GFS in the news

A collection of newspaper articles

 

2023

Before 2023

 

 

Success Flute Sessions reflects on church and village hall

 

The eighth edition of the Grolloo Flute Sessions, at the end of August, was very successful. Not only for the - in particular - young talented flutists from all parts of the world, but also for the organization itself. Where the course improves their skills on the flute and presentation, there are also the final concerts. These concerts, three consecutive evenings, were very well attended.

The team behind the Grolloo Flute Sessions is very aware of the fact that the power of the small community is the basis for organizing the whole thing. In addition to local commercial businesses, residents offer practice space and free overnight stays for those with less means.

Visitors to the concerts were told that the entrance fees would benefit the church and the village hall. After the problems with Corona, the organization was able to make full use of both locations again. The group of students was larger than in previous years, so the hospitality of the church and village hall was very convenient.

The book closes for this year with the presentation of two amounts of € 1,000, but the next edition is already being discussed.

By handing over the checks to these two facilities, Eva Kingma also wants to express her gratitude towards the residents.

 

In the photo from left to right a pleasantly surprised chairman Jan Reinders of Het Markehuis, David Kerkhof, a proud Eva Kingma and on behalf of the church council Roely Sijbring and Margriet Dilling, visibly happy with this fantastic contribution. (photo Bertus Reinders)

 


Eva Kingma was named Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion

 

Herny Koops - De Schakel

GROLLOO - Eva Kingma was completely overwhelmed last night when she was named Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion. The flute maker from Grolloo received the royal honor at the start of the last concert of Grolloo Flute Sessions. There was thunderous applause in the church of Grolloo when she had been pinned on by mayor Anno Wietze Hiemstra.

Kingma is internationally renowned for her craftsmanship and her musical innovations. She made a breakthrough in the flute world with the Kingma System. This innovation adds additional valves and fingerings to the flute, allowing the player to play more notes. Famous flautists such as Emmanuel Pahud, Matthias Ziegler and Sir James Galway play her instruments. Various world-famous symphony orchestras are also loyal customers, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker. Last week Kingma was in the news because she built the largest flute in the world.

At Grolloo Flute Sessions, an idea of flutist Matthias Ziegler, who convinced Kingma to hold the festival in Grolloo, talented flutists from all over the world come together in an intimate setting to refine their skills and techniques with top flutists. According to mayor Hiemstra, Kingma has done a great job by involving so many volunteers from the village in this event "Grolloo has not only become a Blues Village, but also a Flute Village."

Eva Kingma has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. This recognition is exceptional. A person is eligible for an award in this order if someone has made an achievement of a highly exceptional nature for society. It is not the first time that Kingma has received a special award 0. In 2018, the flute maker already received the 'Lifetime Achievement Award' from the National Flute Association in the United States.

She was completely surprised when Hiemstra called her forward ... I only noticed something when the mayor put on his chain of office, I think I need to recover from this for a year." Even when the concert had started, she asked those closely involved if they knew about it and how they managed to keep it a secret for so long. She followed the concert in dismay. Another form of pride washed over her when Matthias Ziegler played the double contrabass flute she had designed. "It's fantastic. The participants had a great time, and what a conclusion. This was a real party," says the knight, still impressed afterwards.


Kingma Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion



Eva Kingma has been appointed Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion. The flute maker from Grolloo was presented with the decorations by mayor Anno Wietze Hiemstra on the last day of 'her' event the Grolloo Flute Sessions.

GROLLOO Kingma is internationally renowned for her craftsmanship and her musical innovations. She made a breakthrough in the flute world with the Kingma System. This innovation adds additional valves and fingerings to the flute, allowing the player to play more notes. Famous flautists such as Emmanuel Pahud, Matthias Ziegler and Sir James Galway play her instruments.
Various world-famous symphony orchestras are also loyal customers, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker. Last week Kingma was in the news because she built the largest flute in the world.
Mayor Hiemstra pinned the decorations during the last night of the Grolloo Flute Sessions. At the Flute Sessions, talented flutists from all over the world come together in an intimate setting to refine their skills and techniques with top flutists.

