How beautiful they were: our Birds of Paradise 2023! This is for those who were there or wanted to be there...
Talk Jlin: on Sunday, March 19, 7:30 PM, American producer Jlin will talk to Remy Alexander about her music
// Read moreToday we are launching the first full Artist Room 2023.
// Read moreDue to a date conflict, Son Lux had to adjust its March tour.
// Read morePlease welcome a new flock of birds for our second installment!
// Read moreNomen est omen: in fact our Mees Joachim is the only permanent resident of the Birds of Paradise nest.
// Read moreLooking back at out very first edition, we can proudly say that during these five days of sonic enchantment, these birds dared to fly and leave the comfort of the nest.
// Read moreWelcome to the mechanic, wondrous universe of Actress, where analog meets digital, and orchestrated meets improvised and coincidental.
// Read moreActress feat. MILYMA, It’s hard to pin down Darren Cunningham: every move the musician makes as Actress is a completely unexpected one. Whether he changes timbre and colour completely, or reaches heights of a satellite in just a whim: the Briton always proves to be prolific in delivering innovative sonical work.
// Read moreFrom 9.-13. March five Birds of Paradise will land in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht. At Birds of Paradise Festival, five renowned multi-disciplinary artists are offered a residency for one day. During their residency, they get a free pass for creating exclusive, tailor-made performances, start new collaborations and curate an extensive context programme: both off and online. Expect blends of genres and disciplines, profound musical and theatrical experiences at the verge of indie pop, EDM and contemporary classical music.
// Read moreThe shell is broken, the beak is open. Hungry for new experiences, fresh tastes and flights to unfamiliar territories: the birds are ready to fly out. Unknown colours, aesthetically pleasing combinations and new ways of singing: these features make our Birds of Paradise unique. Expect genre and discipline fluidity, exclusive one-off performances and in-depth music experiences: both live and online.
// Read moreBirds of Paradise is a 4 day festival, annually taking place in Utrecht (TivoliVredenburg) and Antwerp (De Singel) in which indie pop, electronic and contemporary classical music blend. Internationally, a vibrant scene of genre bending composers, singer-songwriters, electronic artists, ‘classical musicians’ emerges. Birds of Paradise provides a platform for these artists who get their inspiration on the verge of undiscovered artistic territories, genres and disciplines.
At Birds of Paradise festival, five renowned multi-disciplinary artists are offered a residency for one day. Each day is dedicated to one particular musical innovator: a Bird of Paradise, so to speak. During their residency, they get a free pass for creating exclusive, tailor-made performances, start new collaborations and curate an extensive context programme: both off and online. Their very own musical skills, unique style and connection to socially urgent topics form the basis of the context programme, which will offer audiences the stories behind the works and many in-depth experiences.
Music Miners is het educatieprogramma van Birds of Paradise. In Music Miners maken leerlingen kennis met verschillende nieuwe genres, presentaties van muziek en een ‘andere’ manier om naar muziek te luisteren. In het programma ontdekken leerlingen als ‘miners’ (muziekdelvers) vernieuwende muziek door een reeks korte concerten op ongebruikelijke plekken in de concertzaal te beleven. Aansluitend volgt een workshop. Het ontwikkelde educatiemateriaal is geschikt voor bovenbouwleerlingen in de richtingen vmbo-T, havo, vwo en gymnasium. Het materiaal is zo ontworpen dat het bestaat uit een receptief, actief en reflectief onderdeel en kan in overleg aangepast worden aan een specifieke doelgroep of groepsgrootte.
Music Miners sluit aan bij de vakken CKV en Muziek. We hanteren maximale leerlingenaantallen in verband met de intimiteit van de concerten en benodigde focus tijdens de workshops. Tijdens de concerten is er ruimte voor uitwisseling tussen leerling en artiest.
