agenda

20180709 Conservatory, Oostende
Trio Rodinia
Mirovoi for violin, bass clarinet and piano

20180630 P.O.M. Eindhoven
Trio Rodinia
Mirovoi for violin, bass clarinet and piano

20171112 Splendor, Amsterdam
Heleen Hulst & Gerard Bouwhuis
ghoti for violin and prepared piano

20171115 Musis, Arnhem
orkest de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Wim Boerman (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20171119 Orpheus, Apeldoorn
orkest de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Wim Boerman (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20170920 ACEC, Apeldoorn
orkest de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Rob Vermeulen (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20170908 Museum Speelklok, Utrecht
Gaudeamus Musicweek
de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Rob Vermeulen (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20160628 International Trombone Festival Redlands, California
Astrid Haring & Brandt Attema
string quartet no.2 for harp and contrabass trombone

20170129 ACEC, Apeldoorn
de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Wim Boerman (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20170119 Piet Hein Eek, Eindhoven
de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink, Wim Boerman (cond.)
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20161113 November Music, Den Bosch
12:30 & 13:30
de ereprijs ft. Wilbert Bulsink
distortion for hammond organ and ensemble

20161004 Splendor, Amsterdam
Astrid Haring & Brandt Attema
string quartet no.2 for harp and bass trombone

20160929 Nutshuis, Den Haag
Elisenda Pujals & Ilya Ziblat Shay
bokeh for soprano, double bass and soundtrack

20160303 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Calefax
muurverf, papier en karton op paneel for reed quintet

20160305 De Doelen, Rotterdam
Calefax
muurverf, papier en karton op paneel for reed quintet

20160324 TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht
Calefax
muurverf, papier en karton op paneel for reed quintet

20151228 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Calefax
muurverf, papier en karton op paneel for reed quintet

20150425 Bimhuis Amsterdam
David Kweksilber Big Band
Jupiter's Pimple for big band

20150326 Korzo, Den Haag
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil
kaleidophonia II for ensemble and barrel organ

20150323 Piet Hein Eek, Eindhoven
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil
kaleidophonia II for ensemble and barrel organ

20150318 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil
kaleidophonia II for ensemble and barrel organ

20141108 15:30 November Music, Atrium/Muzerije, 's-Hertogenbosch
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil
kaleidophonia II for ensemble and barrel organ

20140913 20:30 De Lindenberg, Nijmegen
Dirk Luijmes
88|11 for harmonium

20140907 15:00 Edesche Concertzaal, Ede
Dirk Luijmes
88|11 for harmonium

20140425 haTeiva, Tel Aviv (ISR)
Elisenda Pujals & Ilya Ziblat Shay
Bokeh for soprano, double bass and tape

20140118 UCK Utrecht
Utrechts Blazers Ensemble
mein lieber 3-Hund for ensemble

20130905 Vredenburg Leeuwenbergh, Utrecht
Ensemble Gending
Doelen Strijkkwartet
The Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights for string quartet & gamelan

20130424 Centro Nacional de la Música, Buenos Aires (AR)
20130427 Universidad Católica, Córdoba (AR)
20130504 conDIT/cheLA, Buenos Aires (AR)
Modelo62
Ezequiel Menalled
Hammer Smashed Phase for ensemble

20130217 Marzee, Nijmegen
Dirk Luijmes harmonium
Heleen Hulst, Emma Breedveld violin
Michael Stirling cello
De Meerval Ontraadseld for harmonium, two violins and cello

20130129 De Link, Tilburg
SPECTRA ensemble
Filip Rathé conductor
onze for ensemble

20130110 Studio LOOS, Den Haag
20130117 Dakota Theater, Den Haag
Wooden strings
String Quartet No.2 for harp and percussion

20120920 Lindenberg Huis voor de Kunsten, Nijmegen
20120921 Bosch Kunstruimte, Arnhem
20120922 Orgelpark, Amsterdam
20121007 Driekoningenkapel, Doetinchem
Dirk Luijmes harmonium
Heleen Hulst, Emma Breedveld violin
Michael Stirling cello
De Meerval Ontraadseld for harmonium, two violins and cello

20120918 Het Proeflokaal, Utrecht
Trio Kokako
Three hypotheses concerning topology in Hilbert spaces for flute, clarinet and piano

20120909 Conservatorium Utrecht, Utrecht
Ensemble Gending
How to recognise different types of trees from quite a long way away. for eight percussionists.

