During the 24th edition of Entornos – an intensive course or festival for conductors and student conductors –, a special concert will take place on Wednesday, 21 May 2025 in Obbicht, the Netherlands, in the St. Willibrordus Church, starting at 7:30 p.m.
The event not only coincides with the celebration of the founding of Van Laar Trumpets 35 years ago.; is also a memorial to its founder, Hub van Laar, who sadly passed away in December 2022 and who would have celebrated his 61st birthday, just one day after the concert.
The concert has been planned to cover several aspects that are particularly interesting for fanfare orchestra. In collaboration with Van Laar Trumpets and the National Reserve Korps Fanfare orchestra (FKNR – Fanfare Korps Nationale Reserve), you will be witness to the new and very special E♭ (E flat) flugelhorn in the top layer of the orchestra which is to be heard in a brand-new composition by Rob Goorhuis entitled Song of Prudence. In this work, the soloist is none other than the soprano Fenna Ograjensek.
During the workshop prior to the concert on the afternoon of 21 May, the FKNR will work together with workshop leader Ivan Meylemans on differentiating between the new and old sound palettes in various compositions by leading composers for whom the E♭ flugelhorn was a standard sound in the treble (discant) of the orchestra. The “godfather” of Belgian fanfare music, Paul Gilson, immediately springs to mind, for example in his Ouverture Du Pirate among others!
The E♭ flugelhorn will be used in combination with the E♭ trumpet and E♭ cornet. We are keen to convey the message that playing with various timbres will enrich a fanfare orchestra’s versatility in sound. The connection between the E♭ flugelhorn with the B♭ flugelhorn is totally different from when the E♭ flugelhorn is replaced by the E♭ trumpet or E♭ cornet.
The E♭ flugelhorn is the instrument par excellence that will blend far better with flugelhorns, saxophones and the French horn.
At many World Music Contests, concerts and competitions, we have heard orchestras such as the Royal Fanfare Kempenbloei from Achel conducted by Ivan Meylemans, and the Oranje Fanfare Orchestra from Grootegast, initially conducted by Anne van den Berg and now by Jan Werkman, that present a sound that is highly diverse in the tenor and treble registers. In view of such unprecedented positive reactions from the general public and the often-heard comments that the orchestras mentioned above have a beautiful tonal palette, it remains a mystery to me (Alex Schillings) why there is so little follow-up.
Further information about ENTORNOS can be found on the website https://tijdruimteklank.nl/ and about the workshop and concert https://tijdruimteklank.nl/nieuws/de-es-bugelterug-van-weggeweest.html .
Location
H.Willibrordus Kerk Obbicht