DEVELOPING CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE
DEVELOPING CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE
The Terra Nova Collective, with artistic director Vlad Weverbergh at the helm, was launched in Antwerp in 2012. The object of the new initiative was to generate interest in the many musical gems created by the composers
of the Austrian Netherlands with particular attention for the repertoire
of the classical and early romantic periods.
The intrinsic quality of these rediscovered works is revealed when they are performed in the context of more canonical pieces of the Western classical repertoire and gives audiences a chance to enjoy the remarkable diversity of European classical music in the second half of the 18 th and the early 19 th centuries.
PERIOD ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR
PERIOD ORCHESTRA AND CHOIR
Terra Nova Collective performs on period instruments using historically informed performance practices. Vlad Weverbergh insists on surrounding himself with the finest of Belgium’s musical talents in a sparkling ensemble which has the skill and daring needed to deal with its unique repertoire.
For more than a decade, the ensemble has performed in the most prestigious venues of Europe, Asia and the United States as well as in more intimate settings with the aim of bringing its music to the widest possible audience.
Starting in 2024 Terra Nova Collective also hopes to explore the choir
and orchestra repertoire of Hendrik Tobi just as they did with Johann Adam Faber’s Missa Maria Assumpta in 2021. This resulted in a collaboration with Bart Vandewege as the ensembles choir master.
SHAPESHIFTING THE CONCERT ETIQUETTE
SHAPESHIFTING THE CONCERT ETIQUETTE
From the very outset Terra Nova Collective has enjoyed playing around with period fashions and concert etiquette, alternating symphonic movements with concertos and arias, or even performing a series of selections from different works in accordance to a new musical or historical narrative. Terra Nova’s concerts will always include famous pieces by well-known composers,
such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven along with musical gems by sadly neglected composers such as Pieter van Maldere, Henri Joseph Tobi, Hébert Leemans and many others. The musicians invite the listener to join them on a journey that revisits the time-honoured tradition of musical exchange that offers new insights into our shared European heritage.
MUSICOLOGICAL GUIDANCE
MUSICOLOGICAL GUIDANCE
Right from the start Terra Nova Collective combined Vlad Weverbergh’s artistic and creative vision with the dramaturgical and musicological guidance of Dr. David Vergauwen who is in charge of the general reasearch and the writing of texts, podcasts, biographies and scientific articles.
The quality and energy of the musicians’ ideas, combined with new research and the development of a novel approach to the programme pay off handsomely in the ensemble’s concerts and recitals.
RESEARCH OUTPUT
RESEARCH OUTPUT
Terra Nova’s massive investment in experiment and research is rewarded by the publication of new scores, the creation of online videos, 14 albums, featuring previously unknown composers and a series of podcasts in three languages .
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
Terra Nova Collective is deeply committed to its educational vocation. “Amateurs” or “Music lovers” in the most noble sense of the term used to be the employers of professionals like Haydn or Mozart. The ensemble seeks to honour this time-old tradition not just by its involvement in numerous activities with young audiences but also by working closely with young musicians in music schools as to sharpen their interest in an unknown repertoire and to bolden their curiosity.
“Het is een openbaring van herontdekte muziek die vertrouwd klinkt, en toch nieuwsgierigheid doet opborrelen.” - KNOPKAYA CULTUURPAKT
— CULTUURPAKT