Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Barnet Education Arts Trust (BEAT) is an independent charity which provides high quality musical opportunities to children and young people across the Borough of Barnet.  The Barnet Youth Wind Orchestra is formed of musicians who rehearse regularly at one of our three music academies.  These talented young musicians perform a variety of concerts throughout the year, and have come together for this tour.

FREE entry

Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.
This service includes a celebration of the Lords Supper.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Amsterdam Gala Orchestra

Step into the enchanting world of classical music in one of Amsterdam’s most hidden and historic treasures—the English Reformed Church at the Begijnhof. Nestled in a serene courtyard dating back to the Middle Ages, this venue provides the perfect setting for an evening of musical brilliance.

Enjoy an extraordinary performance by renowned musicians as they bring to life some of the most celebrated works in classical music history. From the moving melodies of Bach and Mozart to the passionate compositions of Vivaldi and Beethoven, each piece is performed with exceptional artistry, creating an unforgettable experience for all music lovers.

Program:

- A. Vivaldi - The Four Seasons (Spring&Summer)

- J. Pachelbel - Canon & Gigue in D major

- W. A. Mozart - Requiem (Lacrimosa)

- J. S. Bach - Air on the G String

- F. Schubert - Ave Maria

- W. A. Mozart - Salzburg Symphony K136 Allegro

- L. van Beethoven - Symphony No. 5 (Allegro)

TICKETS: €26 advanced sales: tickets - Gala Orchestra

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.
This service includes a celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

20s & 30s Lunch
Every first Sunday of the month the 20s & 30s group from the church meet at Calf & Bloom for lunch and fellowship after the service (around noon).

Anyone is welcome to join! For questions, get in touch with Elisabeth: elisabeth.ijmker@erc.amsterdam

Program:

Fernando Lopes-Graça – Forgotten Page

Anne Vitorino de Almeida – Beyond (World Premiere)

Daniel Bernardes – Sketches Inspired by Camões

André Mehmari – Brazilian Suite

Reading of the poems by Luís Vaz de Camões, translated by Harrie Lemmens.

Reading of the originals by Teresa Pinto.

Isabel Vaz was born in Lisbon and began studying music at four and cello at seven with Luís Estevão da Silva and Maria José Falcão at the Fundação Musical dos Amigos das Crianças. She graduated from the Lisbon University of Music with Clélia Vital and Irene Lima (chamber music). She completed a Master's degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the class of Dmitry Ferschtman with a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal. She had the opportunity to study at HAMU in Prague with Vaclav Bernasek and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Alan Stepansky.

She has received awards at various national and international competitions, both as a soloist and for chamber music. In 2006, she was awarded second prize at the Portuguese Young Musicians Prize for the Piano Chamber Music section of the ESML Quintet, and in 2009, first prize with the Quarteto Blanc. In 2012, Isabel Vaz won third prize and the audience award at the Estoril Interpretation Competition (Portugal), and first prize in 2016. From 2013 to 2015, she was a member of the Quartetto Indaco from Milan, and she distinguished herself at several competitions – first prize at the 2013 Guido Papini International Competition, the Jeunesse Musical Deutschland Prize at the Premio Borciano 2014, and third prize at the 2014 Val Tidone International Competition. The Indaco Quartet completed a master's degree in string quartets at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover with Oliver Wille. During this period the quartet also participated in various international festivals and performed in renowned concert halls across Europe, collaborating with internationally renowned musicians such as Bruno Canino and members of the Quartetto di Cremona.

Vasco Dantas, a Portuguese pianist born in Porto, has received over 50 prizes and awards at international competitions, including the Grand Prix at the Valletta International Piano Competition (Malta), the Special Prix at the International Piano Competition SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem (Morocco), first prize at the International Competition of the City of Vigo (Spain), the International Santa Cecilia Competition and Interpretation Estoril-Lisbon, a Gold Medal of Merit (Municipality of Matosinhos, Portugal), and the Casa da Música e Münster Steinway & Sons Prize (Germany).

