A gathering of big band top-class musicians
Gronau – The jazz fans in the city have been waiting for this: On November 26, the ninth edition of the “Swingin’-Together” concert series of the Euregio Big Band under the direction of Natalie Schiemann will take place. As always, some musical guests are also part of the party. This time they come from the big band of the WDR.
Top-class jazz awaits the guests at the ninth edition of the “Swingin’ Together” concert, to which the Euregio Big Band under the direction of Natalie Schiemann invites to the Bürgerhalle on November 26 (Sunday). In the proven manner, the big band will perform the first half of the program. Afterwards a combo of the well-known WDR counterpart will take over the musical scepter. Visitors can look forward to performances by such excellent performers as Andy Haderer, Paul Heller, Billy Test, Martin Gjakonowski and Hans Dekker.
Two-time Grammy Award winner Andy Haderer has been a trumpet player with the WDR Big Band since 1988 and is considered one of the world’s leading lead trumpeters. Since 1999 he has been a professor of jazz trumpet at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. Haderer was a member of Mike Gibbs’ Creative Jazz Orchestra, Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination And Brass and the ORF Jazz Big Band.Tenor saxophonist and composer Paul Heller has been a member of the WDR Big Band since 2005.In addition to his work with the Grammy-winning ensemble, Heller is known for his numerous international projects in a wide variety of quartet and quintet formations – including with Ack van Rooyen, Jasper van’t Hof, Bart van Lier, or Franco Arnbrosetti.Since 2013, he has been artistic and musical director of the successful jazz concert series “Paul Heller invites” in Cologne.
Billy Test, a pianist, composer, arranger and educator from the USA, has been pianist in the WDR Big Band since 2018.Test commutes between Europe and the U.S. and holds a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Jim McNeely and Phil Markowitz.He was a finalist hei the 2019 American Pianists Awards and received second place at the 2017 Montreux Solo Piano Competition.
Excellent guest musicians
Der mazedonische Jazz-Rassist Martin Gjakonovski übersiedelte 1991 nach Köln, um an der renommierten Kölner Macedonian jazz bassist Martin Gjakonovski moved to Cologne in 1991 to study jazz bass with Reiner Linke and Dieter Alanderscheid at the renowned Cologne Musikhochschule. He also attended master classes with Reggie Workman, Arild Andersen, John Clayton, Mike Richmond and Eddie Gomez. His authentic, versatile playing has brought him into a wide variety of jazz scenes from avant-garde to mainstream to world music.
Finally, Hans Dekker, who comes from Boekelo near Enschede, studied at the Hilversum Conservatory after leaving school and then began working in the Dutch and German jazz scene with many well-known musicians and orchestras. A regular guest instructor with the Bundesjugend Jazz Orchester, he has been a permanent member of the WDR Bigband since 2005.
Since 2005 Natalie Schiemann is the musical director of the Euregio Bigband. She studied music in Slife (Ukraine), majoring in piano and choral conducting. She graduated as a music teacher with honors. Afterwards she continued her education in the field of jazz and bigband in workshops, among others under the direction of Prof. Jiggs Whigham.Motivating the musicians to give their best is one of her special skills.
Admission to the concert in the Bürgerhalle is at 5:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 6 p.m.Tickets are available in advance at the Tourist Info or www.euregio-bigband.de at a price of 15 euros.At the box office they cost 17 euros