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Authentic and contemporary worldmusic
English
Nederlands
The virtuoso violinist Willem Wolthuis is the founder of the original Romanesca back in 1960. Up till now he is the driving force behind Romanesca and a well rated Nestor in gypsy music in the Netherlands. He gained wide fame as the first violinist of the former Dutch classical orchestra NFO and as founder and 'Stehgeiger' of the worldfamous Dutch salon-orchestra 'Pluche'. While passing on his experience, he loves to be inspired by the new guard in Romanesca! He is the inventor of the Viocta and also a famous painter.
At first sight guitarist/violinist Don Hofstee seems the “jester” of Romanesca, but make no mistake: hidden behind his leisure style of playing he stretches violin and guitar techniques to its limits in an very musical taste. As a violinist he is the perfect match and musical sparring partner in original gypsymusic to Willem Wolthuis. As a guitarist he gives a great interpretation of Django Reinhardts gipsyswing. Together with pianist Eric Bergsma and bassplayer Tim Nobel, he forms the new generation of the ensemble. Challenging eachother in their romping jazz-collaborations keeps the musical process creative and inspiring.
Pianist Eric Bergsma, having studied jazz-improvisation and music recording techniques at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague, is the authentic “jazz-cat” of Romanesca. Also being a composer/arranger for TV-shows, musicals, cabaret, commercials and musicans, the greater part of Romanesca’s orchestrations are his creation. As a former head audioengineer at a main Dutch tv-station (RTL), he is also committed to the technique and sound of the performances and recordings. Recently he discovered the Hammond 44 melodion, an instrument that appears to be a perfect fit for Romanesca.
Diversity and an innate love for swing are keywords for upright bassplayer Tim Nobel. At the conservatory of Hilversum he studied both classical and jazz bass. He plays clasical music with "Orkest van het Oosten" and ocasionally with the "Noord Nederlands Orkest". His tastefull and musical aproach combined with his profound skills in both bowing and slapping the bass are not only vital, but also quite eyecatching in the performance of Romanesca.
Although most people in the Netherlands will regognize her as the host of the Dutch breakfast news on RTL4, it appears that Femke Wolthuis has a profound artistic background. After several theater studies she played in a wide diversity of productions. Since 1995 she has her own comedy show Typisch!, together with pianist Eric Bergsma focussing on tailormate cabaret. Femke, being a centipede, sings in many languages; Dutch, French, German, English, Romenian, Serbian and more. Her clear voice and confincing performance add a distinct edge to Romanesca.
Willem Wolthuis
Eric Bergsma
Don Hofstee
Tim Nobel
Femke Wolthuis
Deutsch
Français