 

On Television

Eva Kingma from Grolloo has been building a meter-high flute for years: 'It's a bizarre thing'


© RTV Drenthe / Tom Meijers

https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/15824837/eva-kingma-uit-grolloo-bouwt-jaren-aan-metershoge-fluit-het-is-een-bizar-ding

It takes a while, but then you also have something. That expression also applies to Eva Kingma and her flute. The double bass, as her brand new instrument is called, is finally finished after ten years of planing and tinkering.

"Here is my heart and soul," says Kingma when she proudly looks at the flute. The two and a half meter high device - the total tube length is even longer than five meters - stands proudly in the living room in Grolloo. "It's unique. I've never made them this big." It is therefore a process of years and she does not go through that process smoothly. "Without my permanent silversmith David Kerkhof and the help of Egbert Streuer, I would never have made it," says Kingma. "They made sure that I had the space to build this bizarre thing."

God bless the grip

Sometimes you have to start somewhere and see where the ship strands. "About ten years ago, this idea entered my head. If you look closely at it, you understand that it is not something you come up with today and do tomorrow." But after much deliberation, she decides to get started.
At some point she has to order material. She needs seamless drawn tubes. A company in Germany can help her with this, but then she must purchase at least 300 kilos. "I'm not going to do that, I thought. I don't even know if I'm going to get that instrument to work."
A visit to Streuer changes things. The former sidecar champion gives her the final push. "You're going to do that," he said. "If you can't get it to work, we'll do something in Grolloo. We'll finish those pipes. And then I decided to do it. God bless the handle."

'Grateful process'

It was very exciting, she says. But the Grolloo resident is more than satisfied that it is now being played. Flutist Matthias Ziegler is very enthusiastic about the new instrument. "It takes me musically to places I've never been before. I really enjoy that process of discovery. It's fantastic."
"It contains much more sound than I ever dared to hope for," says Kingma. "It's not quite there yet, but he's starting to do it now. I keep searching for the sound, but the start is so incredibly good. It's a rewarding process."

 

 

 

Kingma built the largest flute
"You can't simply enlarge a flute"

Walter Hoving

When you play on it, you can almost feel the sound waves in space. Eva Kingma's five meter high double contrabass flute is the world's largest flute. This weekend he can be heard for the first time during the Grolloo Flute Sessions.
Eva Kingma's phone rings „Hello, Frans. Is catering possible at eight o'clock?" It's very busy this week, because of all the international guests arriving in Grolloo for the eighth edition of Flute Sessions this weekend. The event is an initiative of flute maker Kingma: flautists from twelve countries give three concerts in the church in Grolloo.

But busy or not, Kingma makes time to show her latest creation. The shiny, golden yellow double contrabass flute is in her living room. Matthias Ziegler, a professional flautist and university flute teacher in Zurich, is her guest and likes to make something heard. Already at the first tone it becomes clear: the bigger the tube, the lower the sound. The flute produces music that wouldn't be out of place in an epic chase scene from a Lord of the Rings movie.

"A New World"
“With this instrument you step out of the ordinary range of the flute. You step into a new world,” says Ziegler with a laugh. “Forget everything you thought you knew about playing the flute. It's more like blowing on a bottle. A completely different experience.”

Ziegler explains that it is not that easy to make such a huge flute. "You can't simply enlarge a flute, you have to change the concept." He compares it to a typical Swiss mountain house with wooden half-timbering. If you were to greatly enlarge such a characteristic house to palace proportions, it would no longer be correct. “Flute players have never seen anything like it.”

Gutters as an alternative
Kingma has a small but leading company in which she builds flutes to order. Years ago she specialized in low alto, bass and (sub)contrabass flutes. “My heart is in the low flutes.” Almost every year Kingma makes a new instrument or innovation in the flute world. This latest double contrabass flute is her largest ever. “I had it in my head for ten years, but it never came out.”