20120607 OBC de Heister, Bemmel
20120610 UCK, Utrecht
Utrechts Blazers Ensemble
Jussi Jaatinen conductor
Alaskazalm for ensemble

20120423 Orpheus, Apeldoorn
20120428 Conservatory the Hague
Marieke Grotenhuis accordion
Orkest de Ereprijs
Wim Boerman conductor
Kaleidophonia I for accordion and ensemble

20120406 De Spil, Roeselare (BE)
Spectra ensemble
Filip Rathé conductor
onze for ensemble

20120219 Gigant, Apeldoorn
Marieke Grotenhuis accordion
Orkest de Ereprijs
Wim Boerman conductor
Kaleidophonia I for accordion and ensemble

20120212 Someren, SCC De Ruchte
20120213 Maastricht, Theater aan 't Vrijthof
20120214 Eindhoven, Muziekgebouw Frits Philips
20120215 Leeuwarden, De Harmonie
20120216 Nijmegen, Concertgebouw De Vereeniging
20120217 Haarlem, De Philharmonie
20120218 Enschede, Muziekcentrum
20120219 Utrecht, Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn
20120220 Groningen, De Oosterpoort
20120221 Rotterdam, De Doelen
20120222 Amsterdam, Concertgebouw
Nederlands Studenten Orkest
Lucas Vis conductor
The dead hand of Plato for orchestra

20120203 Bergkerk Deventer
Marieke Grotenhuis accordion
Orkest de Ereprijs
Wim Boerman conductor
Kaleidophonia I for accordion and ensemble

20120203 Pacificatiezaal, Stadhuis, Gent (BE)
Spectra ensemble
Filip Rathé conductor
onze for ensemble

20110128 theater Kikker, Utrecht
Modelo62
Ezequiel Menalled conductor
Hammer Smashed Phase
On time dilation and synchronicity I
Eine weitere Äußerung von eine weitere Äußerung von eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang
4°K
Pale
Three hypotheses concerning topology in Hilbert spaces

20110130 Ursulinenkapel, Tilburg
Marcel Worms piano
nieuwBlauw for piano solo

20110227 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Ere Lievonen organ
Toccatississimo & Hyperfuguefor 31 tone organ

20110415 De Doelen, Rotterdam
New Trombone Collective
Like Spinning Plates for seven trombones

20110921 Stavanger (NO)
20110923 Bergen (NO)
20110924 Oslo (NO)
Modelo62
Ezequiel Menalled conductor
Eine weitere Äußerung von eine weitere Äußerung von eine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang

20111105 Concertzaal, Tilburg
Magogo Kamerorkest
Charlotte Schoeters soprano
Micha Hamel conductor
onhandig bloesemend for soprano and string ensemble
text by Ramsey Nasr

20111108 Auditorium, Fundación Carlos de Amberes, Madrid (ES)
Spectra ensemble
onze for ensemble

20111119 Academiegebouw, Utrecht
Members of the NSO
Lucas Vis conductor
Plato's flipflops from Perry small ensemble

20101212 Witte Dame, Eindhoven
20101213 Nutshuis, Den Haag
20101214 De Link, Tilburg
20101219 Museum van Bommel van Dam, Venlo
Modelo62
Ezequiel Menalled conductor
Hammer Smashed Phase
On time dilation and synchronicity I
Eine weitere Äußerung von eine weitere Äußerung von eine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang
4°K
Pale
Three hypotheses concerning topology in Hilbert spaces

20101121 Bethaniënklooster, Amsterdam
Marcel Worms piano
nieuwBlauw for piano solo

20100912 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Ere Lievonen organ Toccatississimo & Hyperfuguefor 31 tone organ

20100424 Barth Kapel, Den Haag
Klarinet Ensemble Lignum
conductor Gerbert Groot Landeweer
Syzygy & Twenty-two for clarinet ensemble

20100404 Theater Kikker, Utrecht
Marcel Worms piano nieuwBlauw for piano solo

20100313 Korzo5Hoog, Den Haag
20100314 Witte Dame, Eindhoven
Modelo62
Ezequiel Menalled conductor
Hammer Smashed Phase for ensemble

20100213 Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag
Marieke Grotenhuis & An Raskin die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus for accordion & bayan

20100123 20100124 20100130 20100131 20100206 Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag Refractionfor violin and piano
Iordens viooldagen

20091212 de Doelen, Rotterdam
20091113 Musikhochschule, Hamburg (DE)
20091105 Conservatorium, Tilburg
20091111 Toonzaal, 's-Hertogenbosch
F.C. Jongbloed On time dilation and synchronicity for quartet

20090912 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Holland Symfonia
conductor Etienne Siebens concerto for orchestra

20090829 Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam
20090823 Int. muziekzomer Gelderland, Renkum
20090820 Orpheus, Apeldoorn
Carina Vinke
Fast Opera Productions Ei a chamber opera

20090516 Paleiskerk, Den Haag, Zenith Festival am Rande for piano quintet

20090426 Bergkerk, Deventer
20090425 Grote Kerk, Leeuwarden
20090424 Grote Kerk, Den Haag
conducter Peter van Heygen pull the plug for baroque orchestra

