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on this day, 750 years Amsterdam will be celebrated on the A10 ring road. For this, Ring West, South and East (between the exit to the A5 and the exit to the A1) will be closed. As a result, The Concertgebouw will be less accessible by car. more information

Atlas Orchestra

ZaterdagMatinee x Holland Festival

Joël Bons, Atlas Orkest

Copyright information:Foppe Schut/Oranjewoud Festival

The Atlas Orchestra is a new collective consisting of over forty musicians from various cultural backgrounds. It originates from the Atlas Ensemble, which was founded by Joël Bons in 2002. Related stringed, plucked, wind and percussion instruments from China, Japan, Korea, India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Syria, Turkey, and Europe together form an exciting and inspiring sonic palette. Never before had these 'descendants' been united in one orchestra. Now they come together in all their musical diversity in a completely new composition.


For Nomaden, a predecessor to this work, Joël Bons was awarded the 2019 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, the 'Nobel Prize for music'.


'I imagine a large group of players from all corners of the world, each with different instruments, a wide range of colours and cultures that finds expression in various formations, forging unique relationships.'

– Joël Bons 


The concert by the Atlas Orchestra is a co-production with the Oranjewoud Festival, Atlas Ensemble, NTR ZaterdagMatinee, Stichting Atlas & Co, and percussion ensemble HIIIT. In recent years, the Oranjewoud Festival has presented various projects with Bons and his musicians—a series of experiments and discoveries that now culminate in this composition, premiering at the Holland Festival. As a prelude, a special Atlas Festival will take place on June 14 and 15, 2025, during the Oranjewoud Festival.



Nomads had its premiere in 2016 and was a highlight at several festivals: the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, November Music, Soundsofmusic, Venice Biennale.

  

In 2004, the Holland Festival invited the Atlas Ensemble as its ensemble in residence for three weeks. This programme included workshops, master classes and concerts with a traditional, non-Western repertoire. There were also premieres of new works by composers like Frangiz Ali-Zade, Bun-Ching Lam, Jack Body, Stefano Bellon, Artjom Kim, Javanshir Guliev and Evrim Demirel. 

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dates

Sat June 21 2:15 PM

prices

  • default including drink from € 41
  • CJP/student/scholar incl. a drink € 41

information

  • English surtitles: English

  • 1 hour 15 minutes

related

documentary:

Atlas - a dream of Joël Bons


In 2024, NTR Klassiek, together with 24 classics, made the documentary Atlas - a dream of Joël Bons. In it, the members of the Atlas Ensemble from all over the world are followed, displaying their very first meeting with each other and the preparations for their concert during the Oranjewoud Festival 2024. The documentary can be seen on NPO Start.

  • Atlas Ensemble, Oranjewoud Festival 2024

    Foppe Schut-Oranjewoud Festival

  • Atlas Ensemble, Oranjewoud Festival 2024

    Foppe Schut-Oranjewoud Festival

  • Atlas Ensemble, Oranjewoud Festival 2024

    Foppe Schut-Oranjewoud Festival

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