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.
Theo Jansen and Calefax invite you an a musical expedition through the natural history museum of Strandbeests.
Writer and lawyer Roxane van Iperen delves into the role of music in times of conflict, misfortune, and trauma in collaboration with Calefax. Van Iperen places current conflicts in a historical context and sheds light on the workings of traumas – and how to deal with them. The musical contributions of Calefax add a spiritual depth to her stories.
A turbulent life and a stubborn character: learn more about the life of one of Europe's most famous composers
Calefax travels to New Zealand for a series of workshops and 9 concerts in a.o. Auckland, Christchurch and Nelson.
Calefax will be giving this year's King's Day Concert! The concert will be broadcast on Dutch National television NPO2 on April 27th. Calefax performs works by Locatelli, Gershwin (choreographed by Sanne van der Put), Van Kesteren and Kinan Azmeh. The musicians share the stage with Remy van Kesteren, Rosa da Silva, BOI AKIH and the Animato Quartet.
In April, Calefax travels to the USA for a series of concerts and a coaching in Michigan and North Carolina.
From 12 untill 15 May, Calefax travels to the United Kingdom for concerts in Newbury and London.
On 17 June, New Music Now organizes the Day of the Composer, that puts composers in the spotlight with activities throughout the Netherlands. Calefax performs on several occasions, on live radio, on the Express train and with a short concert at TivoliVredenburg Utrecht.
Calefax will be performing a series of concerts in July at special outdoor locations. The program will feature music from their new album, 'An American Rhapsody,' as well as classics from Calefax' repertoire.
A versatile and bold programme that is full of joie de vivre. Music that originated on the street, or was inspired by daily life on the streets, is of all times.
Hidden in the attic of the Calefax’ Mansion lurks a wondrous cabinet of curiosities. Filled with the most desirable and rare objects. Here we embrace all that’s peculiar, and we can travel without having to leave the concert hall. Discover forgotten instruments and be amazed by extraordinary combinations and beastly caprioles.
Calefax shares the stage with chamber choir Cappella Amsterdam for: Mother Earth. A universal concept to which every person gives their own meaning. We live in a time where we collectively seem to realise that our planet could exist without mankind, but mankind won’t last a day without our planet. With this programma, Calefax and Cappella show how the arts have inspired humankind to care for our planet for centuries with music by Paul Simon, Claudio Monteverdi, Antonìn Dvořák and Kate Moore.
Throughout the season, Calefax offers a selection of their newest creations from recent years. This menu offers a.o. the Quintet op. 97 by Dvořák, a selection of the Préludes by Debussy and music by Gerhswin.
The shortest festival of the Netherlands celebrates its 20th anniversary! The PAN is Calefax’s annual mini festival filled with music, art and surprising crossovers of many different artists.
For the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Calefax Composers Competition, Calefax organizes a public final round of judging with Kate Moore at 7pm at the Tolhuistuin Amsterdam.
The core business of Calefax, like any other acoustic music group, is as simple as sustainable: inspiring listeners by bringing air into vibration. Still at Calefax we are aware of the environmental impact of our work, especially our tours. In order to minimize this impact we have defined this Environmental Policy which will be update regularly after having new insights or receiving constructive feedback.
From 15 untill 28 March, 2023, Calefax travels to the United States for a series of concerts and masterclasses.
Before he dedicated his life to painting, Vincent van Gogh had many occupations. It wasn’t until the age of 27 that he found his calling. In Van Gogh's Way to Go, we follow Vincent along the path where his passion for art, without regard for any conventions, took him.
PAN is Calefax’s annual mini-festival between Christmas and New Year, filled with musicians from various genres and surprising crossovers with other art forms.
In the second edition of the annual concert series Welcome to Calefax-land, Calefax invites Paulien Cornelisse on stage. They delve into the overlap between language and music together.
Calefax and the Rembrandt Frerichs Trio perform on the edge of composition and improvisation with brand new work and other pieces by mostly unknown masters from the past.
Story Tellers is a brand new travelling concert series that combines classical music with stories of today, connecting the voices of well-known master raconteurs with the music of some of the best Dutch ensembles.
From 9 untill 17 March, Calefax travels to the USA for a series of concerts and masterclasses in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. The tour ends with a concert in Alexandria (VA), where we play Un Momento Dado by composer Johan de Meij with the United States Air Force Band, where de Meij will join on stage as the conductor.
Milouska Meulens is a presenter, moderator and writer. Our worlds become intertwined: Caribbean with European, music with words, modern with classical and the past with the present.
Calefax showcases love in her many guises, set to music by various composers. As diverse as love is, so is its representation in music.
Throughout the centuries, composers loved to limit themselves with complicated forms – freed from these forms we discover a different side of these artists. No sonatas, rondos or variations, just beautiful, freely associated music that moves its listener from beginning to end.