20090328 Espace Boyer, Toulouse (FR)
conductor Gerbert Groot Landeweer
Klarinet Ensemble Lignum
syzygy for clarinet ensemble

20081122 Ev. Luth. kerk, Leiden
conductor Gerbert Groot Landeweer
Klarinet Ensemble Lignum
syzygy for clarinet ensemble

20080921 Vatroslav Lisinski Small Hall, Zagreb (HR)
20080904 Bim-huis, Amsterdam
20080830 Int. Cult. Centre of Jeunesses Musicales Croatia, Groznjan
conductor Berislav Sipus Cantus Ansambl
sfumato for ensemble

20080417 Koninklijk COnservatorium, Den Haag
Maartje Kraan eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang for violin solo

20070911 Kurhaus, Scheveningen conductor Ezequiel Menalled
Branding for woodwind ensemble

20070625 Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag
Maartje Kraan eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang for violin solo

20070504 Paradiso, Amsterdam
ASKO ensemble
conducter Bas Wiegers Punching Judy for ensemble

20070424 Royal Conservatoire, Den Haag
conducter Richard Fitzhugh to evoke Certain Things by means of ritualistic behaviour and circumstances for five trumpets and four percussion players,

20061220 Paradiso, Amsterdam
Reflex quartet
David Benque (visuals) Koraal for violin, viola, cello, double bass and tape

20060904 Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag
conducter Richard Fitzhugh to evoke Certain Things by means of ritualistic behaviour and circumstances for five trumpets and four percussion players

20060505 Korzo, Den Haag
20060506 Korzo, Den Haag
Rebecca Huber, Annemarie Volten, Ronald Boersen, Ephraim van Ijzelrooij
visuals by Mellisa Cruz strngqrtt for string quartet

20060401 Scheltema, Leiden
20060402 Scheltema, Leiden
conductor Bas Wiegers Portret for ensemble

20060220 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Rosa Arnold & Ian van den Berk Points of Departure for two violins

20060211 Scheltema, Leiden
20060212 Scheltema, Leiden
conductor Taco Kooijstra Portret for ensemble

20050501 Hanau (DE)
John Stobart and Elisabeth Krause Automutilative automaton life for horn and violin

20050423 Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
Nieuw Ensemble
conducter Arie van Beek This godless endeavour for ensemble

20050418 Koninklijk Conservatorium, Den Haag
Judith Kuipers & Kornilios Selamtzis Pale for flute and piano

20041118 Muziekcentrum Frits Philips, Eindhoven
Thomas Oliemans & Ernst Munneke Fysica voor dichters for baritone and piano

20040504 De IJsbreker, Amsterdam
Sigrid Heydra Sober for clarinet

20040428 Royal Conservatoire, Den Haag
20040429 Royal Conservatoire, Den Haag
Natascha Morsink & José Kamminga The canary and the crow for soprano and alto

20040428 De Rode Hoed, Amsterdam
Thomas Oliemans & Ernst Munneke Fysica voor dichters for baritone and piano

47

pulse code modulation

for two computer controlled organs

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: 20181109
• duration: 4'
• year: 2018

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46

new work

for clarinet, bass clarinet and piano

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance:
• duration: 10'
• year: 2018

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45

mesoproterozoïcum

for piano

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance:
• duration: 15'
• year: 2018

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44

Mirovoi

for violin, bass clarinet and piano

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: July 7, 2018
• Conservatory, Oostende
• Trio Rodinia
• duration: 10'
• year: 2018

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43

Devoon

for orchestra

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance:
• duration: 9'
• year: 2018

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42

ghoti

for violin and prepared piano

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: November 12, 2017
• Splendor, Amsterdam
• Heleen Hulst & Gerard Bouwhuis
• duration: 7'
• year: 2014

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41

la tendre indifférence du monde

for harpsichord

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: june 21, POM Eindhoven
• Goska Isphording
• duration: 9'
• year: 2017

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40

hout, papier, karton en verf

for two clarinets in Bb and two bass clarinets in Bb

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: tba
• duration: 13'
• year: 2016

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39

distortion

for hammond organ 2fl/picc cl asx brsx hrn trp 2trb tb perc pf egtr bgtr

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: November 13 2016
• Verkadefabriek, 's-Hertogenbosch'
• Wilbert Bulsink (hamm.), orkest de ereprijs, Christiaan Karlsen (cond.)
• duration: 34'
• year: 2016

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38

subspace anomaly

for electric guitars, percussion and electronics

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: tba
• duration: 45'
• year: 2018

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37

ZENTRALFLUGHAFEN

for saxophone, electric guitar, percussion

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: tba
• NOX
• duration: 7'
• year: 2016

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36

muurverf, papier en karton op paneel

for reed quintet

Written for the Calefax composition competition with the theme ‘Easy Pieces’, I wanted to write a piece about the work of Jan Schoonhoven.
muurverf, papier en karton op paneel won the first prize and is dedicated to both him and my father.

