Stadsorgelconcert in de Grote of St. Bavokerk
Jaco van Leeuwen, Cor Ardesch & Dirk Luijmes
Haarlem is known worldwide as the city of organs. The city has two top organs with a monumental status: the Christian Müller organ in the Great or St. Bavo Church and the Cavaillé-Coll organ in the PHIL.
Dirk Luijmes is an organist and harmonium player. In the magazine Luister, he was referred to as the 'harmonium player of the fatherland.' More than 25 composers wrote works for him, including Padding, Breuker, and Kee. He has performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, ASKO-Schönberg Ensemble, Netherlands Chamber Choir, and NDR Choir. He has concerted in Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires) and in the Musikverein Vienna. At Carnegie Hall (New York), he presented the American premiere of the harmonium concerto written for him by Martijn Padding. Dirk made various CD recordings, including 'Harmoniumatlas.' In 2021, he wrote a book about Bach's Matthäus Passion: 'Oo lamm Kottes, oensjoeldieg'.
Cor Ardesch studied organ with Piet Kee at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and improvisation with Bert Matter at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He is the city organist of Dordrecht and, therefore, the player of the organs in the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht. In 2011, he was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his organ merits. Cor Ardesch teaches organ, improvisation, and church organ playing. In December 2008, he made a CD with all works of J.S. Bach on the Bach organ in the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht.
Jaco van Leeuwen took organ lessons with Adriaan Kousemaker and Kees van Eersel and then studied organ, piano, choral conducting, and church music at the Netherlands Institute for Church Music in Utrecht with Elly Kooiman and Theo Saris. He continued his organ studies with Piet Kee at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Jaco van Leeuwen is cantor-organist of the Oude Jeroenskerk in Noordwijk. In 2007, he received a royal distinction for his contributions to the Noordwijk music culture.
From May to October, concerts are held on Tuesday evenings and also on Thursday afternoons in July and August in the Grote or St. Bavo Church by renowned organists from both the Netherlands and abroad.
From May to October, concerts are held on Tuesday evenings and in July and August also on Thursday afternoons in the Great or St. Bavo Church by renowned organists from home and abroad.