After his first performances at Hong Kong City Hall and the Main Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2019, he made his first solo appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York. He has also performed as a soloist with other orchestras, including the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra (Moscow), the Filarmónica Portuguesa, the Hong Kong Symphonia, the Lisbon Metropolitana, the Sinfónica do Espírito Santo (Brazil), the Porto Symphony Orchestra, the Sinfónica Portuguesa, and the Südwestdeutschlands Kammerorchester (Germany). This has given him the opportunity to work with renowned conductors such as Choi Sown Le, Daniel Cohen, Dinis Sousa, Douglas Bostock, Günter Neuhold, Jan Wierzba, Joshua dos Santos, Martin André, Misha Rachlevsky, Osvaldo Ferreira, Pedro Carneiro, Pedro Neves, Peter Sauerwein, Rui Pinheiro, Vassily Sinaisky, and Victor Hugo Toro. His tours have taken him to numerous prestigious venues across five continents.

Vasco Dantas began playing the piano at the age of four, and two years later, he made his first public appearance on Portuguese radio. In 2000, he was admitted with honors to the Porto Conservatory, where he studied with Rosgard Lingardson. In addition to piano, he also began studying violin. He graduated in Music from the London Royal College of Music, with piano accompanists Dmitri Alexeev and Niel Immelman. He also studied orchestral conducting with Peter Stark and Natalia Luis-Bassa. He holds a Master's degree in Performance and a doctorate in the "Konzertexamen" from the University of Münster, with Heribert Koch as his accompanist. He has been invited to lecture at Boston University, holds a Master's degree in Music Education from the University of Aveiro, and earned the Art of Teaching diploma from the London RCM. Vasco Dantas is regularly invited to teach in masterclasses and at international festivals. He is the artistic director of the Algarve Music Series, a chamber music festival in the Algarve featuring world-class artists. He has recorded CDs at the invitation of Antena 2, ARS Produktion, Coviello Classics, Rádio Galega, MPMP, and KNS Classical. His discography includes five albums: Promenade (2015), Golden Liszt (2016), Freitas Branco|Sonatas (2020 – nominated for Best Classical Album by the Play Awards), Poetic Scenes (2020, nominated by Opus Klassik as Discovery Artist of the Year), and Departure (2021). Vasco receives support from AVA Musical Editions and the AMMFoundation.

More information: Vaz-Dantas

TICKETS: 7sept.stager

Ekaterina Zhemaitis and Polina Kulikova

A concert of music for piano, quatre-mains

Cooking at the Kloof
With a small group of volunteers we will be cooking lunch for 45-80 homeless people in the city centre of Amsterdam.
Would you like to take part in this creative, culinary experience and get to know, or catch up with, other volunteers?
Please send an e-mail to Giles Francis at gilesf@telfort.nl for more information.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Francisca Galante (born in 2003) began her music studies at the age of three and was admitted to the Escola Artística de Música do Conservatório Nacional at the age of six, in Isabel Pimentel's viola class. In 2020, she was admitted to Francien Schatborn's class at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

Francisca has won several first prizes in national and international competitions, including: the "Concurso Nacional de Cordas Vasco Barbosa" (2017); IMKA Internet Music Competition (2017); Concurso Nacional Cidade de Montijo (2018); The North International Music Competition (2018); and Prémio Ilda Moura (2019). Francisca also won 3rd prize at JOVEM.COM in 2019, and first prize with her chamber music group at the same competition in 2017. Francisca has also won several prizes in the Netherlands. In 2021, she received 2nd prize at the national finals of the Princess Christina Competition. There, she also won the JON Prize, which allowed her to perform solo with the JON (Dutch Youth Orchestra). She also won the Britten Competition, which allowed her to perform solo with the Britten Youth Orchestra.

In August 2021, Francisca was invited to perform at the Oranjewoud Festival. In the summer of 2022, Francisca participated in a tour of Portugal with the Amsterdam Doktet. That same year, she participated in two projects with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2024, Francisca has been a member of the Seiji Ozawa International Academy, a prestigious academy dedicated to string quartets. Francisca is currently a member of the Otilka String Quartet. She is also touring with violinist Iris van Nuland, performing Britten's Double Concerto for Violin and Viola with the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, conducted by Jurjen Hempel. In the 2024/2025 season, Francisca will be an academy graduate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She plays a viola built in 1947 by Ansaldo Poggi, provided by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Foundation.

Lucien Renette (born 2003) began playing the violin at the age of eight. Four years later, he was accepted into the Young Musicians Academy at the Tilburg Conservatory, after which he continued his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Tjeerd Top. Since 2024, he has also studied with Vera Beths.