• first performance: December 28 2015
• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam'
• Calefax Reed Quintet
• duration: 7'
• year: 2015

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35

Jupiter's Pimple

for big band

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: April 25 2015
• Bimhuis, Amsterdam
• David Kweksilber Big Band
• duration: 15'
• year: 2015

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34

hikikomori

for percussion and electronics

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: tba
• Aldo Aranda
• duration: 8'
• year: 2014

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33

An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump

for recorder and electronics

In An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump by Joseph Wright a natural philosopher is depicted, recreating one of Robert Boyle's air pump experiments in which a bird is deprived of air before a varied group of onlookers. The group exhibits a variety of reactions, but for most of the audience scientific curiosity overcomes concern for the bird. In my piece for recorder and electronics, bearing the same name as the painting, I examine the curious relation between science and art, or should I say alchemy and art? Artists often dabble around with scientific ideas and terms in order to pursue their artistic goal. By poking around in the dark things are tried and even justified if the concept vaguely smells like science. The musicians dutifully play their role in these experiments, hoping that the alchmists ideas turn to gold.

• first performance: tba
• Josephine Bode
• duration: 7'
• year: 2014

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32

kaleidophonia II

for clarinet, bassoon, harp, pf, violin, cello and barrel organ

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: November 8 2014
• Muzerije, 's-Hertogenbosch'
• Nieuw Amsterdams Peil & De Dulciaan
• duration: 23'
• year: 2014

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31

bokeh

for soprano, double bass and soundtrack

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: April 25 2014
• HaTeiva, Tel Aviv
• Elisenda Pujals, Ilya Ziblat Shay
• duration: 10'
• year: 2014

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30

88|11

for harmonium

Dirk Luijmes asked me to write a short piece loosely based on a psalm. I choose psalm 88, verse 11, which might be the most sad psalm of them all.

• first performance: 20
• Edesche Concertzaal, Ede
• Dirk Luijmes
• duration: 3'
• year: 2013

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29

spin|orbit

for marimba

spin|orbit is a piece that use polyrhythms intensively and is about subjective tempo. Because it is not really clear what the pulse of the music is (there are several at the same time) and the combinations differ and change throughout, the tempo feel changes along. The music explores different combinations and techniques, goes through all the registers and is a real challenge, even for the professional percussion player. The piece is cyclic in nature and can start at the different sections and even selections of it can be played as an independent performance but also serve as an educational showpiece.

• first performance: tba
• Orlando Aguillar Velazquez
• duration: 20'
• year: 2013

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28

mein lieber 3-Hund

for 3fl 2ob 2cl asx tsx bsx 3tp 3trb tb pf db

Two simple ideas, a chord and a rhythm, develop in an alternating fashion, both playing with the suggestion of symmetry and distorting it. The title refers to the movie The Human Centipede where the idea of a crippled symmetry is explored in a rather disturbing way.

• first performance: January 18 2014
• UCK, Utrecht
• Utrechts Blazersensemble, Joost Gevers (cond.)
• duration: 13'
• year: 2013

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27

String Quartet No.2

for variable instruments and combinations

In this piece I explored both clashing antimetric figures and individual tempi. Two seperate parts - there is no score that fixes the synchronisation - diverge and converge, putting the musicians in their own private bubble that phase in and out with the other.
Instrumentation (variable):
bass clarinet
bassoon
(contra)bass trombone
hrp
perc
cello
double bass

• first performance: January 10 2013
• Theater Dakota, The Hague
• Wooden Strings
• duration: 9'
• year: 2013

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26

How to recognise different types of trees from quite a long way away.

for eight percussionists

The piece is about shifting metres and their subdivisions and about shifting sound combinations on the kenongs.
And about world peace.

• first performance: January 18 2014
• Utrecht Conservatory, Utrecht
• Ensemble Gending, Jurrien Sligter
• duration: 8'
• year: 2012

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25

alaskazalm

for 2fl 2ob 2cl asx tsx bsx 2hrn 2trp 2trb tb pf

Some pieces just aren't finished when they're premiered. Branding and Syzygy were two of them. In 2010 I rewrote Branding but when the Utrecht Blazers Ensemble approached me (in 2012) that they wanted to perform it, I saw the opportunity to rewrite it once more. I took out some segments, added some new notes and redid the form. Now I feel it is more balanced (although there's still a little itch, so who knows?). The title felt outdated too so I named the new version Alaskazalm.
So what is Alaskazalm?
It is half Branding, half Syzygy and half new notes.
The original version of Branding was Commissioned by the Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat

• first performance: June 6 2012
• UCK, Utrecht
• Utrechts Blazersensemble, Jussi Jaatinen (cond.)
• duration: 12'
• year: 2012

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24

kaleidophonia I

for acc (solo) 2fl/picc cl/bcl ssx/asx ssx/brsx hrn trp 2trb tb perc pf egtr bgtr

The idea for this piece comes from a kaleidoscope, a cylinder with mirrors containing loose, colored objects. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off of the mirrors. To represent this in a musical way I took a four note pattern, that gets repeated but augmentated. From this slowly changing slur of notes I made a 28 voice canon that is pulled through different harmonies. This way all sorts of patterns in different colours emerge.

