A new programme coordinator with musical family ties.
Starting 2025, our Contemporary Music programmes will be looked after by Heleen de Groot, who comes from a very musical family.
Her eldest brother Rokus de Groot (*1947) studied musicology in Amsterdam. Here, he learnt about non-western music, which influenced him greatly, using elements of it in his compositions. The relation between the different musical cultures, like Western, Indian, Javanese, is central to his work. He explores the similarities and differences between them and uncovers connections. He was professor of musicology at the University of Amsterdam between 2000 and 2013.
Her younger brother, Jan Rokus van Roosendael (1960-2005), after one year at the Rietveld Academie (a university for fine art and design) also chose classical music, studying musical composition at the Sweelinck Academy. The influence of non-western music is also present in his work, but from 1996 onwards, he was more inspired by polyphonic church music. Renowned orchestras, like Nieuw Ensemble, Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris and the BBC Philharmonic, have performed his work.
Van Roosendael was married to Sinta Wullur (*1958). She was born in Bandung (Java, Indonesia) but came to the Netherlands when she was young. Her work shows a more opposite trend to the brothers De Groot: she started out as a gamelan composer, and put in more western elements in her music along the way. She founded a modern gamelan orchestra, using chromatic instruments, together with Jan Rokus in 1995. It is called Ensemble Multifoon and she has been its regular composer since.
We recorded music from all three composers over the years and have chosen some works from our archives for this episode.
Playlist
- Rokus de Groot – Mehfil
Ralph van Raat, piano - Jan Rokus van Roosendael – Hymn
Abbie de Quant, flute - Jan Rokus van Roosendael – Harp of Fire
Ensemble Conservatorium van Amsterdam conducted by Peter Prommel
Barbara Tetenberg, soprano - Sinta Wullur – Malay pantoums
Ensemble Multifoon conducted by Ruud van Eeten
Sinta Wullur, vocals - Sinta Wullur – Ritual bells, global gongs (beginning)
Ensemble Multifoon
Fie Schouten, bass clarinet
Emma Breedveld, violin