Since the age of 12, Lucien has performed extensively throughout the Netherlands as a chamber musician and soloist. In 2020, he and three friends founded the Otilka Quartet, which has since become a permanent ensemble that regularly performs on various stages. They have also appeared on various radio and television broadcasts, performing music by Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and a world premiere by Hans Henkemans.

From 2018 to 2020, he was also first violinist and principal violinist of the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, and in 2022 he became concertmaster of the VU Orchestra. With the VU Orchestra, he has been involved in major projects, such as performing Puccini's La Boheme at the Royal Theatre Carré with the Dutch Touring Opera and Mahler's Symphony No. 2 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Netherlands Concert Choir. In 2024, he performed again with the VU Orchestra to a full Concertgebouw, this time as solo violinist in a performance of Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. He also played as a soloist during the 2024 summer tour of Rudi Stephan's Music for Violin and Orchestra, including performances at a sold-out Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ and several venues in France and Germany.

In 2024, he was selected as principal violinist of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta Academy and participated in the "Sinfonia Concertante" project with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, conducted by Antje Weithaas. Lucien has also reached the finals of various competitions and won first prize, the audience award, the laureate prize, and the Gaudeamus Music Week prize at the 2019 Princess Christina Competition. Together with the Otilka Quartet, he won second prize at the 2024 Triomphe de l’Art in Brussels. He has performed solo with orchestras on numerous occasions, working with conductors such as Dominic Seldis, Arjan Tien, Jurjen Hempel, and Jules van Hessen.

Lucien plays a Carlo Antonio Testore violin, circa 1740, Milan. On loan from the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

More information: Galante-Renette

TICKETS: 14sept.stager

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.
This service includes a celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

20s & 30s Lunch
Every first Sunday of the month the 20s & 30s group from the church meet at Calf & Bloom for lunch and fellowship after the service (around noon).

Anyone is welcome to join! For questions, get in touch with Elisabeth: elisabeth.ijmker@erc.amsterdam

A. Fragoso (1897-1918)
Petite Suite
  1. Prelude
  2. Berceuse
  3. Dance
Nocturne in des-majeur

J.G. Daddi (1813-1887)
Tarantelle
Chant du gondolier, barcarolle

J. Vianna da Motta (1868-1948)
Adeus minha terra, barcarola [Farewell, my village, barcarolle]
Balada sobre duas Melodias Portuguesas [ballade on two Portuguese melodies], op. 16

A. Napoleão (1852-1917)
Légend (Legend from Beira) op.39

T. Marques (1963–)
5 preludes
In memoriam Alexander Scriabin
In memoriam Dmitri Shostakovich
In memoriam Carl Nielsen
In memoriam Frederico Mompou
In memoriam Sergei Prokofiev

F. Lucena Pais (2004-)
Hommage aan Camões *world premiere

This program offers us a perspective on Portuguese piano music from the great age of Romanticism to the present day. It revolves around two axes: the first is a tribute to Luís de Camões on the occasion of his 500th birthday, with a work by Francisco Lucena Pais, which will have its world premiere at this recital. It was written especially for this recital. The second axis is that of the Legends from the Portuguese province of Beira, a work composed around 1890 by the virtuoso pianist from Porto, Alfredo Napoleão. It is inspired by the Third Canto of the epic poem "Os Lusíadas," written by Camões—more concretely, the tragic story of Inês de Castro. And since these composers are also virtuoso pianists, this program also features works by João Guilherme Daddi, an extraordinary pianist; António Fragoso, a brilliant composer who died prematurely from influenza; and Vianna da Motta, a major figure in Portuguese music and culture. The five preludes dedicated to António Oliveira by Talmo Marques will be performed.

António Oliveira began his music studies at the Music Academy of Vilar do Paraíso. He earned his Bachelor's degree at the Porto University of Music and Performing Arts. As part of the Socrates/Erasmus program, he studied at the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. He continued his studies at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, Connecticut, USA, where he earned a Master of Music degree with the grade 10 in the class of Luiz de Moura Castro. He completed his studies with Helena Sá e Costa, Jaime Mota, Pedro Burmester, Mikail Pethukov, Carla Giudici, and Emanuel Ax. He received an honorable mention at the Maria Campina Competition and was a finalist in the Emerson String Quartet Competition.

