Oorkaan is looking for 4 musicians to form the Oorkaan Ensemble

AUDITION DATES:
Round 1: 17, 18 or 19 May (max. half an hour on one of these three days)
Round 2: 31 May, 1 & 2 June (all three days)
Round 3: 3 & 4 June (both days)
Round 4: 8 & 9 June (both days)
Location: De Kempenaerstraat 11-b, Amsterdam

OORKAAN
Oorkaan collaborates with leading musicians in giving staged concerts for young audiences. Its mission is to give as many big and small ears as possible the chance to discover the infinite world of music. Oorkaan focuses on classical music from past and present, and from all over the world.

Since its foundation in the Concertgebouw in 2001, Oorkaan has worked with renowned names like Cello Octet Amsterdam, NAKK and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and musicians like Diamanda Dramm, Julian Schneemann, Mehmet Polat and Sinan Arat. It gives frequent performances in large and small venues in the Netherlands and abroad, including Podium Mozaïek, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Brooklyn Academy of Music New York, Art Space for Kids China, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Konzerthaus Wien and Salzburger Festspiele.

Oorkaan is a multiple prizewinner of the international YAMawards and receives long-term subsidy from the Performing Arts Fund NL and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts. For more information about Oorkaan, click here.

OORKAAN ENSEMBLE
Now that Oorkaan celebrates its 20th anniversary, it seems like the perfect time to take the next step: founding our own Oorkaan Ensemble, which will become a permanent part of Oorkaan and its identity. The composition of the Ensemble will be formed during the audition process. We are looking for instrumentalists who have an affinity with music traditions from around the world, such as Western European classical music, Gamelan, Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese and Caribbean music, and jazz.

The Oorkaan Ensemble will perform staged concerts, in which music is the prime focus and all the performers are musicians. For this purpose, the musicians will receive regular basic physical performance training (acting training), and each performance will be created with a director, and no spoken language is used. The staged concerts are developed with and by the musicians themselves.

The average time investment for the position is 20hrs/week, though in practice this will amount to full-time work during the rehearsal weeks, which is compensated during other periods.

The first production to be created and performed by the Oorkaan Ensemble is WHOOP(S)!
Rehearsal weeks: full-time: the weeks of 11 October, 18 October, 22 November, 29 November, 6 December, montage from 12 December to 15 December
Try-outs: 16 December ’21 and 5 January ‘22, Podium Mozaiëk, Amsterdam.
Premiere: 9 January 2022, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam.
Provisional performance dates: 16, 23, 24, 31 January; 1-6, 9, 10, 26, 27 February; 3, 4, 5, 10 April and 1, 6, 7, 8 May 2022

Who are we looking for? Musicians who have:
• an affinity with a broad repertoire, from Gamelan to Turkish music, from Caribbean to Moroccan music, Western European classical music and a flirtation with jazz/improvisation;
• strong capacity (or potential) for theatrical performance;
• an affinity with the target group of young audiences;
• a completed conservatoire education, or similar standard through practical experience;
• the wish to form a distinctive, leading ensemble;
• the ambition to form an intensive, long-term association with Oorkaan;
• an affinity with educational activities, such as creating and giving workshops;
• time available for the aforementioned audition dates and productions dates for Whoop(s)! If this is a problem, contact us as soon as possible through yorick@oorkaan.nl.

Terms of employment
We offer a contract of employment for 20 hours a week, for the duration of 1 year, with the prospect of extension. We follow the principles of the Fair Practice Code and offer a competitive salary. Oorkaan endorses the Cultural Diversity Code and has set the organisational goal of being a faithful reflection of society. In the case of equal suitability for a position, we give priority to the candidate who will reinforce the diversity on stage.

Auditioning:
To apply for the auditions, please send the following items to info@oorkaan.nl, stating ‘Audition
application for Oorkaan Ensemble’.
– A biography and/or CV + photo
– A cover letter
– One or more audio recordings, or links to the recordings. If you do not, send a link: max. 30 mb
– A link to one or more video recordings
– Confirmation that you are available for the audition dates and the rehearsal and performance dates of the first production Whoop(s)! If you are not available for all the dates, we will have to look into the possibilities.

If you are invited to the 1st round, you will be asked to:
– Play 3 pieces of music of approx. 3 mins. You will receive more information along with the invitation;
– Send us the sheet music for these pieces (if available);
– Prepare a (theatrical) assignment, which you will receive along with the invitation.

The deadline for application is 7 May 2021.
If you have any questions about this vacancy, please contact Yorick Stam (Artistic Coordinator) through yorick@oorkaan.nl or T. +31 (0)20 244 02 12.

No recruitment agencies please.