• first performance: February 3 2012
• Bergkerk, Deventer
• Marieke Hopman (acc), orkest de ereprijs, Wim Boerman (cond.)
• duration: 15'
• year: 2012

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23

The dead hand of Plato

for orchestra (5555.8532.6perc.hrp.str)

A rabbit is a rabbit/ At least, we assume it is. According to Plato a rabbit is but a shadow of the perfect idea of a rabbit. This essentialism clashes though with our ideas on evolution concerning rabbits (and other species). Long ago rabbits were less rabbity than the current generations of rabbits and at some point in the future, they will become less rabbity again (if we give them a chance to evolve further). So when is a rabbit a rabbit? How far must we go back in time or further into the future to give them an identy crisis?
In his book 'The greatest show on earth' Richard Dawkins calls this The dead hand of Plato. When I read this I knew I had the title of my piece ánd an idea what is was going to be about. Something that has interested me for a while is the question what a composition is: the idea, the score or the sounding result? Is the beauty in the instruction for the musicians or in the mind of the listener? In my piece I confront the defined with the undefined, music as patterns of discrete sounds againts music as a continuous sound. Idea versus reality. And some rabbits as well.

• first performance: February 12 2012
• SCC De Ruchte, Someren
• NSO, Lucas Vis (cond.)
• duration: 12'
• year: 2012

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22

onze

for afl/pic cl/bcl perc pf vln vla vcl narrator(optional)

Based upon a poem by Maurice Maeterlinck, from douze chansons:
As often with my music, I sketch around, looking for a way into a piece. And I mean a piece because beforehand conceptions of the music almost always get abandoned. When I found it, quite some work was deleted and the character of the music changed dramatically. With this change, the interpretation of the text changed as well. What would happen if the order of the twelve pieces got changed, but the texts stayed in the original order?

Vous avez allumé les lampes,
— Oh! le soleil dans le jardin!
Vous avez allumé les lampes,
Je vois le soleil par les fentes,
Ouvrez les portes du jardin!

— Les clefs des portes sont perdues,
Il faut attendre, il faut attendre,
Les clefs sont tombées de la tour,
Il faut attendre, il faut attendre,
Il faut attendre d’autres jours…

D’autres jours ouvriront les portes,
La forêt garde les verrous,
La forêt brûle autour de nous,
C’est la clarté des feuilles mortes,
Qui brûlent sur le seuil des portes…

— Les autres jours sont déjà las,
Les autres jours ont peur aussi,
Les autres jours ne viendront pas,
Les autres jours mourront aussi,
Nous aussi nous mourrons ici…

• first performance: November 8 2011
• Auditorium, Fundación Carlos de Amberes, Madrid
• Spectra ensemble, Filip Rathé (cond.)
• duration: 5'
• year: 2011
• text: Maurice Maeterlinck

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21

onhandig bloesemend

for singer, narrator and string ensemble (5.5.4.3.1)

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: November 5 2011
• Concertzaal, Tilburg
• Charlotte Schoeters (sopr.), Magogo Kamerorkest, Micha Hamel (cond.)
• duration: 15'
• year: 2011
• text: Ramsey Nasr

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20

like spinning plates

for 7trmb

This piece was written for seven trombones or, in an ideal situatuation, nine trombones (or multiples). This amount of nine comes forth from the structure of the piece: nine rhythmical motives that are reordered in a Messiaen-like way:
A B C D E F G H I
E F D G C H B I A
C H G B D I F A E
D I B F G A H E C
G A F H B E I C D
B E H I F C A D G
F C I A H D E G B
H D A E I G C B F
I G E C A B D F H
And then the reordering starts to repeat itself. The distance between these motives varies, so they start to phase in and out. Like Spinning Plates starts with a lot of hollering on an A# with shifting accents which results in a spatial effect. This effect reminded me of the song with the same name by the band Radiohead, hence the title. The staccato notes get varied and developed, harmony is introduced slowly and in a stepwise manner. From bar 74 on, the chord slowly descends where it, because of the position in the register, gets more and more distorted. The piece ends with a slow chorale where the parts of the harmony start to phase out. The timbre gets more and more fluffy by the use of mutes.