Back in Portugal, he was accepted after a public selection process at the Porto Conservatory of Music, where he taught piano and coordinated the keyboard department. He was also a pianist with the Porto House Music Theatre. His career took him to Spain, France, Germany, Finland, Turkey, Canada, and the United States. He has played in important concert halls and festivals in Portugal and has recorded music for Portuguese radio RTP and RDP Antena2. He has recorded two CDs of 21st-century Portuguese music with clarinetist António Rosa. This duo, Projecto XXI, won the prize for best chamber music group at the 2007 Lleida Music Festival. He is the founder of PORTriO with clarinetist Filipe Pereira and violist Hugo Diogo. Their first CD was released in October 2013. He has conducted piano masterclasses at the Vila do Conde Conservatory of Music, the São João da Madeira Academy of Music, the Ateneu Comercial in Porto, the Viseu Conservatory of Music, the IKFEM Festival in Tui/Valença, and the Instituto Gregoriano in Lisbon. With soprano Ana Barros, he premiered and recorded the works Cicuta and Sept Épigrammes de Platon by composer António Chagas Rosa.

His discography includes three solo CDs: "Chopin & Liszt," "Ravel & Janacék," and "Schumann & Rachmaninoff," which have been well received by both audiences and critics. Rui Vieira Nery wrote about "Chopin & Liszt":

I listened with great pleasure to this new CD by a pianist from Porto, António Oliveira, whom I was unfamiliar with. Everything on the CD is excellent, especially some of Liszt's magnificent "Petrarch Sonnets," which compelled me to stop working and held my attention from beginning to end. In his biography, I saw that he was a student of Sofia Lourenço, Luiz Moura Castro, and Laszlo Simon, and that sound training is clearly evident, with a full and rounded sonority and an impressive legacy in terms of thematic design. Definitely worth listening.

"Schumann & Rachmaninoff" was awarded the silver medal for Outstanding Achievement at the 2023 Global Music Awards. António Oliveira gave the world premiere of composer Telmo Marques's Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra. He recorded Rachmaninoff's Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra as a guest on the "Música Maestro" program, presented by conductor Rui Massena, for the RTP. He has performed solo with the Orquestra Sinfónica de Cascais, the Orquestra Clássica do Centro, the Orquestra Clássica da Madeira, the Orquestra do Norte, the Orquestra Sinfónica da ESART, and with Fundação Orquestra Estúdio under the baton of conductors Nikolay Lalov, Sérgio Alapont, Rui Massena, Sandor Gyudi, and Miguel Graça Moura. He received his doctorate in Educational Sciences summa cum laude from the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, with the highest honors.

More information: Oliveira

TICKETS: 5oct.stager

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.
This service will be joined by ministers and clerks of the International Presbytery.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

A Gala Event!

“Beneath the Northern Lights”

Oslo Voices

perform a

Benefit Concert for Mulanje Mission Hospital

“Beneath the Northern Lights” captures the unique soundscape and harmonies of Nordic music. With this program, Oslo Voices seeks to offer comfort and serenity in a restless world. The repertoire features works by composers such as Edvard Grieg, Knut Nystedt, Morten Lauridsen, Frank Havrøy and others. It blends classical Norwegian folk melodies and selected English pieces that reflect the setting of this concert.

“We are delighted to present this program at the English Church in Amsterdam and look forward to an evening of beautiful and moving music.”

About the choir:

Oslo Voices is an acclaimed chamber choir based in Oslo, Norway, consisting of approximately 28 singers. The choir regularly performs in the Oslo area and has toured internationally in recent years, with concerts in Norway, Germany, Estonia, and the United Kingdom.

Under the direction of conductor Ingrid Hanken, Oslo Voices seeks to move audiences through present and engaging interpretations of a diverse repertoire. Recent programs have featured music by both historical and contemporary composers, including Norwegian names such as Edvard Grieg, Knut Nystedt, Henrik Ødegaard, Bjørn Morten Christophersen, Trond Kverno, and others, alongside works by Bach, Mozart, MacMillan, Reger, Willcocks, and more.

