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Nancy Braithwaite, clarinetist
Links:
Read here (in Dutch) about my concert series in Bunnik, see the concert schedule learn more about the Arto Ensemble and read about past concerts.
The Arto Ensemble initially was made up of two couples. My husband Oane Wierdsma, who died of cancer in 2008, was our pianist, I am the clarinetist, Prunella Pacey is our violist and her partner Guus Fabius plays the cello. We all had young children when I started the series and it was intended as a family friendly enterprise. Arto stands for the names of our children:
Amarins
Rosina
Tsjalling
Otto
It is especially nice to announce that Amarins, violin, and Rosina, mezzo soprano, have recently joined our ensemble! They are both marvelously talented young artists and we parents are very proud to share the podium with them! You can read more about Amarins here:
Rietveld Ensemble
Here is a button linking to the website of the Rietveld Ensemble.
We are an ensemble based in the Utrecht area of The Netherlands. Gerrit Rietveld(1888-1964) was a famous Dutch architect, graphic designer and furniture designer from Utrecht. Much of the music for our combination of violin(Elisabeth Perry), violin (Chris Duindam), viola (Richard Wolfe), cello (Matthias Naegele), clarinet (Nancy Braithwaite) and piano(Ernst Munneke) was written during Rietveld's lifetime. We also play music from the classical period and the romantic period and commission compositions from present day composers.
We like to program a variety of instrumentations in our concerts and we regularly include fabulous guest artists at our concert series in Utrecht, Amsterdam and The Hague.
I discovered the fantastic Uebel Superior Clarinets in July 2015 and fell in love with their warm colorful and even sound. I have found my voice!
The Silverstein Ligature lets the reed shine in all of its glory! The added depth in sound is amazng!
Codarts is the name of the conservatory in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I am Professor of Clarinet and Chamber Music at this thriving, international school. Contact me if you are interested in a trial lesson.
This is the link for the International Clarinet Association. Please join and get our wonderful quarterly magazine full of information about everything related to clarinet playing.
This is a link to the website of the Boston based composer, Thomas Oboe Lee.
I first met Tom when he wrote a piece for solo clarinet for me to play at my sister's wedding in 1996 called 'Trinca de Choros'. I liked his music so much that I invited him to write for our group, the Arto Ensemble. Tom wrote 'Yo Picasso' for clarinet, viola, cello and piano in 1997 and came to The Netherlands to coach us and hear the premiere. In 2012 Tom wrote an octet for the Emmelos Ensemble ( 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, clarinet, bassoon and horn) and again traveled to The Netherlands to attend the performances. I have also performed his wonderful work for mezzo soprano, clarinet and piano , 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly' (1991), a number of times.
I have commissioned a clarinet quintet from Tom, which will be premiered in The Netherlands in May, 2014.
This is a link to the website of the Utrecht based composer, Carlos Michans. I first met Carlos when we had both just arrived in The Netherlands in 1982 and I played his 'Musica Funebris' (1984) for clarinet, cello and piano in that period. In 2010 I performed his 'Igoriana, Three Glances at the Rite of Spring' (2001) for clarinet, piano, violin, viola, cello and bass at a concert in celebration of his 60th birthday.
In February, 2014 I performed his 'Fünf Kommentare zu Ich ruf zu dir' (2012) for clarinet and harp.
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