• first performance: April 15 2011
• De Doelen, Rotterdam
• New Trombone Collective
• duration: 7'
• year: 2011

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19

de meerval ontraadseld

for harm 2vln vlc

After many ideas, sketches, try-outs and mostly, after throwing away a lot, I found the entrance for this piece: a 20 voiced, rhythmical canon where each repetition is a minor second higher as the previous one. Swiftly such a mass of notes will result in a thick, upwards trail, starting in the lowest registers of the harmonium and the cello and ending high in the violins. This is the blueprint for the first six minutes of de meerval ontraadseld (the catfish unravelled), and indirectly, for the whole piece. The second half of the piece, patterns from the first half are recycled by the methods of granular synthesis. Slowly the music streams upwards, sidestepping from time to time, patterns are tasted again, sometimes partly, sometimes in different compounds, details get emphasized or tucked away.
This piece was written with financial support from the FPK.

• first performance: September 20 2012
• Lindenberg Huis voor de Kunsten, Nijmegen
• Dirk Luijmes, Emma Breedveld, Heleen Hulst, Michael Stirling
• duration: 15'
• year: 2012

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18

three hypotheses concerning topology in Hilbert spaces

for afl bcl pf

Slowly changing patterns in pitch, articulation and rhythm form the base of this trio. The first idea was to make a dynamic piece with multiphonics and other extended techniques. But, as is usual with my music, structures and ideas took their own course, and for the best result I shouldn't get in their way too much.
This piece was written with financial support from the FPK

• first performance: December 12 2010
• Witte Dame, Eindhoven
• ensemble Modelo62
• duration: 10'
• year: 2010

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17

Toccatississimo & Hyperfugue

for 31 tone organ & laptop

Toccatississimo & Hyperfugue is a diptych for player/computer and computer. The second part should be the same each time it is played (although this wasn't the case at the premiere) but the first part. Toccatississimo, is more indeterminate of nature.The musician alternates between two chords that are free but with fixed fingering. One finger stays the same, so the chords walks over the manual. But we don't get to hear all the chords, the computer controls the registers and lets the music just sip through.
The main structure of Hyperfugue is self generating series where each element is the sum of the three previous intervals. The series is recursive, it repeats after 331 elements. From this slur of notes I made a thick texture of 12 layers where each layer is one fifth tone higher. Each layers starts slightly delayed but is compressed at the same time, so it will end sooner. The proprtions are 458:457:456:455:454:453 :452:451:450:449:448:447. And from this bug slur I made a four part canon. This fat sausage of notes gets cut vertically on several spots where the registers or articulations change.

• first performance: September 12 2010
• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
• Ere Lievonen
• duration: 7'
• year: 2010

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16

Eine weitere Äußerung von eine weitere Äußerung von eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang

for fl cl tp perc pf vln, vlc, db

This is another arrangement/development of 'eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang', or, to be more correct, an arrangement of 'Eine weitere Äußerung von eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang'. It is more similar to the quartet than to the solo and is for more instruments. It is a collection of miniatures, each sort of in its own style but with many links between them. In most of the sections one of the instruments has a leading position.

• first performance: December 12 2010
• Witte Dame, Eindhoven
• ensemble Modelo62
• duration: 18'
• year: 2010

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15

4°K

for fl cl perc vln vlc

This piece was originally written for clarinet quartet and an investigation into harmony. The new version contrasts highly with the old one that is much more homogenous in timbre. In the more active parts a sort of seat-swapping-dance takes place: material for four instruments is shared by five. I used to think that the Cosmic microwave background radiation was around four degrees Kelvin but then I found out it was even a bit lower (of course it used to be four degrees at some time). So now the four degrees seem to point to the boiling point of helium. That's nice too.

• first performance: December 12 2010
• Witte Dame, Eindhoven
• ensemble Modelo62
• duration: 10'
• year: 2008 (r.2010)

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14

nieuwBlauw

for pf

To compose a piece that refers to blues learns one that there isn't one blues. Crossovers with all sorts of styles have already been made, chord progressions and licks have been turned inside out and upside down. So I went looking for the earliest blues recordings I could find and then I found the work Alan Lomax had done. His field recordings of hollers and prison songs, the so called chaing-gang songs, immediately caught my attention. Funny enough, the almost synchronous hits of axes and hammers influenced my piece as much as the sung parts in between them. Through the empty spaces that are marked by stubborn rattles in the low register, slow constructions drift by. After the premiere I felt the piece was a bit long so I worked on it some more and worked out some of the details into new pieces so now it is a piece in four parts.