While Oslo Voices primarily performs a cappella, the choir also embraces larger productions. Recent highlights include Mozart’s Requiem, and in 2026, the choir will present Bach’s St. John Passion in collaboration with musicians from Oslo Circles and renowned soloists including Guy Cutting, Berit Norbakken, Marianne Beate Kielland, and others.

Photo: Peter Adamik

Mulanje Mission Hospital

Join us for this Gala Evening for the benefit of Mulanje Mission Hospital. Tonight’s acclaimed artists are very kindly and generously offering this concert without financial interest so that 100% of the proceeds can go to MMH! The English Reformed Church has for many years supported this hospital in Malawi and these benefit concerts are a major part of that long history.

TICKETS: Information on tickets will follow soon, but you can be assured that every cent will go to MMH!

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Raízes

Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906-1994)
Variations on a theme from Portuguese folk music

Sérgio Azevedo (1968)
Country Pieces, 2nd script
  I. Prelude with toccata
  II. Retaliation
  III. Jogo de Quintas
  IV. Garraiada
  V. Song
  VI. Crickets and Cicadas
  VII. Flutes and Drums

João Carlos Pinto (1998)
Four Traditional Portuguese Songs
  I. Os amores da azeitona / The Loves of the Olive Harvest
  II. Oh, Blessed Breeze
  III. My Love Gave Me a Handkerchief
  IV. Be Gone, Boogeyman

Amílcar Vasques-Dias (1945)
Lume de chão Kuilvuur – interwoven memories (selection)
  Eira do Outeiro - Threshing floor on the hill
  Flax
  By the Fire
  Shutter
  Tear-Tecer - Loom Weaving

António Pinho Vargas (1951)
  The Black Fado
  Que Amor Não Me Engana - That Amor Does Not Deceive Me (José Afonso)
  Cantiga prá Maria - Song for Maria

"Raízes" is a piano recital focused on Portuguese identity and the traditional sources and traditions that have shaped it over the centuries. The diversity of Portuguese folk music, resulting from the intermingling of peoples and cultures that have passed through or settled here over the course of more than 900 years of history, is remarkable for such a small country, despite its numerous geographical and cultural contrasts. While we have encountered examples of the use of folk music by classical composers before the 20th century, with Fernando Lopes-Graça, folklore became a model for later composers. This recital explores various expressions of this ancestral Portuguese identity, beginning with Fernando Lopes-Graça's earliest work. Following this are several generations of composers who had contact with him and studied with him, such as Sérgio Azevedo, or who were simply inspired by him or saw him as an ethical and artistic model, such as Amílcar Vasques Dias or António Pinho Vargas. João Carlos Pinto, the youngest composer in this recital, shows us that Portuguese musical traditions were not exhausted by previous composers as material for more sophisticated musical forms and that they continue to open doors to a future deeply rooted in Portuguese identity.

Diana Vieira (Azores, 1984) is one of the most active pianists in the Portuguese music scene, with a solid and versatile career. She participates in projects that combine piano tradition with artistic innovation. She has performed piano recitals and chamber music, and as a soloist with orchestras in Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands, England, the US, and South America.

She has won the Young Musicians Award – RDP Antena 2 in the piano category, as well as the Búzio Revelação (Expresso das 9) and the Prémio Cultura (Correio dos Açores). She has performed as a soloist with the Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, Orquestra Clássica do Centro, Sinfonietta de Ponta Delgada, Orquestra da Universidade Politécnica da Catalunha, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble de Sopros de Leiria, and Sinfonietta de Castelo Branco, under the direction of conductors Yuri Pankiv, Jean-Marc Burfin, Nikolay Lalov, José Eduardo Gomes, Amâncio Cabral, Mario Brandl García, Emily Ray, Alberto Roque, and Bruno Cândido. She has participated in festivals such as the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice (Boston), PianoFest (Chicago), Embassy Series – Uniting People Through Musical Diplomacy (Washington/DC), Meadowmount School of Music (New York), the Badajoz Ibérico Festival, Dias da Música at the CCB, Temporada Artística dos Açores, Porto PianoFest (online edition), the Viseu International Festival of Music, the Póvoa de Varzim International Festival, Música em Si Menor, the Lagoa/Algarve Piano Festival, the Santarém Piano Week, the Q.Art Festival, the Prolífica Festival, and the Matosinhos Piano Festival.