Music Miners is in verschillende settings beschikbaar. Keuze en planning van artiesten in overleg met programmamanager Remy Alexander: educatie@birdsofparadisefestival.nl
For all questions, comments, suggestions and (constructive) comments: info@birdsofparadisefestival.nl
Communication, marcom: dave@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Dave Coenen), renee@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Renée Veenstra)
Press: johan@nieuwsmakelaar.nl (Johan Kloosterboer)
Production: jessica@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Jessica Dassen)
Music Miners: educatie@birdsofparadisefestival.nl (Remy Alexander en Margriet Broekroelofs)
Address: Gezellestraat 36
5615 HL Eindhoven
0031-610917648
IBAN: NL84 RABO0129508578
BTW: NL 8225.10.972.B01
KVK: 50038702
RSIN: 822510972
The Birds of Paradise Foundation is a charitable organisation registered under Dutch law. Audited accounts for 2021 can be found here.
Frank Veenstra, Artistic and Managing director
Arthur van der Drift, chair
Ester Louwers, treasurer
Rian Brus, secretary
Lucas Maassen, member
Birds of Paradise wants to offer a state of the art international platform on the verge of indie pop music, EDM and contemporary classical music with all sorts of connections to other progressive (stage) disciplines and genres for the benefit of:
It’s not all displaying the most beautiful colours and chirping the most beautiful songs, here at our Birds of Paradise stages. There’s seduction, enchantment and marvel through dancing as well. Percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers and dancer annex artistic advisor REDO, together with his swarm, break free from the chains of change, disruption and instability. Together with dancers, musicians and a visual artist, they leave reality for what it is and they participate in A New Dawn. We hear music from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Deantoni Parks (The Mars Volta) and Hanna Benn. And on stage we see multi-instrumentalist Binkbeats, break dancers Ozzi & Shane, contemporary classic dancer Camilla Bundel and visual artist Noralie. The show is directed by Peter Leung and curated by Frank Veenstra and Dominique Vleeshouwers. We fly at dawn, looking for a brighter future. Are you with us?
Dominique Vleeshouwers, percussion and electronics
Binkbeats, percussion and electronics
Redo, artistic advisor and choreography
Shane, dance
Ozzy, dance
Camilla Bundel, dance
Peter Leung, stage direction
Noralie, visuals
Music Miners Podcast – Performance Composing
With Dominique and REDO (host: Mattijs Franken)
13. March 7.30 pm – 20:15 pm TivoliVredenburg, Pandora
Host Mattijs Franken will talk to percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers and urban dancer REDO, the driving forces behind A New Dawn. A conversation about composing, pigeonholing mentality and their collaboration.
A camera crew films the crew of A New Dawn in a rehearsal room in Thorn, Brabant, just before the world premiere, where the performance is being finalized. Dancer REDO interviews a number of key players during rehearsal days, including choreographer Peter Leung and of course Dominique, mastermind behind it all.
“You can see the story behind the dance here”
REDO
“My first collaboration with Dominique in Blurred Lines (2020), the basis for what will eventually become A New Dawn”
REDO
The creators of Birds of Paradise’s educational program are developing a series of podcasts about different ways of looking at the process of composing. This second episode is about Performance composing. Host Leendert van der Valk talks with the acclaimed Dutch percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers about how he uses design and theatrical elements in his compositions. And about what it’s like to dare doing things differently.
Talking Podcast (live)
13. March 7.30-8.15pm TivoliVredenburg, Pandora
In response to the podcast host Mattijs Franken will talk to percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers and urban dancer REDO, the driving forces behind A New Dawn. A conversation about composing, pigeonholing mentality and the collaboration between REDO and Dominique.
During the lockdown, American viola player and new music curator for the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Nadia Sirota, made a series of ‘quarantine episodes’ of her popular podcast series Living Music. A series featuring artists from all over the world, performing and chatting from their homes, streamed via facebook.
Sirota made a Living Music episode with percussionist Dominique and drummer Deantoni Parks. The latter, in addition to Kaytlin Aurelia Smith, Binkbeats and Hanna Benn, composed new music for the performance A New Dawn. Deantoni Parks and Dominique tell how the music came about and Dominique explains how all the different compositions have been processed into a modular performance.
House visual designer of Birds of Paradise Mees Joachim developed a t-shirt design exclusively for the festival. The artwork is by graphic designer Klim Spearhead, who made it in close collaboration with Noralie, visual designer of A New Dawn.
It’s a limited edition and the t-shirts are for sale at the merch counter in Park 6 of TivoliVredenburg.
