The Raft documentary

An Unknown Success - documentary review

(This article is also available in Dutch.) I recently saw an interesting documentary called The Raft through the Dutch documentary channel 2 DOC https://2doc.nl. The Raft tells the story of a scientific experiment from 1973 that looked into…
victor wooten - the music lesson - book

"The Music Lesson" - book review

Recently, I heard of the book The Music Lesson (Penguin Putnam Inc, 2008), written by Victor Wooten. It tells of the rather mystical and dreamlike journey world class bassist Victor Wooten has taken as a young man, while struggling to make…

Film music for Etty

In 2017, the film Etty was released. It is based on the theatre play of Dutch actress Margreet Blanken, who created this solo performance based on the diaries of Etty Hillesum (1914 - 1943). On the website of the Etty Hillesum Research Centre,…

Documentary “Kiss the Joy - the story of Joan Lind Van Blom”

I'm proud to say that a guitar tune of mine called "Stargazing" has been used in the documentary “Kiss the Joy - the story of Joan Lind Van Blom” by director Jean Strauss. She mailed me: The film did very well in its launch at the Newport…

A Classical Page Turner Resume

(Klik hier voor dit artikel in het Nederlands.) The fact that page turners can make it to great heights is illustrated by the humerous resume below. (By page turners I mean: the people who sit beside a pianist during a concert and turn the…

Considering The Circumstances

By Emiel F.A.J. Stöpler Person A: Hi, long time no see! How are you? Person B: Hi! Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well considering the circumstances, I’m not doing so great… Person A: Really? How come? Person B: Well,…

Daily Reminder

By Emiel F.A.J. Stöpler I have to remind myself Each and every day To take that risk And find my way We’re often told to live safely And keep our dreams small But never taking risks Is the biggest risk of all I ask myself…

What Is Wealth?

By Emiel F.A.J. Stöpler Is wealth the money in your pocket? Or the size of your bank account? Is it all the stuff we own? That sits in the attic, where nothing can be found? Or is wealth a kind, spontaneous gesture? By a perfect stranger…

A Zappa Concert By The NNO

By Emiel F.A.J. Stöpler I am honored to have the opportunity to hear 100 musicians from the NNO in an early rehearsal, practicing my composition “The Adventures Of Dindoo.” It will be performed as a world premiere Thursday night…

The NAME Releases Fantastic New Album

The New American Mandolin Ensemble (the NAME) released a terrific new album, with contemporary pieces for plucked strings. On the album is also one of my own pieces, which is called The City Awakens. The album can be ordered through CD Baby: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/newamericanmandolinensem Here…