Last Thursday I had a concert with the Drents Youth Orchestra and the Toonkunstkoor Emman, in which we performed the Cantica de Sancto Benedicto by Jacob de Haan. The performance was outside on the festival terrain next to the city hall. There were open air concerts every night that week.
We would perform the same concert twice in a row. The first one would start at 8pm, but there was a misunderstanding, and in some of the pr material it said 8:30. Because of that we made a compromise, the orchestra would start playing at 8:15 and at 8:30 the Cantica would be performed.
Being outside with a wind orchestra, it was a good thing that there was amplification, which I normally don’t need. It’s always exciting to sing with a mic, you have to trust the technicians to make sure that you sound good, and that the balance is correct. The atmosphere was very special. Way different than at a performance in a church or concert hall. The people were sitting in the grass, there was beer, and it felt very relaxed.
As it became later, it became darker as well, making the concert more intimate. The light show was also much more interesting that way. The choir and the orchestra played quite well, and the conductor really conducted his heart out. At the second performance, the composer attended as well. That’s always very special! I got some very positive reactions from the audience after the concerts, and I really enjoyed singing them!
