who almost made the reed quintet seem the best musical format on the planet. - The Times
More about Calefax
Claude Debussy, a composer who made history. Less well known is the turbulent life behind the notes. His fierce intelligence and stubborn nature are evident in his compositions. As a writer, he was feared under the pseudonym of Monsieur Croche, and in his letters he was sharp, eloquent and candid; meanwhile his love life was marked by fatal relationships and secret loves. During the concert, Calefax will recite texts by Debussy, providing insight into his contrarian life.
Throughout the year 2025, Calefax performs The Music Factory several times. It is a humorous production without words, but with lots and lots of music. The five Calefax men work in a pipe factory. Every day they do the same and that suits them fine. So there is great panic when one day the orders stop coming in. The men decide to experiment with the pipes and inadvertently invent a musical instrument, which happens to sound really good as well! This turns out to be the start of a wild musical adventure with reed instruments.
In February, Calefax travels to the USA for a series of concerts. The programme includes music by Bach, Gershwin and the Dutch composer Henriëtte Bosmans.
Calefax tours six to eight concertprogrammes per season in the Netherlands and tours abroad to a.o. the USA, China, Japan, UK, Eastern-Europe and Germany.
| Fri 28 Feb | 15.00 | The Music Factory (6+) | Veerensmederij | Amersfoort / NL | Info | Tickets |
| Sun 16 Mar | 11.30 | Debussy: pioneer, esthete, troublemaker | Stadsgehoorzaal | Leiden / NL | Info | Tickets |
| Wed 19 Mar | 20.15 | Debussy: pioneer, esthete, troublemaker | Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ | Amsterdam / NL | Info | Tickets |
| Sun 23 Mar | 11.30 | Debussy: pioneer, esthete, troublemaker | Het Park | Hoorn / NL | Info | Tickets |
| Fri 28 Mar | 10.30 | The Music Factory (6+) | Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (private concert) | Amsterdam / NL | Info | |
| Sun 6 Apr | 13.30 | The Music Factory (6+) | Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ | Amsterdam / NL | Info | Tickets |
And the winner of the 2025 Calefax Composers Competition is Michael Phillips (1993)! He won the first price for his composition Chorale and Groove. Phillips won the sum of €2500,-.
Participate in the annual Calefax Composers Competition for reed quintet! The theme this year is to write an overture. The winning composer will be awarded a prize of 2.500 EUR and their piece will be performed or recorded by Calefax.
The winner of the sixteenth edition of the Calefax' Composers Competition for reed quintet is the Swedish composer Erik Valdemar Sköld (1991)! He won the first prize for his composition Óðinn.