The PAN is Calefax’ annual mini festival on 28 December with musicians from various genres and surprising crossovers with other art forms.
The PAN is Calefax' annual mini festival. For this edition, Calefax invites freelance musicians who's schedules got cleared due to the corona crisis.
The PAN is Calefax' annual mini festival between Christmas and New Year. For this seventeenth edition, Calefax invited musicians who's schedules got cleared due to the corona crisis.
Calefax gives all its wind playing fans the opportunity to play along with the Ricercar of the new album Bach's Musical Offerings. Calefax made six seperate recordings in which one of the instruments is missing. Wind players can download the sheet music of their part with an audio file in which this part is missing.
Established in 1985, Calefax this year celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary as the world’s first reed quintet with several activities. In October, they release their new album Bach's Musical Offerings and go on tour for it. Calefax tours with 35 Years of Plenty in the same month, in which we look back and relive highlights from Calefax’ history with five pieces, each chosen by one of the musicians.
In these uncertain times due to the Coronavirus we still want to provide you with our music. Find streams from concerts of our archive here, gain new insights with our video's and read about our experiences and tips in these challenging times.
Calefax shares the stage with the well-known Iranian singer Mohammad Motamedi in November 2024. Together, the musicians perform a mixture of traditional Persian music with instrumental classical music.
Calefax highlights American music scarcely played before Dvořák’s sojourn in the USA, as well as the development that music in America went through after his departure. Tour from 9 January until 7 February 2021.
35 years after the ensemble played its first concert, Calefax celebrates its birthday with masterpieces by Johann Sebastian Bach. They play repertoire from their new album Bach's Musical Offerings: Musikalisches Opfer and Vom Himmel hoch-variations.
Established in 1985, Calefax this year celebrates its thirty-fifth anniversary as the world’s first reed quintet. In 35 Years of Plenty we look back and relive highlights from Calefax' history.
Calefax paints a musical portrait of Europe in the ‘10s, ‘20s and ‘30s.
The shortest festival of the Netherlands! The PAN is Calefax’s annual festival concert between Christmas and New Year.
The musicians of Calefax Reed Quintet coach students of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague for four days in November.
Unfortunately due to the Corona virus, our concert tour is cancelled. We hope to postpone the tour and reschedule the concerts for a later date.
Unfortunately due to the Corona virus, our concert tour is cancelled. The tour will be postponed and the concerts rescheduled for a later date.
From Sunday 9 untill Sunday 16 February, Calefax travels to Sweden for a series of concerts in a.o. Landskrona and Laholm.
From 8 untill 12 November and 9 untill 12 December 2019, Calefax travels to England and Wales for a series of concerts and a masterclass in a.o. Cardiff, Luton and London.
Johan de Meij, an international celebrity in the world of the symphonic wind orchestra, is currently one of the most performed Dutch composers. Calefax will perform as soloists in a grand composition de Meij has written especially for reed quintet and wind orchestra.
We’re liberating ourselves from our music stands and will be moving freely on stage in Calefax maks a scene. Together with choreographer Sanne van der Put, we are deepening your musical experience by staging our movements.
Calefax brings the most beautiful organ music to concert halls in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands from 27 October untill 15 December 2019.
During the first years of our existence, Helena Rasker used to be our go-to vocalist. Many years and grand careers later, we join the stage once again.
From 20 September to 21 November, Calefax and theatre company Schweigman& bring a musical ode to falling, in which we look our fears in the eye.
From Sunday 17 untill Sunday 24 March, 2019, Calefax travels Japan for a series of concerts in (a.o.) Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima.
From Sunday 3 untill Tuesday 12 February, 2019, Calefax travels to the USA for a series of concerts and master classes in (a.o.) New York, California, Utah and Colorado.
Calefax in a minimalistic flavoured programme. With musical migratory birds by Carola Bauckholt, Steve Reich’s vision on Manhattan and a piece by Tansy Davies, the composer in residence of the Concertgebouw.
Is it a dream? Or reality? Calefax plays music from the twilight zone between dreams, imagination and everyday reality.
How does music originate? Where do the notes come from? Do composers just make up a tune or does the melody impose itself? Are strong emotions the breeding room of impassioned music or is silence a condition for a musical storm?
The shortest festival of the Netherlands! The PAN is Calefax’s annual festival concert between Christmas and New Year.
In Open your Ears! the five men of Calefax tell you all about their love and passion for music.
The adventurous English cellist Matthew Barley is Calefax’s ideal ‘partner in crime’.
Calefax and renowned trumpeter Eric Vloeimans present a swinging new version of Purcell’s famous baroque opera Dido and Aeneas.
Hidden gems from Calefax’s repertoire enjoy the limelight.
A sing along concert for everyone aged four or more.
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.