A place of culture, freedom and spirituality which people crave in the middle of the crises. In almost 2 years a team of four composers of the CvA composition department, a filmmaker from Germany and the artistic director and composer Béla Braack produced one of their biggest projects: An one hour concert film which lets the audience explore a Place of Sound and Hope. With impressive film material and the newest sound recording technology Dolby Atmos we enable the listener to experience the Oosterkerk from unseen perspectives and take them on a journey into a space of imagination, a hortus conclusus.
It is a student project developed in collaboration with professionals. The whole team consists of more than 30 people. The post-production took over one year and now has finally finished and soon will be screened the film on festivals, in art galleries and cinemas & theaters. The next milestone is the premiere which we will celebrate in a venue in Amsterdam.
Cinema XYZ - 5th of January 2023
Cinema XCV - 27th of January 2023
Cinema LKJ - 1st of February 2023
ArtGallerie 1 from January to April 2023
ArtGallerie 2 from January to April 2023
ArtGallerie 3 from January to April 2023
Béla Braack
composed by Bas Van Yperen
Violin 1 Ernst van Jos
Violin 2 Irene Piazza
Viola Annemarie Hensens
Cello Jan van der Plas
composed by Béla Braack
Baritone Mantas Jarašūnas
Piano Primo Ish-hurwitz
Organ Henk Verhoef
Flute Ketija Ringa-Karahona
Piano Arieh Chrem
composed by Raivis Misjuns
Organ Henk Verhoef
Holger Braack
developed in cooperation with
Arieh Chrem, Bas Van Yperen, Raivis Misjuns and Béla Braack
Arieh Chrem
Bas Van Yperen
Raivis Misjuns
Béla Braack
Holger Braack
Holger Braack
Elia Kalogianni
Sigrid Strehler
Béla Braack
Raivis Misjuns
Bas Van Yperen
Arieh Chrem
Attie Bauw
Koen Oosterhuis
Mara Hebel
Lautaro Hochman
Miklos Kovacs
Floris Heijdra
Primo Ish-Hurwitz
Sigrid Strehler
Mara Hebel
Demi Forsstrom
Arieh Chrem
Raivis Misjuns
Arjan Arwert
SchwarzBuntMedia
Béla Braack
Finn Cooney
Hudson Knott
Béla Braack
Holger Braack
SchwarzBuntMedia
Antonia Johnson
Giuseppe Rizzo
Béla Braack
Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the Composition department
Stichting Oosterkerk for the possibility to record the beautiful acoustics of their church
and for the great and uncomplicated cooperation.
Conservatorium van Amsterdam for financing and supporting our big unscheduled study project
and for helping us with the publication.
Attie Bauw for his tireless commitment of supporting the "A Place To Be Shared"-Project in every possible way
and for the dedication to all his students.
There would have been no chance to realize it without him.
Henk Verhoef for the big amount of work he devoted to the project during the preparation,
the rehearsal and the recording days.
Michiel Schuijer for helping us to get financial, technical and ideological support
from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
David Beheer for the very smooth communication.
Sigrid Strehler for her great help, drive and mental support during the project.
Mara Hebbel for her versatility and steady helpfulness regarding all pending tasks.
Willem Jeths & Wim Henderickx for their support in the planing process
and their clever advices about the Opera No.1 while the composition lessons.
Jorrit Tamminga for supporting the "A Place To Be Shared"-Project
and making it part of the composition department.
Arjan Alberg for the uncomplicated lend of the equipment,
for taking time for us in the preparation meetings
and for organizing the transportation for us.
A Student project of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
In 1980 the Amsterdam Oosterkerk (1671) was no longer in use and in a state of ruin. The salvation of the building, thanks to a strong group of neighbours, is a story in itself. From 1986 onwards, the church was owned by the City of Amsterdam, and taken care of by Stichting Oosterkerk, an organization of volunteers, living in the area. For almost 40 years the church functioned as a unique office-building, monument, social and cultural centre-in-one. Thanks to the dominance of volunteers, the church could live by little money, and whatever money came in, could be spent on workers, makers, composers, musicians and artists. By good fortune and hard work the Stichting was able to have the monumental organ (1871) restored. Among the cultural events the concerts organized by the Stichting proved especially successful. They combined free accessibility with a high musical standard, attracting many and radiating far beyond the neighbourhood. The first attempts by the City to sell the church to a commercial, private party, go back to 2004. Though support of the local community could prolong the existing situation until 2022, when the church was sold to the firm Stadsherstel, in order to be redeveloped and exploited commercially.
This project was one of the last made possible by Stichting Oosterkerk. For those involved, the days in which we worked in and which the marvelous building the Oosterkerk was, will remain unforgettable. May the resulting film be a small monument to four wonderful decades in which it proved possible to give life to a monumental Amsterdam church, in which the powers of religion, politics and money had no say, to the benefit of art, music and the enjoyment of common people.
Henk Verhoef
12 August 2022