That started eight years ago. She had the tubes specially made in Germany. In addition, Kingma immediately had to purchase 300 kilos of material, otherwise the factory would not start. A leap of faith, because for such a large flute as this there is nothing in the books about sizes, diameters, wall thickness or materials. Kingma intuitively ordered her material. "If it didn't work, I could always have gutters made for Grolloo."

Laborious process
It did not work. Kingma got stuck on technical constructions. “I couldn't figure it out. Sleepless nights. Despair. Why did I ever start it? The hours… I don't want to think about it anymore.” She lost herself so much in her new project that the rest of her production fell to her ass. “At a certain point it became irresponsible. I then put the whistle in the corner, in a place where I could view it from my work corner. In the meantime I have been brooding on it for years.”

That turned out to be necessary. This year she picked up her project again. Not without reason: at the same time as the annual flute fair in America, the International Low Flute Festival was also organized in Phoenix two weeks ago. "I thought: if I don't take it then, I should forget it." Finally there was the euphoria: Kingma got a working contrabass flute together. In Phoenix she stole the show with her prototype. “He actually did a lot better than I expected.” She has already received orders, but Kingma wants to develop her instrument first.

And another suitcase is needed. It is designed in England. Because dragging such a big thing is a challenge. “The journey in the United States was tough. It is bent on both the outward and return journeys. I had all the tools with me and spent half the day bending at the instrument in my hotel room in Phoenix.”

Production can continue
This time her production at home did not slacken. Her employee David Kerkhof has a feeling for such instruments. “Thanks to him, I was given the opportunity to spend so much time on this,” says Kingma.

Has such a large flute ever been built before? Kingma: “Yes, in Japan twenty years ago. But I didn't think that was a serious musical instrument. It can soon be given a place in a flute orchestra or as a solo instrument for a professional like Matthias Ziegler.”

 

 

Eva Kingma builds largest flute in the world

GROLLOO - Flute maker Eva Kingma from Grolloo died a thousand deaths at the opening of the National Flute Association Convention in Phoenix, USA. Her unique double bass flute will be shown to the public for the first time at this largest fair in the flute world. “As a flute maker, you don't want to be in the audience at a premiere like this. I found it terribly exciting. You always see dramas that are not there. But the flute sounded fantastic.”

Eva Kingma started building this mega flute eight years ago. The flute is an octave lower than the double bass flute that we have been building for years. Kingma only builds flutes that are lower than the concert flute. ,,There are a few in the world, built in Japan, but I had my own ideas about that. The construction of this instrument had to be adapted and solutions had to be devised to bridge the great distances. It was a huge job. I started it eight years ago, but at one point put it in the corner because I got stuck technically. My company also had to continue. Occasionally I looked at it, but kept thinking sideways about possibilities and looking for technical solutions. Apparently it took those eight years for it to mature in my head”.

This year she decided to finish the project anyway. The promised orders were lifted over the summer in order to continue undisturbed. Kingma worked almost continuously for a period of time building this unique flute.

,,There was extra pressure when the rumors started that I would introduce the flute in Phoenix. I wanted to keep it quiet so I could call it off if I didn't succeed. But it was also too much of an honor for me to get it done.”

It was a gigantic and stressful job. “It is the biggest and most exciting step I have ever taken in my 49-year career as a flute maker,” says Kingma, who has been working with Egbert Streuer for many years. The former world sidecar champion turns the parts on his CNC bench in his workshop in Grolloo. Silversmith David Kerkhof ensured that the production of the smaller double bass flutes could continue, so that the workshop did not come to a complete standstill. That gave some peace.

It resulted in a flute of eleven kilograms and 2 meters 30 high. With stand about two and a half meters high. “It was one more thing to get the whistle in America; on the train and on the plane. The flute therefore did not arrive in Phoenix undamaged. Luckily I had brought tools. No more sound came out. After arriving in my hotel room, I bent and aligned to make the flute playable again. We succeeded just before the opening of the fair.”

The Swiss flautist Matthias Ziegler, with whom Kingma has been working for 30 years, had the honor of blowing the first notes from the flute amid great interest. “The sound turned out to be much better than expected. That was quite a relief. The flute subsequently received a lot of attention.”

