Krashna Musika, the student music society at TU Delft, is busy preparing for their classical fall concert. The society currently consists of an orchestra, choir and chamber music ensembles that perform throughout the year.
It was founded in 1968 and has gone through many changes over the years including different names. The current name Krashna is a Slavic word meaning flowery music and is made up of both Dutch and international performers.
The musicians and singers are mainly TU Delft students and staff, but also include some graduates and students from other cities. The orchestra and choir have two main projects each year, with several additional chamber music concerts per year by smaller musical ensembles.
The main performance of the year for Krashna Musika is the upcoming fall concert, which this year features music by Puccini and Mahler. The first performance will be Friday, December 12, 2014 at the Prinsekerk in Rotterdam which will be followed up by a performance on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at the Aula of TU Delft.
According to Alida Bisschop, who plays violin in the orchestra, concert goers can expect a great performance. “Our conductor is really good,” she said. “And it’s hard to find an amateur orchestra at the level of this one.”
The symphony orchestra is conducted by the accomplished Daan Admiraal, who is also the conductor for the University of Amsterdam orchestra. Admiraal has a reputation for inspiring amateur orchestras to perform pieces that are considered very complicated for the majority of non-professional musicians. The choir is led by Ruben de Grauw, with vocal soloists Anton Saris (tenor) and Pieter Ulco Hendriks (baritone).
Bisschop, a civil engineering student and member of the Krashna publicity committee, said the fall concert music selection has a good balance. She said Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde is a repertoire of six songs based on Chinese poems. “It’s a bit sorrowful, bitter and dark, but the ending is really beautiful,” she said. In contrast, Bisschop describes the Puccini’s Messa di Gloriaas quite joyful.
In addition to the local concerts, members of Krashna Musika travel every two years to other countries to perform. In years past they have visited Paris and Prague with the next planned trip to Istanbul in May.
Presale tickets for the Fall Concert are available online and cost €13 or €8 for students and TUD staff. At the door the prices will be €15 and €10 respectively. For more information visit their website.
This is part of our ongoing series Meet The Society which highlights different student groups and societies at TU Delft. If you’d like to suggest an organisation for us to cover, please email us at deltainternational@tudelft.nl.
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