Since Joint Venture Percussion Duo won the Bernard Haitink Prize during the 2011 edition of the Vriendenkrans Competition of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, they had the chance to be guests at some of the most prestigious concert halls, such as Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Luxembourg’s Philharmonie and Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The collaboration between Rachel Xi Zhang (China) and Laurent Warnier (Luxembourg) has since then, reflected a blend of cultural and musical influences. Coming from vastly contrasting backgrounds, they found common ground through percussion, fusing ideologies to form the uniquely international duo that they are today.

They made their Double Concerto debut with the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, following appearances with the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, the City of Southampton Orchestra (GB), the Musique Militaire Grand-Ducale (L) and the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra.

Besides, Rachel and Laurent were a featured duo at such diverse events as the Big Bang International Percussion Festival (NL), Zeltsman Marimba Festival (USA), the International Marimba Festival Tabasco (MX) and the International Percussion Festival of Luxembourg.

The Duo constantly strives to contribute to the field of contemporary music, and to date have premiered new compositions written for them by composers from China, Luxembourg, U.S.A., Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Israel, Great Britain and Uzbekistan.

Rachel and Laurent are Marimba One endorsers, currently based in Amsterdam (NL) and Luxembourg (LU).

 

 

Pianist Pascal Meyer regularly performs in Europe but has also toured in Japan, Singapore, Argentina, Canada, China and New Zealand. He has appeared at festivals such as Holland Festival, Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Amsterdam), Rainy Days (Luxembourg), Archipel (Geneva), Musica (Strasbourg), Ars Musica (Brussels), Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont), Musikhost (Odense), Ciclo de conciertos de música contemporánea (Buenos Aires). 

 

Pascal Meyer was prizewinner of the Luxembourg National Competition For Young Soloists in 1997 and 1999. He was the finalist of the Silvio Bengali Piano Prize in Italy in 2001 and was rewarded with the Fonds Stelmes Prize of the Jeunesses Musicales in 2004 and the Prix Arts et Lettres of the Institut Grand-Ducal in Luxembourg in 2010.

 

He studied at the Conservatory of Luxembourg with Jean Hilger, at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory of St.Petersburg with Leonid Tamulevich and obtained his Master's Degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam where he studied with Jan Marisse Huizing, Håkon Austbø and Jan Wijn.

 

 

Program:
Claude Debussy Préludes 1. livre: selection
Bela Bartok 7 pièces de Mikrokosmos
John Cage Credo in Us
Tigran Hamasyan The Grid/Out of the Grid

--Intermission--

Pat Metheny The Way Up Suite/Minuano – Medley
Tom Johnson Narayana's Cows
Radiohead Talk Show Host/Paranoid Android – Medley