Klarinet Archive - Posting 000672.txt from 1996/08

From: Luuk van Buul <vanbuul@-----.COM>
Subj: Corporate bands - Philips' Symphonic Band
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 1996 08:21:48 -0400

On Aug 23, Barry Kruse wrote:
>
> Please excuse my ignorance on this, but I was surprised to hear that
> Philips has its own symphonic band. What kind of organization is this? Is
> it a professional group like the orchestras of the big record
> companies/broadcast companies? Or is it more like a corporate sponsored
> community group? Are there many corporations that have their own bands or
> orchestras?
>
> Barry Kruse
>

As Benedict Lockwood pointed out, in Europe there are many corporate bands.
In Holland I can think of Heineken (yes, the beer) and Shell (yes, the oil). And
of course Philips. One other in Europe I happen to know is Swiss Air.
The Philips' Symphonic Band has about 80 members. We have rehearsals two times a
week. The members of the Band are mostly (not all) employees of Philips
Electronics. We are amateurs, be it good ones :).
No, really. We play everything from film music to Rossini overtures to Artie
Shaw (the clarinet concerto - I don't know where they got the sheet music). Last
year we did the world premiere of the arrangement for wind orchestra of the
Carmina Burana in presence of Mrs. Orff. Also last year we won the
'Internationale Wettbewerb fuer Unterhaltungsmusik' in St.Gallen in Switzerland
for the second time. Here we played bigband music.
Another activity is playing (marching) at soccer games.

>From September, 17 to 22 we will be on tour in Austria (one week, playing in
several major cities).

Our conductor is Pierre Kuijpers. You probably know him from his CD with the
Royal Military Band playing 'Lord of the Rings' from Johan de Meij.

Luuk van Buul
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L.J.M. van Buul vanbuul@-----.com
Philips Research Waalre Philips Optoelectronics Centre
Prof.Holstlaan 4
5656 AA Eindhoven Tel. +31 40 2744649
The Netherlands Fax. +31 40 2744335
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