Composer and pianist Anne-Maartje Lemereis: ‘When the tour of my song cycle was cancelled I felt like a 6-year-old whose birthday party is called off’
The financial damage caused by the corona crisis is immense, and the end is not yet in sight. What are the stories behind the figures? The Dutch website Theaterkrant asks freelancers in the theatre sector how they are dealing with the crisis, both financially and mentally. For this series I interviewed composer and pianist Anne-Maartje Lemereis.
Anne-Maartje Lemereis (1989) wrote her first song when she was four, and later studied piano and composition at the Utrecht Conservatoire. She completed her studies in 2016 and has since composed many works, often on commission. She performs as a pianist and teaches both piano and composition but also organizes concerts, courses and festivals, for instance with her foundation In de Knop (In the Bud).
Anne-Maartje Lemereis (c) Mark Brants
She has a fondness for language and the human voice, so opera and music theatre are quite her cup of tea. Since 2019 she has been associated with KASKO as a young maker, exploring both genres together with director Kenza Koutchoukali.
The announcement of the first lockdown on 11 March 2020 immediately caused concern, Lemereis recalls. ‘I wondered whether the Young Composers’ day I had scheduled for April could ahead. When this was indeed cancelled, I began to realise that a number of premieres of my own work were also at risk.
Fortunately four of them went ahead anyway: Lumen was played by the Mallet Collective during the Bach Festival Dordrecht, and the Nederlands Kamerkoor NXT sang Label Me in Utrecht. Other commissions and performances were put on hold.’
Lemereis was to compose a series of mini-operas with children during the Oranjewoud Festival, which was cancelled altogether. ‘The autumn tour of my song cycle This is not a Fairy Tale was brutally interrupted after one performance by the second lockdown. We just managed to play it twice in one evening for 30 people, for which we got paid extra. For one of the missed performances the full fee was compensated, for the rest we are still looking for new dates.’
A long-term composition commission for the Dutch television programme Podium Witteman was also postponed. ‘Yet I was allowed to invoice an advance of 75% of the fee.’ This is not a matter of course though: ‘Many of my workshops take place at small institutions or collectives, which lack the scope to offer compensation if something goes wrong. I understand this, and fortunately the contacts remain warm; we trust in better times.’
She did not actively seek alternatives: ‘For me, security is a condition for being creative, so ever since my student days I have kept several irons in the fire. I have deliberately chosen not to depend on composition assignments, but to derive my basic income from teaching. It just so happens that in September 2019 I had just been offered a small salaried position at the Utrecht Conservatory. That provides some security, but when the proverbial washing machine breaks down, I’ll have to draw on my savings account.’
Lemereis spent her time to good avail: ‘Since 2017 I have an online series on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram: Happy Birthday Composer. I add lustre to the birthdays of great composers by incorporating this song in one of their masterpieces, which I perform on the piano. It has been one of my favourite pastimes to keep making and sharing music during the pandemic. Coincidentally the YouTube channel has attracted a lot more visitors since the lockdown.’
In June, she was able to perform at the Bach Festival Dordrecht. ‘They had set up a schedule whereby a new, small audience shuffled in per block. It was the first live music I had heard since March, I enjoyed it to the full!’ She also cherishes her livestream concert from Muiderslot. ‘We played in the beautiful Knights’ Hall and were taken on a tour around the castle with a very small group of people. A very special experience indeed!’
Financially, she never ended up in dire straits: ‘The newly acquired income stands in no comparison to losses caused by the many cancellations, but not once I had to perform my professional work for free or at a reduced rate. The Utrecht Conservatoire even assigned me an extra task. Besides teaching, I’m now also mentoring a group of Master’s students, which I really enjoy.’
Unlike many of her colleagues, Lemereis hasn’t even had to economise. ‘I can still pay my fixed costs from my income’, she says. ‘The worst thing about the pandemic are the ever-changing governmental measures. My agenda has become an inimitable document of scratches and cross-references. What I miss most is the inspiration I get from others during concerts, festivals, group lessons or a visit to a museum. – When the tour of This is not a Fairy Tale was cancelled, I felt like a six-year-old whose birthday party was called off. I was upset for a week.’
Due to the extension of the lockdown until at least the end of March, several rescheduled performances were cancelled once more. ‘I was due to start work on a beautiful project by KASKO: a brand new opera in collaboration with a large group of local residents in Zwolle. Rescheduling this is quite a hassle. For next season In de Knop has planned a collaboration with the Ragazze Quartet to compose new string quartets with composers from 8 to 18 years old, for which the initial workshops will now have to take place online.’
Still, Lemereis sees some bright spots: ‘Thanks to the online lessons I now have more contact with some of my youngest students. Moreover, I was able to spend time on developing new plans for In de Knop with my co-director.’
This past period has even brought her closer to herself, Lemereis acknowledges: ‘At one point I felt that enormous inner drive to compose again. A few days behind the grand piano in my studio worked wonders: it is simply unimaginable that ever in my life I would not compose. A reassuring thought.’
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