• first performance: April 4 2010
• Theater Kikker, Utrecht
• Marcel Worms
• duration: 4'
• year: 2010

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13

die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus

for 2acc (or 2bajan)

In 1905 Max Weber wrote his essay 'Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus'. Here he suggests a relation between the protestant ethik (working hard), an ascetic life (not being allowed to enjoy the earned money) and the development of capitalism (if you can't enjoy the money, invest with it). My first scetches had hocket-like figures but not much harmonic development. At the time I was already busy with research into harmony and one technique I developed was harmonies based on canons. But this proved to be somewhat difficult to incorporate in the former scetches. But one of those scetches was a little choral and I developed this further. The choral itself isn't present anymore but the beginning is a variation on it. From this variation I distilled a melodic pattern/phrase which I used as input for the harmony technique. Because this harmony technique led to rather complex textures I found some common ground with the original work with the same title: the complexity was allowed because it is a result of the harmony, not a goal in itself. To balance the more complex parts I added more open segments and even the hocket idea turned up again

• first performance: February 13 2010
• Royal Conservatoire, The Hague
• Marieke Hopman & An Raskin
• duration: 6'
• year: 2010

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12

portret

for 2fl, 2cl, 2sx, trp, cimb, hrp, 2gtr, 2perc, db

In Portret I made a musical portret of Rembrandt for the occasion of his 400th birthyear. But how does one translate fine arts into music? Because I direct, one-to-one translation is not possible I tried to transform several of Rembrandts painting techniques into composition techniques. The piece starts of with clear, sharp lines that slowly transform to free, rough gestures, a parallel with Rembrandts style. And just like he tried to give depth to his paintings I tried to create the illusion of depth by changing focus on different layers. These concepts do not determine the piece though, it is a fine point of departure but eventually the laws of music take over and follow their own logic. In the end a painting does not only say something about the object or person that is being portrayed, but also about the one is does the painting. So maybe this portret has become a self-portrait.

• first performance: April 1 2006
• Scheltema, Leiden
• Rembrandt Ensemble, Taco Kooijstra (cond.)
• duration: 11'
• year: 2006 (r.2010)

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11

on time dilation and synchronicity I

for fl cl tp perc pf gtr vln vlc db

For the quartet Fc Jongbloed I was asked to write a piece with the subject time. I decided to reread Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality and so I found my focus: density and simultaneousness. The core of the piece are some contrapunctual lines, hidden in the harpsichord part (bars 37-38). The other parts are (rhythmical) retrogrades of different parts of phrases, each with different length, from the left and right hand part. Each voice goes through a harmonic scheme, everyone’s material is constantly in each other’s neighbourhood but hardly ever at the same time. Until here this was one of my most strict pieces I had ever written. But then I decided this little machine too had to be disrupted. Some bars or parts of bars were repeated or taken out.
Often musicians are inclined to synchronise their parts and in this light, this piece is an obstacle course. Because of the rather complex rhythmical notation (in fact a sort of written out ritenuti and accelerandi) it is diffucult to find a common pulse. Sforzato’s pop up that often, but not always, sound at the same time. The musicians find each other around the middle of the piece but let go of the newfound synchronisation again. Roughly taken, the density decreases throughout the piece, spacetime keeps dilating. But also: Heisenberg's uncertainty principle in sound.

• first performance (version for quartet): November 5 2009
• Toonzaal, 's-Hertogenbosch
• FC Jongbloed, Arnold Marinissen (cond.)
• duration: 6'
• year: 2010

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10

hammer smashed phase

for fl bcl tp perc pf egtr vln vlc db

What would it have sounded like if Morton Feldman had played in the American death metal band Cannibal Corpse? Who knows, but it might have some ground in common with my piece for Modelo62, Hammer Smashed Phase (after Cannibal Corpse's big hit Hammer Smashed Face).
The piece skips back and forth between soft, diffuse textures and brutal, relentless thrashing. Binding elements are harmonies based on canons and references to several aspects that appear in metal, not really stylistically but more from a playing technique point of view.
This piece was written with financial support from the NFPK+.

• first performance: March 13 2010
• Korzo5HOOG, The Hague
• ensemble Modelo62
• duration: 18'
• year: 2010

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9

pale

for fl & pf

Pale for flute and piano started off as an one minute intro for another piece for flute and piano. It grew into an entity of its own (and turned out to be better than the piece it originated from).

• first performance: April 18 2005
• Judith Kuipers & Kornilios Selamtzis
• Royal Conservatoire, The Hague
• duration: 15'
• year: 2004 (r.2009)

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8

Ei, a chamber opera

for alto/mezzo fl ob bs tp trb perc vln db

Op 26 juni geeft Fast Opera Productions zijn eerste concert op het Koninklijk Conservatorium te Den Haag. Hier zullen de premieres plaatsvinden van kameropera's speciaal geschreven voor FOP door Janco Verduin en Graham Flett. Beide opera's zullen ook worden uitgevoerd in augustus op de Internationale Muziekzomer te Gelderland. Houd deze pagina in de gaten voor de laatste ontwikkelingen! FOP is het nieuwste en jongste operagezelschap van Nederland. FOP staat voor Fast Opera Productions en voert nieuwe opera's uit op allerlei (on)mogelijke plekken. De opera's van FOP duren niet langer dan een kwartier en worden door FOP zelf gemaakt, geschreven, gespeeld en geproduceerd. FOP bestaat uit tekstschrijvers, componisten en musici die zijn geselecteerd op hun niveau, talent, ambitie en uitstraling. FOP speelt muziek van deze tijd, gemaakt door mensen van nu. De opera's van FOP worden gezongen en gesproken in het Nederlands en zijn overal uitvoerbaar.

