29 November – Concert in Sint-Niklaas

This weekend, I had the pleasure of performing with the Nadar Ensemble in our home town of Sint-Niklaas. And yes, you read that correctly: me playing Bach?
Well… sort of.

For me, a highlight of the evening was performing Simon Steen-Andersen’s fascinating re-staging of Bach’s Ich habe genug. It’s a brilliant, intricate, and surprising piece — always a challenge.

We also premiered Anthony Romaniuk’s new work, Enough (Already), composed especially for us and for this program, fittingly titled “I’ll be Bach.”

The concert featured wonderful solo performances by my colleagues Pieter Matthynssens, Nico Couck, and Anthony Romaniuk. Bravo!

Trombone Octet – Reading Farzan Salsabili’s New Piece

A few days earlier, on 26 November, the trombone class at the HfMT Köln gathered to read through a brand new piece by Farzan Salsabili, a student of Brigitta Munte­ndorf and Oxana Omelchuk.

Written specifically for this ensemble as part of the Oktett-Reihe project, the piece dives deep into the possibilities of the trombone — full of inventive techniques, written for the instrument in a way that feels natural, idiomatic, and exciting. It was a joy to explore this new work for the first time.

Next Concert – 17 December in Kraków (PL)

The next stop is Kraków, on 17 December at 19:00 in the Cricoteka. I’m both excited and a little daunted: performing two demanding solo works in one evening is always a real challenge.

The program features:

• Thierry De Mey – Light Music
• Piotr Peszat – And I am standing on stage again (world premiere)

Peszat’s new piece, inspired by the work of the renowned Polish artist Tadeusz Kantor and his Theatre of Death, reimagines the trombone concerto format. It dives into the mechanisms of human memory, weaving references to Kantor’s world into a vivid musical language.

It’s a true honour to be able to premiere this work in the Cricoteka, the museum dedicated to Kantor’s life and art.

Portrait of George Lewis – 27.10, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln

On a concert put on by ColLAB Cologne, I was asked to play George Lewis’s Oraculum for solo trombone. It’s a powerful piece and I learned a lot about my own instrument through it. Performing as a professor for many of my new colleagues (and a full house!) added another layer to the experience. Hearing the piece live in that space, made every gesture more real – it’s a great piece and it needs an audience.

The concert was part of the festival Composing While Black and Queer, organized by my colleagues Anna Schürmer and Susanne Blumenthal. I was happy to have been a part of a festival that centers these voices.

Concert with MAM – 9.11, Dortmund
A few weeks later, I was in Dortmund with MAM, working again with Michael Maierhof. We played a new piece that takes his sound ideas further into the realm of light. It was great to play with new people in the ensemble and to perform in the unusual space of Tresor.West. It’s exciting when a piece feels like it’s evolving in real time, and this one definitely did.

Coming Up

Aix•tent Concert – 20.11, Aachen
My student ensemble in Aachen have been preparing a noisy, post-spectral program and been working hard on new techniques. We also had a masterclass with Wolfgang Bender, former violinist with the Kairos Quartet. The program includes music by Catherine Lamb, Julia Wolfe, and James Tenney. The students’ curiosity and energy is very rewarding.

Brigitte Kempen Wettbewerb – 21 & 22.11
I’ll be on the jury for the Brigitte Kempen Wettbewerb, this time for violins. Two days of competition. It’s interesting to participate as an outside perspective — not a string player myself — and I’m looking forward to hearing the different interpretations from the players and being on the other side, just listening and observing.