Kingma expects the flute to be used in flute orchestras in the coming years. ,,Orchestras with many strings are known. There is currently a tendency in America to form orchestras with 30 to 40 flautists from piccolos to contrabsa flutes. This flute will be a nice addition. There is no music for it yet, that's up to the musicians and composers. I am involved in the construction of the instruments.”

Kingma is a perfectionist. “I am happy with the result, but it is a prototype. I didn't have the flute silver plated. Then I can still work on adjusting and perfecting things. It was definitely very intensive months, but with an incredible amount of fun and I learned a lot from it.”

The Dutch premiere of sounding the flute will be this weekend during the three concerts of the Flute Sessions Festival in Grolloo, a festival founded by Kingma and which has its eighth edition this year.

 

 

Grolloo Flute Sessions good for three inspiring concerts

 

De Schakel August 16, 2023GROLLOO - The church of Grolloo will once again host the Grolloo Flute Sessions on August 25, 26 and 27. An international group of flautists will then provide three inspiring concerts.

Asser Courant August 16, 2023People from all over the world come to Grolloo for a week to discover what is possible with a flute. The flautists together represent twelve different nationalities. It is the eighth time that the Grolloo Flute Sessions are taking place and the enthusiasm among students and coaches has only grown in those years.

Besides enthusiasm and a lot of energy, the flautists show a high level. According to connoisseurs, this in combination with the different music styles and backgrounds makes for a very special concert. There is a different concert on each of the three evenings.

These concerts would not take place in Grolloo if flute maker Eva Kingma did not have her workshop here. Many of the instruments used originate in Grolloo. The idea of the successful sessions originated here and has since become a tradition.

The concerts always start at 8 p.m. Reservations are not possible, the entrance fee is a tenner. More information can be found at www.grollooflute.com (English) or www.grolloo.com (Dutch).

 

Flutist Katy Wherry takes mother to Grolloo

 

GROLLOO - Katy Wherry is again on the list of flautists who will come to Grolloo for the Flute Sessions. The American flautist is happy to make the long journey from the United States to Grolloo.

Flute Sessions is a festival for young talented flutists from all over the world. The young musicians make music together, attend masterclasses and are coached by renowned and experienced flautists. “This will only be my third time attending the Grolloo whistling sessions, but it has become such an important part of my life. So much so that I am bringing my mother this year so that she can also experience how special it is,” she says from America.

,,Attending the Grolloo flute festival has a special place in my heart, because it goes beyond just music. The connections I forge with fellow participants, instructors and the people of the village are incredibly deep and meaningful, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie that is hard to find elsewhere. In addition to the melodies, I discover new layers of myself through the music, workshops and interactions, allowing me to grow personally and artistically. Each festival will be a transformative journey of self-discovery and musical exploration,” said Wherry.

“I am so grateful to everyone involved, including Eva Kingma, who has been such an inspiration to me since I was 15 years old. And of course the village of Grolloo for its hospitality and support. It really is such a special event.”

Katy Wherry and her mother will be present all week and they will close the week with three concerts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening in the church of Grolloo.

 

Under the spell of the flute.

GROLLOO - Grolloo was under the spell of the flute last week. From Wednesday to Sunday, several dozen flutists from all over the world stayed in the village to work on their flute playing. What was once set up as a one-off study week for flautists has now become a true tradition: it was already the fifth edition of Grolloo Flute Sessions. The whole week there were master classes in the Markehuis and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday the flautists gave concerts in the atmospheric church of Grolloo. Here, among other things, the originally from Lebanon, Wissam Boustany, enchanted the public. (photo Van Oost Media)

 

Top international flautists treat Grolloo to a piece of classical music

By Bas van Sluis

Anyone strolling through Grolloo can simply be treated this week to a piece of classical music played by top flutists. Grolloo Flute Sessions will be held until tomorrow. We propose three participants.

