How to get to concert venues in Amsterdam during “Dam tot Damloop”

…continued from “Concert in Oosterkerk, Amsterdam“

I am sure Amsterdammers know the back streets of Amsterdam by bicycle. I am sure they will figure out how to bypass and circumvent the roads that are blocked for cars and buses on Sunday 19th September 2010.

Ironically, a marathon as large as the annual “Dam to Dam” can cause the central part of Amsterdam to come to a standstill. The first race begins at 8 am from the Amsterdam Centraal station and ends in Zaandam. The last run leaves Amsterdam just before 3 pm. [See map of the Dam tot Damloop race.]

Anne Ku at Oosterkerk in Amsterdam, September 2009

Luckily all metro and trams should work. [Metro map of Amsterdam and other maps of public transportation in Amsterdam.

Walking is possible.

Cycling is possible.

Even taking a boat on the canals is possible.

Just don't drive to Amsterdam in your car on Sunday 19th September 2010.

For out-of-towners, you can take the train to Amsterdam Centraal and get a metro to Muiderport station and then walk to Oosterkerk for the free piano guitar duo concert at noon.

From the east end of the central station, you can take tram 26 (it goes in a loop) and get off at the third stop: Rietlandpark and then walk to Funen Park 125 for the piano and French horn concert at 15:00 at Funen Concerts.

Anne Ku in concert at Oosterkerk, 20 September 2009

Concert in Oosterkerk, Amsterdam

On Sunday 19th September 2010, we classical musicians will once again compete with the famous “Dam to Dam.” This 26th edition of “Dam tot Dam” (Dam to Dam) is the largest running event in the world and the largest business run of its kind. The name comes from the start and finish cities of AmsterDAM and ZaanDAM. [More information in English here.]

I say we will compete WITH not compete IN this “Dam tot Dam” because we are competing for the attention of the audience and the logistics of getting to the church on time. The Oosterkerk, like other central attractions, will not be reachable by private car or bus. The main roads will be closed to traffic to allow the 10 English Mile, the 4-English Mile, and the mini Dam tot Dam.

The organ in the Oosterkerk in Amsterdam

A year ago, the third Sunday in September, we gave a free concert of contemporary works in this 17th century church. No longer used for religious services, the church offered regular organ concerts and art exhibitions for the community

We were being paid a flat fee so it did not matter how many people came. The concert itself, like this year’s, was entirely FREE to the public. Unaware of this marathon, we arrived to a deserted Amsterdam that Sunday morning. We got off at Muiderport station and walked a good 15 minutes with our costumes, guitar, music stand, and music scores. It was all quiet on the eastern front (oost means east in Dutch). There was enough space for several hundred.

Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo in Oosterkerk in Amsterdam, September 2009

Only 20 people came to the free concert.

We wondered how the Funen Concert at nearby Funen Park 125 (also on the east of central Amsterdam) fared at 15:00.

This year, I will be giving a concert with French horn player Emile Kaper at 15:00 i.e. AFTER the Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo concert. Unlike the Oosterkerk concert, the Funen Concert pays the musicians based on a percentage of total revenue. This year it’s 10 euros per ticket at entry. The maximum capacity is 40. Reservations are not required but requested. Thus it’s vitally important that anyone what wants to attend our concerts know just how to get to these two concert venues with respect to the marathon.

Empty seats at the Oosterkerk in Amsterdam

—- continued on next blog post: How to travel around Amsterdam during the Dam tot Dam

What is stopping you from attending a free concert?

Today I ran into a music connoisseur and house concerts advocate at the local sports club. Although she has been very busy with her work, she has not stopped encouraging others to go to the concerts I promote.

She said that many international students are curious and interested but are stopped by self-made excuses such as

• it’s for the rich
• it’s for the exclusive
• I won’t feel comfortable there
• thus it’s not for me.

Coincidentally I received a message from my Linked-In Group (Aficionados of Classical Music) about transforming the traditional concert for a new audience. [How to sell classical music to the masses, Times Online] [Full text of the RPS lecture of Alex Ross in 6-page PDF] This made me pause for thought.

Getting new audiences to traditional concerts requires getting old audiences to invite and encourage them to go. Like the music connoisseur I ran into this morning, music is to be shared. I get little result by telling people to go to a concert I don’t go to. I get much better results by inviting people to go with me. My concert reviews are nearly all written after I’ve gone to a concert with somebody else.

This is not to say that I don’t enjoy going to concerts alone. I do. I nearly always go to concerts alone because I don’t have time to invite someone or wait for someone to decide and meet up with me. We live in a fast paced society. Everyone is busy. That is my assumption

Perhaps this fast-paced society of ours is too fast to stop you to sit down and experience a concert. Perhaps this is exactly the reason why you should.

