It all began almost ten days before, when ten artists from across the world gathered to present their talent, creativity and vision to the audience of Eindhoven. In the first round entitled Here I Am, no set pieces, no two performances alike, just brilliant young percussionists stepping up to say: here's who I am. Each of them built the most personal and surprising presentation blending electronic with classical and contemporary performances.
Round 2 helped highlight the uniqueness of each musician: same selection, ten interpretations, and every one brought its own colors, its own ideas and philosophy. Round 3 took place at the Paterskerk, one of Eindhoven's most inspiring spaces: the percussionists were spread through the church, with no stage to sit in front of. The common thread was Seismism by Yannis Kyriakides. Ten readings of the same work, filling the same space, at the same time. The audience could move freely, through a whole landscape of sound, walking, pausing, listening and feeling how the architecture and the percussion folded into one another.
After these impressive and overwhelming rounds, the three finalists were chosen. They worked together during three days with Het Muziek, under the baton of César Ramos, and with composers Malika Kishino and Geneviève Murphy as well as with visual artist Jurjen Alkema to create a 35 minutes long final recital. The winner was crowned in front of a full house.
During more then a week, TROMP has indeed been the place where rhythm connected cultures, generations and ideas.