 

30-year-old Katy Wherry from Colorado in the United States is flabbergasted. If she is not busy practicing or attending a master class, she will take a nice stroll through Grolloo. "To be in Grolloo," she says, "is a great experience. You feel so connected to the village. Everyone greets too. Really great. ”Wherry says, the days - she arrived last Monday - are full. "So much is happening, we are working on so many things that you have the feeling that you have been here for a long time." The conversations with the teachers who want to take her play - and that of her international fellow students - to a higher level. She is staying with a host family from Grolloo. ,, They are so nice. It is also nice to just play in the village, "says Wherry, who has been playing the flute for 15 years. ,, I teach a lot and perform a lot. Especially in the US. But I recently visited China. And now at this beautiful place. "

She is studying in Moscow and is originally from Saint Petersburg. ,, My parents still live in St Petersburg. I have been living in Moscow for a year now. To study, "says 15-year-old Lisa Maksimova. The Russian is very enthusiastic about Grolloo. ,, It's a nice place. Very green. Everyone is also very nice. ”She is also very pleased with Grolloo Flute Sessions. According to her, she is learning a lot of new things at the festival. ,, This weekend we will perform in the church in Grolloo. I'm sure that will be a lot of fun. ”People who know what they are talking about, make Maksimova a big hit. Just like her Russian traveling companion Elena Krivorotova (13), who is two years younger. ,, I have been playing since I was 9 years old. My parents are both musicians and my brother is a cellist. So that I would play music, yes that was a shure thing. ”Maksimova says he enjoys playing the flute. ,, The sound is so beautiful. It is great that I am here in Grolloo now. Here we share the passion for playing. ”

"It's fantastic," rejoices 38-year-old Melanija Gradecak. The Croatian feels like she's in heaven. ,, Those beautiful sounds everywhere. The atmosphere is perfect. I am among like-minded people who seek knowledge. And what's great: it's not a competition. ”Melanija Gradecak had a rock band until recently, but she has now turned her back on it. Because the band played too slowly for her and her instrument. ,, Now I make electronic music. Yes, with the flute. ”And it doesn't end there. Because Gradecak wants more. She wants to introduce the flute to the world of techno. ,, No idea if it will work out. But I just want to try. That is my path, that's how I feel it. ”According to the 38-year-old musician - she has been playing the flute for 30 years - she enjoys the festival. And she enjoys the environment. ,, I stay with people just outside Grolloo. I ride my bike every morning and I enjoy the scenery. It is so beautiful here. "

 

Flute concerts after the study week in Grolloo

This weekend, for the fifth time, Grolloo Flute Sessions take place in the Village church of Grolloo. When the Swiss Matthias Ziegler decided in 1914 (A little mistake. Matthias must be very old ....BRS) to organize a study week for flutists, he could not suspect that it would be a multi-year event. This week, more than twenty students from all over the world started practicing their flute at Het Markehuis. The result of these practice sessions by coaches and students can be heard during three concerts in the Village Church. Every evening there is a different program and there is no presale. More information can be found at www.grollooflute.nl. (A little mistake. It should be .com BRS) Grolloo - Village church, Fr to Sun from 8 p.m. to 9.30 p.m., 10 euros


Grolloo is transformed by Flute Session into a conservatory for a week

By Bas van Sluis DvhN


Grolloo Flute Session in 2018 Foto: organisatie/Bertus Reinders

In ten days the village of Grolloo will change into a kind of conservatory for a week. About twenty flautists from around the world then settle down in the village to gain knowledge and play for the public. A Russian talent of 13 years old will show her skills..

One of the driving forces behind the Grolloo Flute Sessions is Eva Kingma from Grolloo. She is already looking forward to the arrival of talents from the classical music world. "They come from everywhere: the US, England, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Croatia and Russia."

Top talent from Russia
Kingma says a sensation comes especially from the latter country. The 13-year-old Elena Krivorotova. ,, You don't know what you hear. She is such a huge top talent. She really plays the stars from heaven. Already now at this age. ”The young Krivorotova is accompanied by her mother. Just like the 15-year-old Vasilisa Kurakina. ,,That is much better too. We are of course not babysitters. ”

Above all, Grolloo Flute Sessions is a five-day master class for upcoming flute talent. Three teachers provide the intensive lessons that are given in the Markehuis in Grolloo. "Matthias Ziegler, Ian Clarke and Wissam Boustany," says Kingma. ,, All toppers in this world. Two professional piano players are also coming along. ”At the same time, interested people can walk into the Markehuis in Grolloo to get a taste of the music.

