In August we announced a structural collaboration with Residentie Orkest Den Haag. The first concrete result of this will take shape in 2021. The orchestra will then play the work Lung by the Canadian / Icelandic composer Fjóla Evans, chosen by the orchestra from a shortlist made by the jury of the Gaudeamus Award 2020. The concert takes place in the autumn of 2021, in the then newly opened cultural center of The Hague, Amare.
When registering for the Gaudeamus Award 2020, composers could not only submit work for the Award, but were also given the opportunity to submit an orchestral work for the Residentie Orkest. Of the 233 composers who applied, 100 did this as well. In addition to the shortlist of four nominees for the Award, the jury of the Gaudeamus Award (Calliope Tsoupaki, Saed Haddad and Oscar Bettison) also chose a parallel shortlist with three orchestral works, from which the Residentie Orkest Den Haag chose Lung.
Kunsthaus Graz
Fjóla Evans
For Lung, Evans imagined the orchestra as a lung: pulsating, organic and constantly moving. She was inspired in part by the special architecture of the Kunsthaus Graz in Austria (see illustration). Evans is a composer and cellist and is often inspired by natural phenomena. She has written pieces for Vicky Chow, the eight blackbird ensemble and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, among others. She also often performs her work herself. She studied composition under Julia Wolfe and cello under Matt Haimovitz.
Residentie Orkest Den Haag
Residentie Orkest is the orchestra of, for, in and from The Hague. Closely related to the city and its inhabitants and supporting the ‘function’ of The Hague: residence, city of peace and justice, diplomatic city, residential and business city, socially committed city. The orchestra actively uses classical music to connect and stimulate all residents and visitors in The Hague. Residentie Orkest is one of the large, renowned symphony orchestras in the Netherlands and can be heard regularly on leading stages at home and abroad. The orchestra provides concerts at the Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen, but will be housed in the new Amare building in the heart of The Hague from 2021 onwards. Nicholas Collon is currently chief conductor and artistic adviser of the Residentie Orkest. From the summer of 2021, Anja Bihlmaier will be the new chief conductor. Richard Egarr remains a permanent guest conductor and Jun Märkl has also been appointed as a permanent guest conductor.
Residentie Orkest Den Haag