Bram van Sambeek (born 1980) is a Dutch

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

soloist and teacher. He was principal bassoonist in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (2002–2011) and played as a regular guest principal in the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and

Mahler Chamber Orchestra The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997. The MCO appears throughout the year in about 60–70 concerts and performances. It ...

. He has performed as a soloist with many orchestras like the

Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO; sv, Göteborgs Symfoniker) is a Swedish symphony orchestra based in Gothenburg. The GSO is resident at the Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen. The orchestra received the title of the National Orche ...

Lahti Symphony Orchestra The Lahti Symphony Orchestra (''Sinfonia Lahti'') is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949 ...

, and the

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...

, and has an ongoing cooperation with

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings. ...

... Van Sambeek held a professorship at the

Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln The Cologne University of Music ( is a music college in Cologne, Germany. Founded in 1850, it is Europe's largest academy of music. History The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as ''Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln''. In 1895 Ger ...

from 2017 until 2021. Since 2019 he teaches exclusively at the

Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...

Early life and education

Bram van Sambeek started playing the bassoon when he was 10 years old. Initially he took classes with Fred Gaasterland. At the

he was taught by Joep Terwey and Johan Steinmann. After graduating the took classes with

Gustavo Núñez Gustavo Núñez (born in Montevideo, February 15, 1965) is a Uruguayan bassoonist trained at Musikhochschule Hannover (Prof. Klaus Thunemann) and the Royal College of Music (Kerry Camden). He has served as principal bassoon of the Royal Conce ...

and master classes with

Klaus Thunemann Klaus Thunemann (born 19 April 1937) is a German bassoonist, considered "one of the finest bassoonists of his generation". Biography Klaus Thunemann was born in Magdeburg on 19 April 1937. He originally studied piano but from the age of 18 foc ...

and

Sergio Azzolini Sergio Azzolini (born 1967, in Bolzano) is an Italian bassoonist and music conductor. Early life Azzolini was born in Bolzano, Italy in 1967 and learned bassoon after his mother suggested being a musician would provide a long term job for him. ...

. At the age of 15, he joined the

National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands The National Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands (NJO, nl, Nationaal Jeugdorkest) is the national youth orchestra of the Netherlands, founded in 1957. It consists of young musicians between 18 and 26 years of age. It has appeared with conductor ...

, and from the age of 18 until 20 he played in the

Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO) is a youth orchestra based in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1986 by conductor Claudio Abbado, and named after Gustav Mahler. It is an associated member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras. ...

. The Heckel bassoon that Van Sambeek plays was made in 1970 and is the Heckel #11174. This instrument was previously used by Klaus Thunemann and Sergio Azzolini.

Career

From 1997 onwards, Van Sambeek played chamber music with, among others, the Orlando Quintet. He also plays regularly at chamber music festivals such as the Delft Chamber Music Festival, the

Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival The Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival (alternate: ''Internationales Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus'') is an annual chamber music festival located in the Austrian state of Burgenland. It is held at three venues in Lockenhaus: Burg Lockenhaus castle, ...

, the

West Cork Chamber Music Festival The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is a music festival, established in 1995, in the town of Bantry in West Cork, Ireland. It usually occurs in July. Performers The festival's performers have included the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, Barry Douglas, ...

, and the Storioni Festival In the past, he was part of the Schulhoff Trio and formed a duo with

Izhar Elias Izhar Elias (born in Amsterdam, 1977) was the first guitarist to win the Dutch Music Prize. He is specialised in new music for guitar, early and chamber music. By using historical methods and original instruments, Elias has been able to recreate a m ...

, with whom he played on the album Bassoon Kaleidoscope. From 2012 to 2015, van Sambeek was admitted to and participated in, The Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 2002, van Sambeek started out as solo and first bassoonist at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2011, he left the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra because he wanted to focus on

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and his soloist career. From 2007 onwards, van Sambeek is a regular guest solo bassoonist at the London Symphony Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and many other orchestras. Van Sambeek also teaches bassoon: * 2009–2015: Bassoon teacher at

Codarts Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

* 2013–2017: Bassoon teacher at

Conservatorium van Amsterdam The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...

Amsterdam University of the Arts The Amsterdam University of the Arts ( nl, Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university of arts located in Amsterdam. The university consists of: * Academy of Architecture * Academy of Theatre and Dance * Breitner Aca ...

* 2015–2017: Bassoon teacher at the

* 2017–2021: Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

* 2019-present: Bassoon teacher at the

Van Sambeek is involved with special projects: * Vivaldi Rocks is a project where Van Sambeek and his ensemble ORBI works together with

Hugo Ticciati Hugo Ticciati (born April 12, 1980) is a British-born violinist, living in Sweden. He has performed in several worldwide events such as the Gotland Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), the St. Denis-Festival (Paris), and the Festival Internacional ...

and his O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra. They mix Vivaldi’s concerti with rock songs to introduce people to old composers. * Save the Bassoon. In June 2015, the

Holland Festival The Holland Festival () is the oldest and largest performing arts festival in the Netherlands. It takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theatre, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and archite ...

started a campaign called Save the Bassoon and asked Bram van Sambeek to be their spokesperson. The campaign was designed to make people aware of the importance of this

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

and to encourage young musicians to take it up. The campaign highlights the scarcity in bassoonists and some other orchestral instruments that are under threat, such as the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

, and double bass.

Awards

* 1999: SJMN - Musical Talent of the Year The Netherlands * 2008: 2nd prize in the International Gillet-Fox Competition organized by the

International Double Reed Society The International Double Reed Society (IDRS), is an organization that promotes the interests of double reed players, instrument manufacturers and enthusiasts. Services provided by the IDRS include an international oboe and bassoon competition, an ...

* 2009: The Dutch Music Award; awarded by the

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science ( nl, Ministerie van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschappen; OCW) is the Dutch Ministry responsible for education, culture, science, research, gender equality and communications. The Ministry was cre ...

(OCW) to a musician working in the field of classical music. Bram van Sambeek was the only bassoonist to date to receive this award * 2011: Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award * 2018: BBC Music Magazine Award for the album Fagerlund & Aho: Bassoon Concertos with label BIS Records

Discography

Albums: * ''Bach on the Bassoon'' (2022). Label: BIS Records * ''Mozart, Weber & DuPuy: Bassoon Concertos'' (2020). Label: BIS Records * ''ORBI: The Oscilating Revenge of the Background Instruments'' (2019). Label: BIS Records * ''Fagerlund & Aho: Bassoon Concertos'' (2016). Label: BIS Records * ''Bassoon Kaleidoscope'' (2012). Label: Brilliant Records * ''Bram van Sambeek: The Art of the Bassoon'' (2009). Label: Brilliant Records

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sambeek, Bram 1980 births Living people Dutch classical bassoonists Musicians from Groningen (city) Academic staff of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam