almost makes this combo a quartet. Composer Rob adds that he learned a lot from Michela and she had a huge influence on his composition. ‘She is now a composer herself’, he says. Michela immediately rejects this, but has to laugh. She surely learned a lot on how a composer approaches his work. This project is a nice example of synergies at the Royal Conservatoire. You learn from each other and grow together because for both composer and artist alike, it is a unique opportunity to be part of prestigious festivals such as Gaudeamus. The trio will also perform during the John Adams Master Class on Nov. 29th at the KC.
The trio consists of:
Harpist Michela Amici (Italy, alumna)
Percussionist Antoine Josselin (France, alumnus)
Double bass player Louis van der Mespel (New Zealand, master 2)
During the Gaudeamus Festival the trio performed pieces by:
Amba Klapwijk (The Netherlands, student)
Martín Mayo (Venezuela, student)
Rob Jones (UK, alumnus)
Foto by Allard Willemse for the Gaudeamus Festival.
