Stichting Torenmuziek Moordrecht

An earlier message already stated that the carillon will be played on Open Monument Day (September 14) from 10:00 to 11:00. In collaboration with the Historische vereniging Moordrecht and Scouting Moordrecht, the church tower will be opened to anyone who dares to climb it. You can enjoy a unique view from 10:00 to 16:00.

Two weeks later, on September 28, the concert season will be concluded with a closing concert in the church. A mobile carillon will be used for a concert with piano, cello and gamba. This will be a worldly concert, because the pianist is American, the cellist Italian and the gamba player French. A starting time has also been decided in the meantime. The concert starts at 20:00, but from around 19:30 people are welcome to come in.

We would also like to mention that we have applied for and obtained the status of cultural ANBI. Read more on the page “Donations and finances“.

On Saturday 24 August, Boudewijn Zwart played the piano in front of the door and Midori Conneman-Maeno played the carillon upstairs in the tower. However, Galerie Mevrouw Boon has mobilised a small army of creative minds for this day for ‘Pop-Up Paris’ and so a choir group settled on the square in front of the church tower. Complete with an accordionist. On the spot it was suggested to make music together and so it happened during this sunny afternoon in Moordrecht. The accordion was also amplified and so we had three instruments and a choir to play together.

Carillonneur Richard de Waardt has used his repertoire to let the residents of Moordrecht choose what they want to hear. Visitors could select a song from the impressive list and hold up the corresponding signs, after which Richard played the chosen song on the carillon. A jukebox the size of a church tower! We also received a visit from Gouwe IJssel News, who wrote a nice article and made a beautiful video report of this concert:

Additionally, more information has become available about the upcoming concerts:

Saturday, August 24 between 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM, Boudewijn Zwart and Midori Conneman-Maeno will perform together on keyboard and carillon. This concert marks the conclusion of various cultural (painting) activities on the Church Square.

Saturday, September 14 between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM, Midori Conneman-Maeno will play the carillon. This also marks the start of the Open Monument Day, during which the historical association of Moordrecht will open the church tower for visitors.

The date for the final concert of the year has also been set.
On Saturday evening, September 28, carillonneur Boudewijn Zwart will bring his ‘living room carillon’ to close off the season with a concert in the village church. He will be joined by a musical collaboration with an American pianist, an Italian cellist, and a French viola da gamba player. A worldly concert indeed!

Stichting Torenmuziek Moordrecht has exciting plans for the upcoming carillon season. We will delight Moordrecht with a series of concerts on one of the largest instruments in existence: the Carillon. Below is an overview, and a detailed table of events is available under the section labeled “Activities.”

Saturday, June 15: The municipality of Zuidplas will welcome new residents with a bus tour through the (currently) four villages of Zuidplas. In Moordrecht, they will be greeted with a concert by Midori Conneman-Maeno.

Saturday, June 22: We welcome guest carillonneur André Kukolja to our carillon.

Saturday, July 20: Richard de Waardt will showcase his talents, turning the carillon into a jukebox. Yes, you read that correctly! Choose a song from the list, and the church tower will play it for you. Curious children may even peek around the corner to see inside the tower.

Saturday, August 24: Various activities are planned in Moordrecht, and we aim to provide musical support. Details are yet to be determined.

Saturday, September 14: Open Monument Day. We are in discussions with the historical association in Moordrecht to potentially open the church tower to the public. Music will also be played.

Sometime in October: We plan to conclude the season with a closing concert. Stay tuned for further details.

On August 26, 2023, we had not one, but two concerts planned! Two concerts with a completely different approach. At the end of the morning, we were able to welcome Frank Steijns on the carillon and Jitse Zonneveld on electric guitar from Limburg. In the evening, we were able to enjoy sultry Mediterranean summer sounds from Boudewijn Zwart on keyboard, Midori Conneman on the carillon and Gerard Spijkerman on the clarinet.

Frank and Jitse started off calmly with Mediterranean numbers, but then moved on to the heavier work. It seems almost impossible to combine metal/hard rock with a carillon, but Frank and Jitse have made a number of classic rock songs suitable for a combination of carillon and electric guitar. A fun fact is that every carillon is unique and they have to ‘transpose’ each song to make it sound good. This also applies to our carillon in Moordrecht. Below is a video from the perspective of the carillonneur and one from the guitarist.

Against all expectations of the rain radar, we were able to enjoy a sunny evening, fitting for the conclusion of Mediterranean Moordrecht. Gerard, Boudewijn, and Midori provided a full evening of dreamy music.

In the video below, you can clearly hear how the three artists with completely different instruments complement each other and also how they fully utilize the volume range.

Extra bonus info: Normally, no one can see this, but here we see the carillon up close in action. The carillon is located on the Hollandse IJssel side of the church tower (right in the video) and right next to it is the cabin with the stick keyboard (left in the video, not in view).

On July 1, Midori Conneman-Maeno and Boudewijn Zwart played the opening concert of Mediterraans Moordrecht together. Boudewijn on the piano on the ground floor and Midori on the carillon, but clearly visible to the public through TV and video link.

Boudewijn and Midori have taken us to the Mediterranean Sea with an extensive repertoire of sounds. In between, Boudewijn also taught us all about the how and why of carillons in bell towers. Carillons originally had the purpose of drawing people’s attention to the fact that the time is going to be indicated by the hour strikes. A well-known melody that was used for this was the ‘Westminster Chimes’ of the parliament building in Westminster:

Over the centuries wealthy cities have competed to build increasingly prestigious carillons, many of which are still in use today.

