Dag van de Componist 2024 – Dutch Composers Day

3rd edition Dutch Composers Day on and around 15 June 2024

The third edition of Dutch Composers Day will take place on and around Saturday, 15 June 2024. The festival will showcase hundreds of composers working in the Netherlands in concerts with more than 500 musicians. More than 150 concerts and performances will take place in 15 cities. Radio station NPO Klassiek will broadcast new Dutch music throughout the day. The festival is an initiative of the network and platform New Music NOW, which will report live with online TV.

With Dutch Composers Day, the Netherlands celebrates the importance, value and enjoyment of live contemporary music. New Music NOW works with composers, ensembles, festivals, venues and other organisations involved in new music. Concerts take place in a variety of venues, not just
within but also outside the usual theaters and concert halls. By bringing new music to a wide audience, Dutch Composers Day is committed to launching nothing less than a movement.

Dutch Composers Day will take place on and around Saturday 15 June 2024 and will consist of the following parts:

The music train, the New Music NOW Express, crosses the country The New Music NOW Express, a specially chartered bright red train, is blazing a trail of new music across the country. The train passes through six cities: Amsterdam, Almere, Zwolle, Arnhem, ’s-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht. On board, there will be performances and meetings with composers and musicians.

Station concerts, composer laureate of The Netherlands and city composers of the day. In each of the six cities the music train passes through, the festival will appoint a City Composer to compose a city song. Each city song will be performed at a festive station concert in collaboration with choirs, music schools and other organisations in the city. The station concerts will be recorded and streamed live. After each station concert, the audience will be taken on a musical tour through the city for a festive concert programme. The City Composer in Almere is Renske Vrolijk, in Amsterdam Yannis Kyriakides, in Arnhem Lucas Wiegerink, in ‘s-Hertogenbosch Bart van Dongen, in Utrecht Annabel Schouten and in Zwolle Toon Hagen. The Composer Laureate of The Netherlands Anne-Maartje Lemereis will write a composition that will be performed in all the cities.

Evening Programme : TheNew Music NOW Show in TivoliVredenburg. In the evening the New Music NOW Show takes place in TivoliVredenburg: a full-length live show for the public with musical guests, composers and top ensembles. The show will be recorded for radio and television.

Radio NPO Klassiek and New Music NOW TV. On and around 15 June, Radio NPO Klasssiek and New Music NOW TV will broadcast all day about the Day of the Composer, with pre-announcements, previews and of course live radio and livestream TV from the New Music NOW Express train, stations and TivoliVredenburg. Subsequent to the festival, the filmed content will be shared with various broadcasting channels and platforms, including our weekly programme New Music NOW TV on cable channel ONS.

National programme of over 150 concerts in more than 15 cities. Many organisations are working together as the New Music NOW Network to present more than 150 concerts featuring music by more than 150 composers performed by more than 500 musicians in more than 15 cities
simultaneously. The cities participating in the festival are Amsterdam, Almere, Zwolle, Arnhem, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Amersfoort, Rotterdam, The Hague, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Goes, Groningen, Heerlen, and Maastricht. Contributors to Dutch Composers Day include notable partners such as
Holland Festival, TivoliVredenburg, de Doelen, November Music, Gaudeamus, Intro in Situ, De Link, Orkest De Ereprijs, and Asko|Schönberg, in addition to a diverse array of choirs, ensembles, music associations, conservatories, music schools, composers, publishers, and producers.

Info & tickets:
Dag van de Componist – New Music Now