IYL 2015 – activities in the Netherlands
The International Year of Light 2015 officially kicked off in the Netherlands in a meeting that took place on took place on 19 January in Amsterdam. This is only the beginning, and there are many more events planned through the year. The events planned for February are presented.
Exhibition ‘Ikzie, Ikzie’ (I spy with my little eye)
From 2 December 2014 to 17 May 2015 Museum Boerhaave (http://www.museumboerhaave.nl/) in Leiden is presenting the family exhibition IK ZIE, IK ZIE about light and optical illusions. The visitor experiences the miraculous properties of light with interesting games. Illusions, hands on activities and a life-size perspective room all make you realize that all too often, your brain is fooling you. Discover why a diamond sparkles and conjure up a rainbow with a prism. Enter the perspective room and you become part of the illusion, or step into an enormous ‘dark room’ and meet eye to eye with reality – projected upside down!
NederlandsStudentenOrkest (Dutch Student Orchestra)
The 90 members of the NederlandsStudentenOrkest will start touring again in February. As usual, they will play brilliantly. Light will be central during the NederlandsStudentenOrkest [NSO]’s 63th tour. The composition /WHITE HEAT by David Dramm they were assigned to perform is about the lost energy of light, Gershwin’s piano concerto in F (soloist: Tobias Borsboom) is characterized by influences from light, and Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 signified light at the end of a depression to the composer. This project, under the direction of the British conductor Quentin Clare will shine in eleven concert halls throughout the Netherlands and in Dublin.
One-time Light Concert at Orgelpark in Amsterdam
Lichtbende (http://www.lichtbende.nl/) combines theatre, performing arts and music into performances that resemble early moving theatre. New life is breathed into old analog equipment such as a magic lantern, street organ and record player with amazing results. With its magic lantern shows, Lichtbende is unique in the world of object and shadow theatre. They have come to enchant large audiences at home and abroad.
On 28 February 2015 there will be a one-time Light Concert at the Orgelpark in Amsterdam. Projections of light onto a 20 x 4 meter screen will be merged with organ sounds from the composer Messiaen, performed by the organist GerrieMeijers. Ten old magic lanterns will be driven manually and mechanically, resulting in an impressive alignment and happenings the public will see unfold in front of them. More information can be found at: http://orgelpark.nl/agenda/toverlantaarns-orgel-messiaen/.
