Ensemble Houthandel

ENSEMBLE HOUTHANDEL
SARAH VERMEYEN FLUTE
EVY VAN DONGEN CLARINET
JONAS COOMANS BASSOON
ROGIER STEEL HORN
MAARTEN WIJNEN OBOE

Ensemble Houthandel formed as a wind quintet at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp in 2005. At that time it was called ‘Ensemble Houthandel Antwerpen’ and was initially active for exam performances, also becoming an emblem for the conservatoire and for itself in a variety of self-organised concerts. The group studied and rehearsed the standard wind quintet repertoire intensively in those early years. In 2007 Houthandel was selected as finalist at the renowned Belgian chamber music competition ‘Gouden Vleugels’, and this generated a great deal of interest and a well-filled concert schedule. Their first production, ‘De Grote Houthandel Antwerpen Show’, was performed twenty times at a variety of important venues. Together with Jeugd & Muziek Vlaanderen, Ensemble Houthandel also organised a successful series of educational (school) concerts. In February 2009 Houthandel was declared winner of the 4th edition of Gouden Vleugels and awarded the Jeugd & Muziek Chamber Music prize organised by Jeugd & Muziek Vlaanderen, Radio Klara, newspaper De Standaard and the KBC Bank. This award really put the wind in the ensemble’s sails, and in the 2009-2010 season there were no fewer than 35 performances of ‘De Grote Houthandel Antwerpen Show’ and a number of highly acclaimed concerts in the Netherlands. Part of the Gouden Vleugels prize gave Houthandel the opportunity to record their debut CD ‘Kicking Sawdust’ in Studio Toots, a well-known location for Flemish Radio and Television. This was followed in April 2010 by a concert tour to the Spanish Balearic Islands.