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Dutch Quintet: A Unique Take on the Wind Ensemble

The Straits Times

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September 15, 2025

Concert

- Chang Tou Liang

Dutch Quintet: A Unique Take on the Wind Ensemble

CALEFAX REED QUINTET IN RECITALConservatory Concert HallSept 12The Netherlands is famous for wind ensembles, and they do not come as unique as Calefax Reed Quintet, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2025.

Founding members Raaf Hekkema (saxophone) and Alban Wesly (bassoon), joined by Oliver Boekhoorn (oboe), Bart de Kater (clarinet), and Jelte Althuis (bass clarinet), showed in 90 minutes how their special sound defined the genre and has spawned many imitators.

Having replaced the flute and French horn of traditional wind quintets with saxophone and bass clarinet, a darker and deeper sonority with an unusual mellowness is the result.

As this medium is new, almost all the works performed were transcriptions of pre-existing music. The skill was in making individual lines of each instrument stand out yet blend in a seamless manner.

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