Welcome to this website of the National Youth Concert Band NL (NYCB.nl). The Symphonic Wind Orchestra NextGen for students at the Conservatories of Music within the Universities of the Arts in The Netherlands.
We also offer young professionals with a desire to further develop towards the Wind Band, possibility to gain the required knowledge of repertoire and performing experience.
At the same time, pupils at Preliminary School who show a remarkable talent and have passed all levels in amateur Wind Bands are welcome as well.
Introduction
The transition from amateur to professional levels, is a complex process which takes place in part at a Conservatory of Music and in part in practice. The National Youth Concert Band NL (NYCB.nl) offers the all important ‘step-in-between’ from studies to profession.
Main theme
As a music professional, you need to be well prepared. The professional field expects a lot from young musicians. Regardless of whether you play in a Symphony Orchestra or a Symphonic Wind Orchestra a.k.a. Concert Band, experience in orchestral playing is required.
For that reason it is very important for you as student at a Conservatory of Music, to specifically work towards developing instrumental technique, ensemble playing, knowledge of the repertoire, physical condition, alertness and flexibility of mind. In order to successfully exploit the developed talent after graduation, an active network is required as well.
Personal experience
During my studies at the Conservatory of Music, I played in the predecessor of the National Youth Wind Orchestra (NJHO) from 1979 to 1985. This was the Wind Band at the fmr. Brabant Conservatory of Music, which consisted of music students supplemented with amateurs at the highest levels. Rehearsals were held weekly.
My chair was the 4th horn. Every six months, I moved up a chair. After a year and a half, I sat on 1st horn and was section leader. Another six months later, the conductor asked me to perform as soloist with the Band. An opportunity first-class. The result was such that I became the permanent soloist. When it developed into the NJHO in 1985, I left.
The experience I gained in this Wind Band, combined with the opportunities I was given, has become incredibly important to me. What we couldn’t learn at the Conservatory of Music, we learned here.
All of us had started out in the local music association. So, performing in a Wind Band wasn’t unfamiliar to us, but here the pace was incredibly high. New music was handed out every rehearsel and studied at lightning speed.
We performed world premieres, accompanied examinations for Wind Band conducting, recorded for radio, went on tour, etc. We also performed the sketches for ‘Ensalada’ (1982), my first composition for Wind Band.
All of this formed a valuable stepping stone to the Amsterdam Police Band, where I played from 1981 until 1988. This was the last of three professional bands within the Dutch Police Force, which was dissolved at the end of 1988 due to cut backs. When I started there, I was 19 years old.
Gradually, I became confident enough to take that step. Much needed when a year later, I was allowed to play in a concert by La Banda Sinfónica de la Unió Musical de Benaguasil at Valencia, Spain, with repertoire from the Certamen.
As a freelance musician, I’ve greatly benefited from the focused talent development within this Wind Band. Both in the recording studios, the Metropole Orchestra, the European Youth Jazz Orchestra, various Symphony-, Opera-, Operetta- and Musical Theatre orchestras, Big Bands and many others.
Sight reading skills, blending, balance, clarity, mastery of genres and styles, promptly responding to instructions, etc., have always been all important.
Coda
The framework for the National Youth Concert Band NL (NYCB.nl) is based on the abundance of experiences my colleagues and myself bring with us. For that reason approach, method and objectives are clearly formulated. Our conductors have a relationship with one or more employers in The Netherlands and or abroad. You want a job after graduation, right?
Are you ready for your next musical adventure? Let us challenge you!
Stanley E. van Wel MM – Initiator & Music Director