The second annual PMF Homecoming Concert features the Risus Quartet, a string quartet formed by 4 passionate young musicians based in Seoul, 3 of whom are PMF alumnae! This marks their first appearance as a quartet at PMF.

We look forward to introducing more alumni ensembles in the future!

Luis Cabrera, principal double bass with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (PMF 2004, 06) teaches at Codarts Rotterdam, and among his many students is bassist Catharina Feyen (PMF 2019), who was featured in our previous newsletter: PMF News - Winter 2023-2024
We are grateful to Luis for his generosity in sharing his thoughts with us here!

I took part at both 2004 and 2006 editions of PMF. Youth orchestras are always a very positive environment for a student, you learn to play in a team, to meet people from other countries and therefor share a lot of artistic and human experiences. PMF stands out as been a great organization that connects musicians from all over the world and provides a unique experience in terms of the level of its participants, conductors, soloists and coaches invited, together with the beautiful surroundings of Sapporo and the generous way in which everyone is welcome and shown the local culture and traditions of both the Hokkaido Island and Japan.

PMF was for me an amazing experience at all levels; I met great musicians, friends and artists I still relate to today. Traveling was always my passion and is still one of the things I like to do the most, especially when by doing so you interact with the people from the places you visit and they share with you so much of their culture, their traditions and the amazing natural or urban places in their region. In that sense, PMF was a beautiful and once in a life experience; apart of the many great concerts I still remember at the Kitara Hall in Sapporo or Suntory Hall in Tokyo, I remember enjoying the spectacular hot springs in Sapporo with that stunning view of the mountains, or walking through cities like Tokyo, Nagoya or Osaka with the many friends I made during the festival.

As an "interesting" anecdote I would recall the day we were about to start the rehearsals for Shostakovich 11 with Valery Gergiev, we were playing football outside and while grabbing the ball falling from above my pinky finger cracked… it was very painful and immediately I could feel the bone was broken. The PMF team took me to a hospital where they took care of it immediately, and the doctors put a restrictive bandage over my 3rd and 4th fingers. To my surprise, I could still use the other 2 fingers and figured a way to play the whole symphony with just 2 fingers (shifting a lot!).
From then on, when I had to play it with all my four fingers at future occasions it always felt way easier...:-) It is still on video, if you watch in YouTube you can see a white bandage in the hands of one of the bassists!

Is there a difference between how you saw PMF when you were a student and how you see it now that you are a teacher and performer with leading orchestras?

As a teacher I appreciate more the educational value and the challenge that PMF brings to the students and people I teach and train. When you go as a student you enjoy the experience and feel an immediate reward from taking part in such project. I would say the difference is that as a student you see your individual benefit and what it does to you specifically, and as a teacher you observe more in general what it brings to all the students globally, and as part of their whole formation.

You have produced quite a few double bass students from your studio. Do you ever speak with them about your own education, or specifically about your time at PMF?

Yes, I always speak about PMF as one of my most positive experiences of festivals and youth orchestras, from both artistic, human and cultural points of view. I think it is an experience that any passionate orchestra player should go through at some point in their formation.

I remember talking to my student Catharina Feyen while preparing the audition and after she was chosen as a member about how enjoyable the experience was and the inspiration she’d gather at it, and was very happy to hear back from her after she participated that she experienced an equally positive vibe at the festival.

Considering your 2 summers at PMF, what do you hope your students will learn during their own PMF experiences?

Purely musically speaking, the three aspects I learned the most were: first of all; the coaches that came in, in both my own instrument but also the others, when you join them for a chamber music session or they direct a string or wind ensemble, and as well, watching them play next to you and on stage when you hear and see them perform. Secondly; the different conductors and soloists that come. During the whole festival you play under several very different people with very different ideas, energy and charisma, same as the soloist who inspires you at many different levels. And third, but perhaps the most important; the other musicians you play next to and team up with. You are in a group formed of many musicians who come from very different parts of the world, different musical backgrounds, techniques, languages, styles, and playing side by side with them is very enriching, inspiring and encouraging as well. You learn a lot from the other participants.

From a cultural perspective, to get to know Japan, its people, customs, traditions, beautiful landscapes and delicious food was a unique experience for me. I also tell my students that the festival really helps you to embrace this amazing culture in a relatively small amount of time, so by participating in it you will not only learn a lot about music and orchestra and chamber music playing, but about the world as well.