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Music by the Dommel

The summer festival for classical music in Eindhoven is back. Last year the audience had to do without Muziek op de Dommel (MODD), but on June the 2d several student orchestras will be performing again. Not on the Dommel but in the Markthal and Atlas. And just like the first edition, student music association Quadrivium will organize the festival.

by
photo Maarten van den Beemt

Update: the festival is called 'Klassiek op de Campus' (Classic on Campus).

The music festival for audiences from Eindhoven and its surroundings originated from Quadrivium’s anniversary celebrations nine years ago. For several years in a row the festival was held on water, on a stage next to the Van Abbemuseum. After four years, Muziek op de Dommel moved north, to the banks of the Dommel near the TU/e campus. From then on, the stage no longer floated but lay fixed on a bridge.

Muziek op de Dommel became bigger and bigger: more stages, more days, more visitors and bigger names. Soprano Tania Kross performed during the 2015 edition, Jan Vayne played the piano in 2017, and Het Brabants Orkest was present many years as well. The audience eventually grew to 20,000 and no entry fees were asked. The budget could only just cover the 2017 edition, but in 2018 the festival’s organizers no longer dared to take the risk.

MODD in 2017. Photo | Maarten van den Beemt

Last year, the former board asked Quadrivium to organize a ninth edition of the festival. Smaller, just one Sunday, without the extremely expensive stage over the Dommel and with the help of friendly orchestras.

Chairman of Quadrivium and violist Jan Moraal immediately responded with enthusiasm. “We will put our main stage in the Markthal of MetaForum. One advantage of this location is that the music needs less electronic amplification there. Another advantage is that we are no longer dependent on weather conditions.” The podium will be used for five perfomances, but it is not the only place where audiences can enjoy music.

Not the first time

The organizers are thinking of surrounding the main stage with beanbags. This will make the ambiance more agreeable than in Atlas, where the second podium will be located. “We think that the atmosphere there will be statelier,” says third-year Applied Mathematics student Moraal. He believes the acoustics in Atlas are perfectly suitable for choirs.

In 1963 Het Brabants Orkest performed in the Hoofdgebouw.
Not the first time

As a matter of fact, it won’t be the first time a concert was held there. As far back as 1963, Het Brabants Orkest performed in the Hoofdgebouw, the predecessor of Atlas.

What is certain is that student orchestras Collegium Musicum from Leiden and QHarmony from Nijmegen will perform. The VU-Orkest and the Sweelinckorkest (from the Vrije Universiteit and the Universiteit van Amsterdam) are among the orchestras that have also been approached. “There is also the possibility that the student orchestra from Graz might perform. We are in an exchange program with this orchestra from Austria this year.”

This year’s edition certainly won’t approach MODD’s former scale with an art fair on the KOE Veld, but the young and inexperienced organizers will make sure audiences can have a bite to eat by the pond. “Our goal is to make it just as pleasant as it used to be.” The festival will held between 1.00 and 10.00 pm. Still no entry fees are asked.

The commission is still looking for volunteers. You can sign up here.

MODD 2017. Photo | Maarten van den Beemt

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