• first performance: August 20 2009
• Orpheus, Apeldoorn
• Carina Vinke and Fast Opera Productions
• duration: 25'
• year: 2009
• Libretto: Simone de Jong

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7

refraction

for vln & pf

Refraction was written for the Iordens viooldagen 2010. Although I was asked to write for the A category (children from 10-12) I also composed a more difficult version for more advanced violin players. The easier version carries the subtitle Unbroken and the more difficult one Broken.
The title refers to the fact that light (or more general, waves of any sort) changes speed when it passes from one medium to another. Think of how a stick looks broken when it is held in water. Both versions are written in a whole tone scale, but the more difficult one is transposed every beat a bit up or down by a certain pattern.

• first performance: January 23 2010
• written for Iordens Viooldagen
• duration: 5'
• year: 2009
• published by Donemus

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6

concerto for orchestra

for orchestra (3333 4331 timp 3perc hrp pf str)

I aimed to write a piece that addressed all members of the orchestra, hence the subtitle. The form though, is not concerto-like. Here I made hard cuts between different sections, like watching only the deleted scenes from a movie. The sections are related but little information is given: the listener has to construct (or reconstruct) the underlying flow.

• first performance: September 12 2009
• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
• Holland Symfonia, Etienne Siebens
• Encouragement Prize & Audience Prize Project Jonge Componisten
• more info
• duration: 11'
• year: 2009
• published by Donemus

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5

Pull the Plug

for baroque orchestra (4rec, 4trav, 4ob, 3bs, theorbe, hrps, organ, timp, str(7.7.3.4.2))

programnotesmissingOMG

• first performance: April 24 2009
• Grote Kerk, The Hague
• Royal Conservatoire Baroque Orchestra, Peter van Heygen (cond.)
• duration: 7'
• year: 2009

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4

eine kleine Übung in Erscheinungsformen und Zusammenhang

for violin

Written for and dedicated to Maartje Kraan

• first performance: June 25 2007
• Royal Conservatoire, The Hague
• Maartje Kraan
• duration: 14'
• year: 2007

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3

this godless endeavour

for fl ob cl perc hrp mnd gtr pf vln vla vlc db

How to compose two opposing forces when one is static, rough and harsh like the surface of a concrete wall, while the other is organic, delicate and developing? And how to handle an off-balance form? Can I balance such a form in new ways without using the old techniques? And how to handle a subject as rhythm when music almost always has rhythm as a parameter? I was searching for several ways to focus on different interpretations of rhythm and see if I could avoid the modern-music-cliché of just writing parallel patterns of different lengths (five against seven against nine etc) or making it so complex that the details get lost in the blur.

• first performance: April 23 2005
• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam'
• Nieuw Ensemble, Arie van Beek (cond.)
• duration: 10'
• year: 2005

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2

The canary and the crow

for soprano & alto

The canary pitied the crow, for it could not sing as beautiful as the canary did. The crow however thought otherwise. But your beak produces nothing but dry croaking, the canary proclaimed. But the crow objected and said it sang the truth. "And the thruth is not always melodic nor harmonious. Sometimes it is sweet, but often the truth tastes so sour or bitter. What you sing is but a lie." the crow stated. "A lie?", the canary asked. "But I sing from the heart! How can that be a lie? I express my deepest feelings, and at least my song is music. Nobody out there wants to listen to yours. So what's the point of singing it? A mere mathematical trick. You hide behind theories, and mask your emptiness with complexity." "Your song has been sung too often, and it has died long ago. It cannot please the mind anymore. You sing what you believe others wish to hear. I sing the most profound music the mind can produce! It is too complex for you, you just don't understand. Your song is an empty shell filled with nothing but cliches."
The discussion left the two with two questions which had but one answer.
canary: How can I sing and reach the mind?
crow: How can I sing and reach the heart?

• first performance: April 28 2004
• Royal Conservatoire, The Hague
• duration: 4'
• year: 2004

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1

Fysica voor dichters

for baritone & pf

Won the first prize of the VSB poezie prijs voor beginnende componisten

• first performance: April 28 2004
• De Rode Hoed, Amsterdam
• Thomas Oliemans & Ernst Munneke
• duration: 4'
• year: 2003

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