Spicy route
Grolloo Flute Sessions is popular. There are already registrations for next year. And you don't just get in, Kingma says. ,, Interested parties must send a video so that we can see how good someone is. Several people didn't simply get a place this year. ”It is also a tough process, says the flute maker. ,, We have had students who become emotional, because you are really turned inside out as a musician. But always with respect. Burning out makes no sense anyway. It is constructive. And everyone says they have benefited afterwards. "

According to Kingma - who builds flutes herself - the festival is carried by Grolloo itself. For example, restaurant Hofsteenge and hotel Lindenhof are doing their bit. And two local bed and breakfasts. ,, So that everyone has a decent roof over their heads and good food. Some participants sleep with villagers. "

Atmospheric church
Bertus Reinders, also involved in the flute festival, indicates that it will be another special week for Grolloo. ,, When you walk through the streets during the day or in the evening, you hear the practicing students. There are house concerts and the coaches and students ultimately perform three evenings in our atmospheric church. ”

The evening concerts in the small church in Grolloo are on 23, 24 and 25 August. ,, We know from previous editions that those concerts are always sold out. Each evening there is room for around 120 people, "says Kingma who says that tickets cost 10 euros each. "We use part of that money for the restoration of the church."

 

Craftsman Eva Kingma is always busy: "Building a flute is intensive thinking"

From Dagblad van het Noorden - Bas van Sluis - 10 June 2019 (Google-translation)

Brilliant. Innovative. A genius. Flute maker Eva Kingma from Grolloo get a lot of praises from the international music world. A conversation with a professional who never chooses the gray center and is always uncertain about her work.

Every morning Eva Kingma gets up at a quarter to seven. 45 minutes later, she closes the door of her farm in the center of Grolloo behind her. To go for a walk. Out of the village. Empty the head. "A friend often hooks up and then we walk on for about an hour and fifteen minutes," she says. "To get balance in my head. Building a flute is intensive thinking. "

Kingma is always busy. Always working on technology. If she is cooking, she is still thinking of mechanics. "Fortunately, because every morning I get up I think: yes, I can go again."

The work never stops
In her "work studio" - which is next to Kingma's house farm and her husband - the completed and planned trips for this year hang on a large white board. She has just returned from St Petersburg and Moscow. A customer will be coming from the United States soon. "And then Australia and the United States. Meet flautists, network, make contacts and develop ideas at concerts. It never stops working. "

Lifetime Achievement Award

Ten months ago Eva Kingma was honored in Orlando by the National Flute Association (NFA), the largest flute organization in the world. She received the NFA Lifetime Achievement Award, the Nobel Prize for flutists. The summum. The prize is usually awarded to flutists, only two flute builders precede it in the decades that the award has been awarded. "I am the first woman."

According to her, building is beautiful, but very lonely work. "What I like very much. Sometimes I peck on my own for days on end. Then I am shocked when someone suddenly stands in the workshop. At that moment I am completely in my own world, but then I am at my best. "

For a moment she takes a tube and solder something together. She prefers to work in silence, while Miles Davis's music comes from a small box in her work corner in the studio. "The headquarters, my life." It is the place where she solder parts together, file a brass pipe and build the most modern flutes. "The lowness in these flutes has always fascinated me."

She is praised for her innovative work. She now has her own casting facility in her studio. She does everything herself, together with silversmith David Kerkhof who has been with her for seventeen years. "A fantastic craftsman with the same passion. I also learn from him. "

Not off the map quickly
Eva Kingma unmistakably works with her hands. Her fingers have a black glow from touching metal, brass and copper. Pieces of silver ("while working") have been burned in her arms and fingers. The 63-year-old Kingma, always a colorful band in her dark hair, exudes confidence in everything. Not off the map quickly. "I was brought up quite freely. It was a great improvisation, very uncertain. My father was a free bird: a visual artist. My mother pianist and singer. "

As a little girl, she can always be found in her father's workshop, who made large bronze sculptures. "We lived everywhere. When another image was ready, we would roam again. I spent a lot of time with my father and he let me mess around with the most dangerous tools, such as a knife. People often said to him, "Have you gone mad?" "Well, she cuts once and she won't do it again," he said.