Ironically our next free concert for the public is given on a day in which the major roads in central Amsterdam are blocked for the “DAM TOT DAM” — a 10-mile race from Zaandam to Amsterdam. It was the same story exactly a year ago when we gave a totally different programme (contemporary). Only 20 people came to this free concert because of this event. But I’m sure given enough notice, Amsterdammers will find ways to circumvent the road and traffic blocks this year.

Next concerts in Amsterdam:

Sunday 19 September 2010 at noon: FREE ENTRY
Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo at Oosterkerk, Amsterdam
Traditional programme: own transcriptions of Queen of Sheba, Winter, and original work for piano guitar – the Grand Potpourri National

Immediately after this concert, I will be giving a house concert with French horn player Emile Kaper at Funen Park 125 a short walk away. This one hour concert of romantic and classical horn works takes place at 15:00. Entrance is 10 euros at the door.

Emile Kaper, French horn

Funen house concert in Amsterdam

The summer periods are the most difficult to get a full house for indoor concerts. The weather makes the decisions for them. It was a cloudy about-to-rain-any-moment day on Sunday 25th July 2010. Maybe people would suspend their plans for the beach and come to our concert in Amsterdam —- that was our hope.

Three days before the concert, I called the owners and producers of Funen Concerts Art Productions. No one had e-mailed or called to reserve. A year ago July half of the composers we had invited for our contemporary music concert were on holiday. This year was no different. July is a difficult month for house concerts, we concluded. [Elderly homes and hospitals are another story.]

Inside the bedroom where we waited for the clock to strike 3 pm, Robert and I looked at each other with similar thoughts. We didn’t hear a stampede of people nor a queue for tickets. We did not tell our friends they had to reserve in advance. It’s that painful “nobody knows” principle of concerts —- the demand is uncertain.

One of our friends had bought train tickets from Nijmegen to come to the concert but discovered there were no trains to Arnhem for the entire month. He had called to tell us that he could not get there on time. Much later, we learned that two other friends living in Amsterdam had started their journey 45 minutes early but could not find the location. We had not heard a yes from anybody else that we had invited.

The thought of walking to an empty room was terrifying.

Empty chairs before a concert

At 3:10 pm, the co-owner and co-producer Erik tapped on the door to signal us to begin the concert.

To our surprise, the house was full. 22 paid guests, we learned. Excited to see four familiar faces, I welcomed the guests.

“We begin with Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. I was looking for a good arrangement for piano duet for my trip to Helsinki last November. What’s that? Robert asked. It sounded exciting, he said. But I didn’t have an arrangement for piano and guitar. No problem, he said. I’ll have it arranged by the time you come back.”

True to his word, this arrangement was waiting for me. It’s from the third act in Handel’s oratorio Solomon.

Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo ends their one-hour concert at Funen Park, 25 July 2010

After the one-hour concert, we mingled with the guests. One couple said they spotted in the newspaper there was a concert today, so they came from Noordwijk to see us. Another came from the Hague. Not everyone was local, it seemed.

Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo with audience after a concert in Funen Park

What I love most about house concerts is the opportunity to talk to the guests afterwards. With an intimate crowd such as this, it was possible to chat with nearly everyone. I recognised a couple from last year’s concert. We didn’t have CDs to sell or sign then.

Robert Bekkers leaves Funen park with bouquets and fond memories

Turn your home into an art gallery and concert hall

One of the guests at one of our Monument House concerts remarked “I bet everyone who goes to your house concerts want to have one in his/her home. Then they probably dismiss the idea because they think their homes are too small or too inadequate.”

When I first attended a house concert in Houston, Texas, I didn’t think that. Instead I remember thinking — wow! How can I get invited to another house concert? How can I perform in one?

The answer was to organise a concert in my own home.

The grand piano that is no longer there in the Victorian Cottage in London

It didn’t occur to me that my 2-bedroom Victorian cottage in London was too small. A mere 72 square metres (775 square feet), it even accommodated a grand piano in the living room. People sat on the steep stairs. Many sat on the floor or stood near the door. In the summer time, I organised outdoor concerts in my tiny garden. Where there is a will, there is a way. I wanted to play music. I wanted to share.

Funen Park 125, Amsterdam

Erik and Bart probably thought the same. They renovated their 1-bedroom ground floor apartment in Funen Park in Amsterdam to accommodate their passion for the arts. They got rid of their garage and enlarged their living room. If you visit Funen Park 125, you would not think it’s a home for it feels more like a boutique art gallery and concert salon than a living space. They have cleverly managed their space such that they can book musicians a year into the future for their fortnightly Sunday afternoon concert series.

Glass display at Funen Concerts Art Productions, Amsterdam

Yesterday we gave our second concert at Funen Concerts Art Productions. The colour booklet contained programme notes Erik and Bart had translated into Dutch from the English text we provided. The entire experience of working with these concert producers was very pleasant.

