We are told that sometimes, the best things come to he who waits, however, over the past couple of years it seems there has been rather too much waiting.
It is not every day that the principal trumpet from one of the finest orchestras in the world finds the time to support young musicians in your local town, but Saturday 21st May 2022, was one such day, and Miro Petkov, principal trumpet from the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam visited Enschede and oh, was it worth the wait.
Joined by fellow soloist Lisa Jacobs – a Dutch violinist and teacher at the Amsterdam Conservatory – Saturday night’s concert in the Wilminktheater, Enschede was the culmination of months of planning and preparation and rehearsals for students from the Symfonia Jong Twente – an independent youth orchestra for Twente and the German border region with members aged between fourteen and twenty-five and conducted by Alexander Geluk; Jeugd en Opleidingorkest, Wilhelmina – a youth wind orchestra based in Glanerbrug, Enschede and conducted by Nikki Kleijsen; and Jonge Strijkers & Blazers Nederland– an ensemble academy for wind and string players aged between eight and twenty-four, based in Amsterdam and directed by Nico Schippers, trombonist in the Royal Concertgebouw and a former Enschede boy, who played the trombone in the Wilhemina Orchestra in his youth, and to this day still pays his monthly subscription! His uncle, Hans Schippers, still conducts the Groot Orkest.
Miro, Lisa and all the students dazzled in this journey through film music, old and new, complemented by a little Vivaldi, Four Seasons to bring some classical charm to the mix.
Compered by the fabulous Dominic Seldis, double-bass player extraordinaire and judge on the Dutch TV show Maestro, we danced and sashayed our way through the film music of James Bond, Pirates of the Caribbean, Schindler’s List, The Godfather, Harry Potter and Star Wars in arrangements all written for this occasion by the Belgian trombonist and arranger, Steven Vershelst.
Dominic regaled us with anecdotes of his incredibly interesting life as a session player on a number of famous films. For me, the most interesting fact was learning that he is the double bass player on the opening four-note riff on the Golden Eye soundtrack with Tina Turner, for which he earned the grand total of £17.14 (€20) in royalties last year!
I was asked after the concert to name my favourite number, but I could not name just one. It was all so good. The two solo cellists, Douwe Eisses and Merel Coster, in Schindler’s List channelled the poignancy of the John Williams score in a solo originally written for the violinist, Itzah Perlman; the Jonge Strijkers with Lisa Jacobs performed with great style and elegance in Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Season’s; and the Morricone featured some epic French horn playing!
But for me it was the playing from Miro Petkov, transporting us to a place of such musicality and beauty, that will inspire and live long in the memories of musicians and audience alike. The highly emotional performance of the Bulgarian love song (on the flugel horn) with the Jonge Strijkers, the deeply poignant playing in Melodiya by the Ukranian composer – Skorkyk, and the insanely stratospheric playing in the finale, Star Wars, when Miro added his might to the massed combined forces on stage, really did make it a night to remember.
The saying rings true – the best things really do come to those who wait.
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