Another fun fact: the sound of the piano is amplified by speakers at the top of the tower, next to the carillon itself. If we were to place the loudspeakers downstairs, the height of the tower would cause an audible delay between the two instruments!

On Saturday afternoon, August 12, it was Richard de Waardt’s turn to perform his skills on the carillon. Richard is the carillonneur of the Roterdam City Hall and the Laurenskerk. This carillonneur knows how to get the carillon to do his bidding; From Bach to Coldplay, from Duncan Laurence to Andre Hazes and from Sela to Ramses Shaffy. The nice thing was that the audience could choose songs; Richard has practically transformed the carillon into a real Jukebox! The audience was allowed to choose a song from the list and hold that song up to the bell tower to ‘select’ their song.

The organizers of Mediterranean Moordrecht have won the municipality of Zuidplas culture prize 2022 for their efforts to bathe Moordrecht in a Mediterranean atmosphere with a wide range of activities and decorations. Part of this prize was a cheque that they can spend on a cultural charity within the municipality. We were pleasantly surprised to hear that the organizers of Mediterranean Moordrecht endorsed the Stichting Torenmuziek Moordrecht as payee. At a regular meeting of the stichting, the organizers personally handed over the check. 

We would like to thank the organization of Mediterranean Moordrecht and also the Stichting Cultureel Netwerk Zuidplas and will use the cheque to organise a great activity in 2023.

In 2022, the carillon can be heard regularly again over the Moordrecht roofs. Our ‘house carillonneur’ Midori Conneman regularly takes place behind the baton keyboard and former carillonneur Maarten Siebel also regularly puts the carillon to work from Berlin with new sounds via the carillon computer. In addition, the following scheduled events took place:

Wednesday, April 27, Midori Conneman played on King’s Day prior to the aubade.

Saturday, June 18, Midori Conneman played during the Moordrecht fair.

On Saturday, August 20, Boudewijn Zwart, one of the Netherlands’ most famous carillonneurs (also pianist), together with our own carillonneur, Midori Connenan, concluded the first event Saturday during Mediterras Moordrecht in a special way. With Boudewijn at street level behind the piano and Midori high up in the tower behind the carillon, the two played Mediterranean music together. The dreamy sounds sounded through the streets and over the roofs of Moordrecht.

On Saturday September 3, Boudewijn Zwart (piano), Wim Ruitenbeek (carillon) and Hans Broekhuijzen (saxophone) played together the final chord of Mediterrean Moordrecht 2022. The hour-long concert, in which the three musicians (literally) played at different heights, became – how appropriate also – closed with the melancholy ‘Hijo de la luna’ (‘Son of the moon’) by the Spanish band Mecano.

Saturday 10 September Midori played ‘Kunst Na De Arbeid’ together with Harmonie during open monument day

Friday, October 14, about 75 visitors were able to enjoy beautiful music in the Dorpskerk. Boudewijn Zwart not only brought along beautiful instruments (his chest organ and chamber carillon), but he was also accompanied by organist Gerben Budding, oboist Theo-Hans Kuijvenhoven and cellist Judith Groen. The passion for music and for the extraordinary instruments drove this fun and beautiful music evening.

On Wednesday, October 26, the carillon played together with the church organ. Kees, the regular organist from Moordrecht played the organ together with a guest organist and Midori played the carillon. Below you’ll find an impression of the organ playing.

In 2022, the carillon can be heard regularly again over the Moordrecht roofs. Our ‘house carillonneur’ Midori Conneman regularly takes place behind the baton keyboard and former carillonneur Maarten Siebel also regularly puts the carillon to work from Berlin with new sounds via the carillon computer. In addition, the following scheduled events took place:

Wednesday, April 27, Midori Conneman played on King’s Day prior to the aubade.

Saturday, June 18, Midori Conneman played during the Moordrecht fair.

On Saturday, August 20, Boudewijn Zwart, one of the Netherlands’ most famous carillonneurs (also pianist), together with our own carillonneur, Midori Connenan, concluded the first event Saturday during Mediterras Moordrecht in a special way. With Boudewijn at street level behind the piano and Midori high up in the tower behind the carillon, the two played Mediterranean music together. The dreamy sounds sounded through the streets and over the roofs of Moordrecht.

On Saturday September 3, Boudewijn Zwart (piano), Wim Ruitenbeek (carillon) and Hans Broekhuijzen (saxophone) played together the final chord of Mediterrean Moordrecht 2022. The hour-long concert, in which the three musicians (literally) played at different heights, became – how appropriate also – closed with the melancholy ‘Hijo de la luna’ (‘Son of the moon’) by the Spanish band Mecano.

Saturday 10 September Midori played ‘Kunst Na De Arbeid’ together with Harmonie during open monument day

Friday, October 14, about 75 visitors were able to enjoy beautiful music in the Dorpskerk. Boudewijn Zwart not only brought along beautiful instruments (his chest organ and chamber carillon), but he was also accompanied by organist Gerben Budding, oboist Theo-Hans Kuijvenhoven and cellist Judith Groen. The passion for music and for the extraordinary instruments drove this fun and beautiful music evening.

On Wednesday, October 26, the carillon played together with the church organ. Kees, the regular organist from Moordrecht played the organ together with a guest organist and Midori played the carillon. Below you’ll find an impression of the organ playing.