Calefax is a Dutch
reed quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...
. The ensemble consists of five different reed instruments played by the musicians Oliver Boekhoorn (
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.
...
), Ivar Berix (
clarinet), Raaf Hekkema (
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...
), Jelte Althuis (
bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave ...
) and Alban Wesly (
bassoon).
Music
The group is described as a "classical ensemble with a pop mentality".
They often perform standing up, regularly playing music from memory without sheet music. Calefax has commissioned over two hundred pieces for reed quintet, which it performs alongside arrangements of preexisting works. Their repertoire spans the entire history of music, including
Renaissance music
Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the T ...
,
Baroque music,
Impressionism in music
Impressionism in music was a movement among various composers in Western classical music (mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries) whose music focuses on mood and atmosphere, "conveying the moods and emotions aroused by the subjec ...
and
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
.
Activities
Calefax gives dozens of concerts each season, travelling throughout the world.
The group has worked alongside such acts as the
Orlando Consort, Mad Cows Sing,
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...
Ivo Janssen,
alto Helena Rasker,
mezzo-soprano Cora Burggraaf, jazz singers
Denise Jannah and Astrid Seriese, the
Tony Overwater Trio and choreographer Sanne van der Put. Calefax also gives masterclasses and workshops for amateur musicians and
conservatoire
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
students.
CD recordings
Calefax CDs have appeared on the German label
MDG and Jazz in Motion. The group has so far published 17 CDs.
Awards and honours
Calefax received the Philip Morris Art Prize in 1997, the Kersjes van de Groenekan Prize in 2001 and the VSCD Classical Music Prize in 2005.
References
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Chamber music groups
Dutch classical music groups
Musical quintets