Marco Blaauw

Born in 1965, Marco Blaauw studied at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam and later continued his studies with Pierre Thibaud and Markus Stockhausen. “I first heard new music on television as a child. I saw how the audience put their hands to their ears. That's exactly what I wanted – for people to make an effort and marvel at what they were hearing.” The path to the instrument? Firstly, a practical decision: “I grew up in a village. There was a brass band there, and they needed a trumpet player.” Then a life goal: “I always had the image of a troubadour spreading news in my mind’s eye. That's what I want too – with my trumpet.” He continues: “In many ways, the trumpet has been neglected. That's where I see my task – to further develop the instrumental technique and to interest composers in the trumpet.” A preliminary result: works by Richard Ayres, Martijn Padding, Gijsbrecht Roye, Isabel Mundry, Peter Eötvös and others, written for and inspired by Marco Blaauw, an intensive collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen, numerous solo performances – and the Ensemble Musikfabrik.