Robert Bekkers at Funen Park 125, Amsterdam

House concerts for parents with children

Concerts shouldn’t be exclusive to those who have the time and freedom to travel. But they are. People with children, especially young children, cannot afford to bring them to big concert halls. They need a creche or a quick escape if the children act up.

Bekkers Piano Guitar Duo at Funen Concerts Art Productions, Amsterdam, 25 July 2010

The mother of the youngest member of our audience said, “This (afternoon concert) is a good time for us. Our 6-month baby takes a nap then. This location (Funen Park, Amsterdam) is a mere 25 minute drive for us. If he cries, we can get up and take him outside quickly. Sorry, he missed the last 10 minutes of your concert.”

Several years ago, in London, I had proposed that a creche or babysitting facility be offered so that single parents could afford to come to concerts. The application for a local council grant never went through because I was moving to the Netherlands.

As a house concert producer, I often get asked if parents could bring their children. My reaction is often tainted by my concern for the other paying listeners. Would they mind? Suppose all guests are parents with children. They would understand. You want your children to grow up acquainted with classical music — live classical music. You want to share your cultural upbringing with your kids. How else will they discover the joy of live classical music?

Indeed, house concerts could be a solution.

The young mother was elated that she and her husband could bring their son to our house concert at Funen Concerts Art Productions in Amsterdam. “I want to go to all your concerts. Tell me when and where they are. Utrecht is not far from us. How can I find out about house concerts?”

Organic wine tasting at house concert in Funen Park, Amsterdam

House concerts are a great way to combine music with other interesting activities. As a concert producer, I realise that wine is both an attraction and detriment, the latter if not controlled can be a runaway cost. New house concert producers often fret over where to obtain affordable but good wine and ample supply of wine glasses. One way to deal with this is to invite a wine connoisseur or a wine merchant to provide the wines, i.e. outsource the entire “wine” department.

Anne Ku and Robert Bekkers at Funen Park, Amsterdam

I invited Eveline Scheren, who started her own organic wine business recently, to offer her wines after our piano guitar duo concert at Funen Park, Amsterdam on Sunday 25th July 2010. I had met Eveline at a sister Rotary Club meeting in Utrecht a year ago. We stayed in touch via e-mail though she had never been to any of our concerts, until yesterday.

Organic wine tasting display at Funen Park 125, Amsterdam

“How is organic wine different from normal, non-organic wines?” I asked.

Eveline, who has both an MSc in Wine Management and an MBA, explained that organic (also known as biological) refers to a way of farming which does not use pesticides, fungicides, or other harmful chemicals that cause the soil to lose all life. Acquiring this certification poses considerable uncertainty and risk to the farmer because crops could fail. As a result, organic wines tend to be more expensive.

She gave some rough statistics. About 3% of the agricultural land in France is used for vineyards. But 30 to 50% of all pesticide, fungicide, and other chemicals used in farming is used by the wine industry. That is a shocking amount. No wonder the soil dies after a few years. Organic farming, on the other hand, uses natural means to fight the bugs and aims to create a new equilibrium in the vineyard so that the soil comes back to life. In other words, it’s more creative, takes more time, but ultimately results in sustainable practices that are less harmful to the earth.

Eveline's organic wine tasting at Funen Park, Amsterdam

After our one hour duo concert, the 22 guests gathered around Eveline’s table of organic wines for tasting. I asked for the single French rosé wine to taste but discovered that the Italian white was just as refreshing.

There is a simple analogy between music and wine. Our concert was a taste of our music. Those that liked it wanted more — and bought our CDs. Those that enjoyed the taste of the organic wines bought bottles home. We bought three.

Immediately after our concert, one gentleman thanked us and bought our CD. I asked if he would stay for the organic wine tasting. He replied,”No. I have my own wines at home.” Perplexed by his reaction, I told Eveline who remarked knowingly,”He was probably afraid that he would end up buying wines. This happens. Once you taste something you like, you want to buy it.”

“Ah! He did not want to be led into temptation,” I concluded.

It was a most pleasant way to finish our concert experience: to learn about organic wines and to taste the 7 different wines on sale: 3 whites (Italian Fasoli Garganega IGT 2009, Spanish Menade Verdejo Rueda 2009, Portuguese Air Dao White), the Rosé 2009 from France, and 3 reds (Elemental Carmenere 2009 from Chili, Domaine Bassac Cabernet Sauvignon from France, and the red Hospice Catalaans.

I am now drinking the rosé as I type this blog: Domaine Emile & Rose 2009 from France. [Earlier this evening, I had the Domaine Hospice Catalans Grande Reserve 2008 to accompany a delicious venison dinner that Robert cooked.]

Erik, co-owner of Funen Concerts Art Productions, helps Eveline after concert