Diana incorporates music by Portuguese composers into her recitals each season. She has recorded and premiered several CDs of Portuguese music.

More information: Vieira

TICKETS: 19oct.stager

The Schola Cantorum of The London Oratory School sings at the London Oratory every Saturday evening in term time and on major feast days for School Mass throughout the year. Founded in 1996, the choir gives Catholic boys the opportunity of a choral education within the state education system from age 7 to 18. As well as its liturgical role, the Schola has made many recordings and has toured widely abroad, performing throughout the USA and Europe.

In 2013 the Schola sang at High Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and was the first visiting choir in history to sing at Vespers there. In 2015 the Schola toured Spain, singing a programme of Spanish renaissance polyphony at the Cathedrals of Madrid, Segovia and Toledo as well as the Monastery of San Lorenzo el Real in El Escorial. In 2016 the Schola toured Venice singing Mass at St Mark’s and a concert at the Church of San Salvador. The same year the Schola sang at a choral festival in Bavaria with the Tölzer Knabenchor. In 2017 the Schola toured southern Spain singing in Seville and Granada. Later in 2017 the Schola went on tour to the USA singing in Boston, New York and Washington DC.

FREE entry

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, you can follow the live stream here.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.
This service includes a celebration of the Lord’s Supper.

For those wishing to join the service online, the link for the live stream will follow.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

20s & 30s Lunch
Every first Sunday of the month the 20s & 30s group from the church meet at Calf & Bloom for lunch and fellowship after the service (around noon).

Anyone is welcome to join! For questions, get in touch with Elisabeth: elisabeth.ijmker@erc.amsterdam

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, the link for the live stream will follow.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Fado and other melancholies

No tempo de Camões - In the time of Camões
  António Carreira (1520-30? – 1587-97?) – Lyric with four glosses

Melancolias - Melancholies
  Carlos Seixas (1704-1742) – Menuet
  João Domingos Bomtempo (1775-1842) – Largo (van Sonata opus 13)
  Luiz de Freitas Branco (1890-1955) – Prelude
  António Pinho Vargas 91951) – Games

Fado’s
  João Gonçalves Simões (1895-1971) – Fado
  Ruy Coelho (1889-1986) – Fado de Lisboa
  João Maria de Abreu Mota (1914-1959) – Black Eyes (Fado)
  Sérgio Azevedo (1968) – Almost a fado… *#

Outras Melancolias - Other Melancholieën
  Sérgio Azevedo
    – Nokturny i Mazurki (selectionss)
    – Stukken voor kerkklokken
    – Album met Leoš Janáček I & II (selections) *
    – Flowing Waters – Music for Amsterdam *#

* World première
# Commissioned by Q.Art Events

This recital takes us through Portuguese keyboard music, which primarily evokes melancholy, a state of mind present not only in much of so-called classical music, but also essential to fado. This is the popular music form that best represents Portuguese culture. Starting with the Renaissance song written by António Carreira (and thus evoking the great figure of the poet Luís Vaz de Camões, whose 500th birthday was celebrated in 2024), we move through the music of Carlos Seixas, Bomtempo, and on to the present day. We hear pieces in which saudade, that typically Portuguese melancholy, the predominant feeling of fado (from "fatum" = fate), is unmistakably present. We would also like to mention the absolute premiere of two pieces by Sérgio Azevedo commissioned by Q.Art Events, one that evokes the idea of a fado (... almost a fado...), and the second that is dedicated to the city of Amsterdam (Flowing Waters – Music for Amsterdam).

Sérgio Azevedo, composer, was born in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1968. He studied with Fernando Lopes-Graça at the Academia de Amadores de Música and with Christopher Bochmann and Constança Capdeville at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (ESML), where he completed his degree in composition with the highest marks. He has won several national and international awards, including the United Nations Prize and the Prémio Autores (Portuguese organization SPA) in 2010. His works are regularly commissioned and performed by prestigious performers and orchestras, and can be heard on more than 50 CDs. He has published three books: “A Invenção dos Sons” [The Invention of Sounds], “Olga Prats – Um Piano Singular”, and “Christopher Bochmann: Sem música a vida seria um erro” [Without Music, Life Would Be a Mistake] and two more are in progress: “Guia dos Jovens para a Composição Musical” [Young People’s Guide to Musical Composition] and “A Música das Imagens” [The Music of Images], about the relationship between music and film. He also writes for “The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians” and since 1993 he has produced hundreds of programmes for the Portuguese Radio – Antena 2. Currently (2023) he is broadcasting “Ao Sabor da Corrente” [According to the Current]. Since 2021, he has been teaching two courses on classical music and film music at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Sérgio Azevedo holds a doctorate from the University of Minho and has been a lecturer in Composition and Orchestration at ESML since 1993.

