Matthijs van der Moolen

Matthijs van der Moolen is particularly passionate about chamber music, both ancient and contemporary. He graduated with honors in Baroque trombone with Charles Toet at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (NL), later specializing in Renaissance music for sackbut and slide trumpet with Catherine Motuz at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (CH). He is currently working on his PhD research project on sackbut in the 17th century between France, England and the Netherlands.

Matthijs collaborates with the ensembles Música Temprana, Holland Baroque, Capriccio Stravagante, Bach Collegium Japan, New Collegium, La Fonte Musica, Innsbrucker Hofmusik, Ghislieri Consort, and many others.

Together with Elise Dupont and Anne-Linde Visser he is the founder of Castello Consort, an ensemble specialized in the research of expressiveness and virtuosity in chamber music between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Castello Consort has performed at several international festivals and concert festivals, including Internationale Händel-Festspiele in Göttingen (DE), Beverley Early Music Festival (UK), Festival d’Ambronay (FR), Festival Barocco è il mondo (IT), BRQ Festival (fringe) in Vantaa (FI), Kongsberg International Organ Summer (NO); in the Netherlands he performed for the International Organ Festival Haarlem, Gaudeamus, November Music, and the Early Music Festival in Utrecht. 2023 marked the ensemble’s recording debut with Fantastissimus, an engraving dedicated to a studied combination-conjunction between ancient and contemporary music, written expressly for the ensemble by the Dutch composer Martijn Padding.

Having always been deeply interested in teaching, Matthijs is an appreciated teacher of international courses and workshops, including the biennial course on polychrome music for Huismuziek Organisation. In addition to teaching privately historical trombone he is a lecturer in the annual workshops of historical practice for students of Sound Arts at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, as well as a lecturer of the course “Professional Integration Activities” dedicated to master students.

Matthijs owns and plays both modern instruments and accurate copies of ancient trombones. The most precious instrument in his possession is the first copy made in modern times of the only surviving Italian Renaissance trombone: an anonymous instrument, part of the collection of the Accademia Filarmonica di Verona; was built for him by Aron Vajna, according to historically informed techniques, thanks to the support of the Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument

More information is available on his personal website matthijsvandermoolen.com

Musical Stargazing

Saturday, 27th April 2024 at 7:00 pm

Buy ticket here