GENTS, THE
PETER DIJKSTRA - conductor

1 Follow That Star Peter Gritton 2.23 2 Gaudete Christus est natus Anonymus (from: Piae Cantiones 1582), arr. Bouwe de Jong 2.07 3 Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Anonymus (from: Alte geistliche Kirchengesng 1599), arr. Rene Veen 4.03 4 Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane, arr. Peter Gritton 2.42 5 White Christmas Irving Berlin, arr. Tijs Krammer 3.17 6 Walking in the air Howard Blake, arr. Tijs Krammer 3.49 7 Wonderful Christmastime Paul McCartney, arr. Tijs Krammer 3.20 8 Hijo de la luna Jose Maria Cano, arr. Tijs Krammer 4.20 9 Santa Claus is coming to town Fred Coot, arr. Peter Gritton 2.25 10 Just another star Karl Jenkins & Carol Barratt, arr. Peter Gritton 3.15 11 Jingle bell rock Bobby Helms, arr. Tijs Krammer 3.17 12 Let it snow Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne, arr. Bouwe de Jong 3.20 13 The Christmas Song Mel Torm & Robert Wells, arr. Peter Gritton 2.22 14 Sleighride (instrumental) Leroy Anderson, arr. Bouwe de Jong 3.00 15 Winter Wonderland Felix Bernard, arr. Peter Gritton 3.17 16 Silent Night Franz Gruber, arr. Euwe de Jong 3.51

The foundation for the quality and professionalism of The Gents was laid in the context of the Roder Boys Choir. Most of the members of the present ensemble first developed their talents as member of this famous boys choir, at the same time accumulating invaluable stage experience. Since its foundation in 1999 by conductor Peter Dijkstra, the group has rapidly achieved national and international fame. Whether its religious music from the Renaissance, Romantic English music, arrangements of contemporary jazz and pop songs, or music specially composed for the ensemble, concerts given by The Gents are always a special experience. And the performances are assured of an enthusiastic audience and glowing reviews in the press. The unique qualities of The Gents have also been recognized on the international front. After a performance during the BBC choir festival, Let the peoples sing, senior producer Michael Emory spoke of The Gents as "Something quite unique and unlike anything else". Roberta Alexander finds The Gents "such a pleasure to listen to, and the attention to detail is superb, just beautiful!". The Gents first cd, And so it goes is an anthology of their extensive repertoire. In 2002 the cd The Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal was issued by the international label Channel Classics. This cd, with the theme of 16th-century English choral music, was awarded a 10 by Luister magazine, became cd of the month, and received favorable reviews in the international press. Next season The Gents are issuing one more cd with this label, illustrating a completely different side of their work: a cd with the theme Pop and Folksongs from the British Isles. Conductor Peter Dijkstra (1978) began his singing career with the Roder Boys Choir. In 1987 he participated as a soloist in a production of Mozarts Die Zauberflte for the Nederlandse Operastichting, appearing as Erster Knabe in a fully staged performance. As a boy soprano he worked under conductors including Gustav Leonhardt, Sigiswald Kuyken, and Max van Egmond in the complete series of Bach Cantatas in Amsterdam (Bach on Sunday). At the age of 13 he conducted his first choir. Since completing his studies in voice and (choral) conducting at the Royal Conservatory (both with distinction), he has become a popular guest with various professional groups, including the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Dutch Radio Choir, where he regularly appears as guest conductor, and the RIAS Chamber Choir in Berlin. He has collaborated with conductors including Jos van Veldhoven, Hans Vonk, Ed Spanjaard, Edo de Waart, Bo Holten, Marcus Creed, and Seiji Ozawa. He assisted the latter at a performance of Bachs B minor Mass during the Saito Kinen Festival of Matsumoto (Japan). Since the foundation of the Gents in 1999 he has been the conductor and artistic director of this ensemble. With the support of a scholarship from the Fund for young musicians of excellence and the Socrates bursary, Peter Dijkstra has been able to continue his studies with Uwe Gronostay in Berlin, and in Cologne with Marcus Creed at the Hochschule fr Musik. In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious Kersjes-Van de Groenekam Scholarship for young conductors. Marimba Kwartet Carrefour is a classically trained ensemble devoted to arrangements, ethnic music, but also selections which have been specially written for this group of instruments. To date, Carrefour has performed in the Netherlands, Canada, and Indonesia. Since 1996, the quartet has issued CDs with music by Prokofiev, works by Milhaud, Piazzolla, Revueltas, Gottschalk, and Copland, with additional selections of traditional music from Ecuador, Venezuela, and Mexico, and a CD completely devoted to Latin-American music. The current CD is the first to be produced in collaboration with Channel Classics. The Rubens Quartet, founded in 2000, is currently enrolled full time with the Netherlands String Quartet Academy (NSKA) under the supervision of Stefan Metz, the cellist of the former Orlando Quartet. In the context of this program, the Rubens Quartet has attended master classes with members of ensembles including the Amadeus, Borodin, and Smetana Quartets. The Rubens Quartet was invited by the Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies to be the "Quartet in Residence" in 2002 and 2003 in Aldeburgh (UK).The Rubens Quartet concertizes in the Netherlands at venues including the Muziekcentum Frits Philips in Eindhoven, Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, and the Small Hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In 2002 the quartet made a concert tour of Germany, France, and Switzerland; as part of that tour they performed at the invitation of the Orpheum Stiftung for the advancement of young soloists, in the Zurich Tonhalle. The Rubens Quartet was a winner of the National Chamber Music Competition of Almere in 2002. Maksym Minakov was born in 1974 in Soviet Union. He studied double bass at the Tchaikovski Conservatory in Moscow with prof. Rustem Gabdullin and at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin with prof. Barbara Sanderling. Since 1994 he was tutti-bassist in Russian Natonal Orchestra, Moscow and now he holds the position of sub-principal double-bassist of the Residentie Orchestra, The Hague. He enjoys a diverse musical life as a soloist and a chamber music player.

() Feine, perlende Anschlag Lasics und sehr behende und virtuose spiel Wispelweys () Klassik Heute () When you hear these 14 polished, stylistically savvy male singers, youll be taken in by the warm, vibrant sound, the fine blend, and by the nifty arrangements, most written specially for The Gents by Dutch arrangers. () Channel Classics sound on this Hybrid Super Audio Cd is truly super, its full-featured dynamic range and clarity lending impressive realism to an unusual and well-produced program that easily stands out among the dozens of new Christmas recordings. Classics Today.com () All the vocalists have extremely flexible voices, but the altos really soar to stratospheric heights. () () Masterful choir singing absolutely captivated and surrounded me in a multichannel wonder. () Audiophile Audition () a honey-rich tone, and overflowing with puppyish enthusiasm theyve certainly wagged my tail. () () What distinguishes this from so many similar efforts is the sheer variety and wit of the specially commissioned arrangements, which make use of some unexpected instrumental sonorities. () International Record Review