Along with mouthwatering vocalist Vera Westera, Penguins Too is currently working on their own version of the legendary Pink Floyd album "Wish You Were Here" for concerts to be performed 2023-2024. The three meet regularly in Beek to explore what could be a great rendition of this wonderful music. Rehearsals are in development, keep an eye on our calendar!
Nopera
NOPERA is not really an opera. It combines references to opera with a lot of improvisation.
The performance consists of a series of compositions that serve as elements with which to build the whole piece, which can be structured in a different way every time. The libretto is written in a fantasy language, which the singers can use in any way they want.
The compositions may appear in every possible shape, sometimes slow and very soft, sometimes fast and wild. They can be interrupted, evolve into an improvisation or into another composition, or just be ignored. Working like this gives the singers and musicians the chance to develop their own ideas, to tell their own story, and to give a different direction to the concert every time.
Musicians
VOICES
- Lucia Meeuwsen is a classically trained mezzo soprano, who is very well known in classical and contemporary music.
- Vera Westera is familiar with many different musical genres, from pop music to jazz.
- Sean Bergin (1948 - 2012) was mainly known as saxophonist and bandleader, but he liked to sing as well. In his work one can hear the musical traditions of his native country South-Africa and the home of his ancestors: Ireland.
STRINGS
- Zapp4 is Jörg Brinkmann cello, Jasper Le Clercq violin, Oene van Geel, violin, viola Friedmar Hitzer viola, violin. Zapp4 is an extraordinary string quartet. To the classical string quartet tradition Zapp adds percussion techniques and a groovy way of playing, which enables them to sound like a heavy rock band, a bulgarian folkgroup or a bebopping jazz band.
PIANO/BASS/DRUMS
- Trio BraamDeJoodeVatcher is Michiel Braam piano, Wilbert de Joode double bass, Michael Vatcher drums. The band comprises three of the Dutch jazz scene’s most idiosyncratic musicians. They all play an absolutely equal role in the music, which can go in any which way, depending on decisions made on the spot.