The Danish Chamber Orchestra ”AmadeusEnsemblet” in Seattle & Tacoma June 2007.

The Northwest Danish Foundation is proud to present the Amadeus Ensemblet from Copenhagen, Denmark. The Ensemble was founded in 1993 and plays wind music of European origin.  The 16 members play woodwind instruments, French horns and double bass.  The Ensemble has given numerous public performances at different venues in Denmark, and the concerts in the Pacific Northwest represent their first international performances.

The Ensemble has engaged a well-known Danish professional oboist, Henrik Goldschmidt, as its conductor.  Mr. Goldschmidt is a solo oboist at the Copenhagen Royal Theatre orchestra.

The Ensemble plays a broad range of classic and contemporary music that is introduced to the audience by Henrik Goldschmidt.  The Ensemble often plays music seldom performed by other orchestras and engages contemporary composers to create new compositions specifically for the Ensemble.  Some repertoire examples are:

“Aus der Werkstatt eines Invaliden”(1943), composed by the famous German composer, Richard Strauss, who composed two extensive symphonies for wind instruments, making use of a  spectacular range of instruments. This piece is a full piece of romantic music.

“Danish Rhapsody”(1998), composed my Danish composer, Leif Kayser.  This piece was dedicated to the Ensemble, and in it you will hear fantasies over 10 beloved Danish tunes.

“Gran Partita”, composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is the most well-known and a fantastic piece of music for winds for 13 players including a double bass. This piece of music is a real highlight, not only of wind music but of music in general. Two basset horns are included - instruments that especially Mozart employed in his music because of their warm and sombre tone quality.

“Music for a Tiny Kingdom” (2005) composed by Danish composer Søren Hyldgård, who writes music for films and TV. This piece was composed on the specific request of the Ensemble and is a work in three parts. AmadeusEnsemblet performed the composition for the first time in the spring of 2006, and it was well received by the public as an easygoing and excellent showing of a fine lyrical Scandinavian tune blended with sharp rhythmical contrasts.

To strike a popular note the Ensemble plays a Suite from Georges Bizet’s famous opera “Carmen” in which we meet an overflow of inspiring and dedicated music.

The Ensemble plays of the following instruments: 2 flutes (piccolo), 2 oboes (cor anglais), 1 C-clarinet, 2 B/A clarinets, 2 basset horns, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 1 double bass.

The Northwest Danish Foundation is proud to present Amadeus Ensemblet as part of its Arts Program and as a way to broaden relations between Denmark and the Pacific Northwest.

Please note the upcoming concerts are still in the planning stage.  If you have any questions or would like to host an artist or two in your home during their stay in Seattle or Portland, please contact Melony Beaird, 503.452.9667 or melony@nwdanish.org.