More information: Azevedo

TICKETS: 9nov.stager

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, the link for the live stream will follow.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Ana Beatriz Manzanilla - violin

Francisca Fins - violin

Pedro Saglimbeni Muñoz - viola

Fernando Costa - cello

Program:

Fernando Lopes-Graça – Suite Rustica nº 2

  – Melancolico
  – Danzante
  – Scherzoso
  – In modo di Ninna-Nanna
  – Gaio

Heitor Villa-Lobos – Melancolia (uit kwartet nº 1)

Joly Braga-Santos – Kwartet nº 2 in a-klein op. 27

  – Largo-Allegro moderato
  – Adagio molto
  – Largo-Allegro molto vivace

This year, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Luís de Camões, the iconic embodiment of Portuguese language and culture. This musical program pays tribute to Camões's legacy through works that, each in its own way, evoke the soul of a people, collective memory, and the universality of human emotion—central themes in the poet's work.

We open with the Suite Rústica No. 2 by Fernando Lopes-Graça, a composer who, like Camões, returned to his traditional roots to distill an artistic identity from them. The five short movements—from the nostalgic Melancólico to the exuberant Gaio—present a soundscape characterized by the expressiveness of traditional folk music, as if each dance and melody evoked the distant echoes of an inner epic poet. Next, Melancolia from Quartet No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos brings us closer to the introspective dimension of Camões' poetry—the fado, lost love, the reflection on time and existence. Although Brazilian, this piece has the same Portuguese-Brazilian spirit that connects Camões to the Atlantic world, where the sense of exile and saudade resonates. The program concludes with Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 27 by Joly Braga Santos. Its powerful and lyrical expression dialogues with Camões' humanist and heroic ideals. The alternation between moments of solemnity, lyricism, and musical bravado evokes passages from the epic poem Os Lusíadas, in which fate, the sea, and the homeland merge into a single voice. Thus, this selection of works is not merely a musical tribute, but a gesture of cultural continuity – paying tribute in sounds to Camões’ enduring heritage.

Camerata Atlântica is a musical project founded by Venezuelan violinist Ana Beatriz Manzanilla, its artistic director. It consists of 11 professional string musicians, but the Camerata is so flexible that it can be expanded to a wider ensemble, depending on the repertoire being performed. Since its first concert in November 2013, Camerata Atlântica has performed at various international festivals. In 2023, it participated in the production of Britten's opera "The Turn of the Screw" at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon. Camerata Atlântica is scheduled to perform in various Spanish cities, including Madrid, Burgos, Cádiz, and Vigo. In May 2016, they were selected by the classical radio station Antena 2 to perform "Fuga para a América Latina" at the conclusion of the European Broadcasting Union's special series entitled "The Influence of Latin America." It was later broadcast in Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain, Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Romania. In 2021, they released their second CD, Bows Up!, on Naxos. It was dedicated to Portuguese string music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Camerata Atlântica focuses primarily on Portuguese music through performances and recordings of an extensive repertoire of Portuguese composers and major premieres of works, several of which are dedicated to the ensemble.

More information: Camerata Atlantica

TICKETS: 16nov.stager

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, the link for the live stream will follow.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Please join us in the church for a service of worship by our minister Rev Marius Louw.

For those wishing to join the service online, the link for the live stream will follow.

Liturgy sheet will follow.

Blazersensemble Zomeroctet

o.l.v. Frank van den Brink

Speelt Beethoven - septet

Friedrich Witt - octet

20s & 30s Lunch
Every first Sunday of the month the 20s & 30s group from the church meet at Calf & Bloom for lunch and fellowship after the service (around noon).

Anyone is welcome to join! For questions, get in touch with Elisabeth: elisabeth.ijmker@erc.amsterdam

Please join us in church for the Christmas Eve service. We will start at 22:00 with carol singing.