The technical side
Classical music is always played at her parents' home. That she goes to recorder lessons as a child is therefore no big surprise. "At one point my father exchanged a statue for a flute my uncle Dirk Kuiper. I picked it up immediately. "

Kingma plays with great pleasure on it, but she likes to disassemble the instrument with a screwdriver. "I found the technical side more exciting. I really became fascinated and it even came to the point that I had to cancel flute lessons regularly, because my disconnected flute didn't work at that time. "

It is October 1975 when Kingma finally kills her flute. "I called my uncle and asked if he wanted to repair it." But Dirk Kuiper - himself a flute builder - does not feel like it, he tells her. He was told just before that he would be blind and deaf, while the eyes and ears are essential for a flute maker.

It is the tragedy of her uncle, she says. "He was therefore logically very sombre and depressed. Dirk had been a flautist in the Concertgebouw Orchestra for 23 years. He also built and repaired flutes with his own company. "

Kuiper suggests that Kingma comes to his workshop so that she can repair her own flute. He will then assist. "October 8, 1975," she thumps like people do on their own birthday. "I walked in there that day. 44 years ago and I never stopped. "

Kingma's fingers have a black glow from touching metal, brass and copper. Photo: Jaspar Moulijn

Insecure times
In the years before, these were turbulent, uncertain times for Kingma and her brother and sister. As an artist, her father lives a rather dissolute life, he is someone who is mainly concerned with himself. "And after the adventures of my father two more half brothers and one half sister were added. At Dad's cremation, an unknown half-brother suddenly appeared. I suddenly turned out not to be the oldest of six, but of seven. "

For a moment she laughs very loudly, but then her voice goes down a few octaves. "I grew up with the idea that I was the only one my father trusted. When thirty years later it appears that there is another child about whom he never told anything ... "A silence follows. "Yes, when I realized that my blood became buttermilk."

Her parents eventually divorce when she is 10 years old. "I have the idea that my brothers, sisters and I have never really been brought up by him. He was very busy with himself. And that has left its mark. Not one of us is married and there is often a hassle with relationships. Detachment and trust is one thing with us. "

Loneliness
A nasty time follows. "I feel that I have spent years trying to ensure that my parents did not walk in seven locks at the same time. It wasn't a job for a 10-year-old girl anyway. There was no childhood for me. I was very unhappy about that then. I know very well what loneliness is. In my younger years I still roamed and lived in squatters' homes. ”

Yet she also likes to turn it around. "If I had had a very safe childhood, and my childhood would certainly have been different, I would never have dared to do what I am doing now. Something indestructible has come back. The feeling of: as bad as it used to be, it can never be that way again. As a result, I sometimes dare to take major steps. "

It is difficult for Kingma to indicate whether that sacrifice has been worth it. "It happened to me. It has been a totally unsafe childhood for a long time. I screamed over myself and got extremely involved in the work. I also left someone myself. And always wanting to work is the common thread. It is at the same time my independence and support. It has made me a strong girl. "

Decline
For ten years, Kingma takes everything from her great uncle Dirk Kuiper. But with the years he continues to deteriorate, becoming increasingly deaf and blind. And she continues to grow. "The decline was not only about his organs, but also" being "as a person. According to him, it had to remain what it was like. And I just wanted to continue. His world became smaller, but I wanted to develop myself further. "

She ends up in a "divorce" with her great uncle and teacher. Quarrels and intense emotions between her and Kuiper pop through the workspace. Kingma doubts whether she wants to say something about it. And then, with great effort. "At one point he said to me:" Have you thought about what kind of work you will do when I am no longer there? "I can still cry when I think about it. It was very painful. ”It is speeding up her decision to leave her uncle and start her own business. It creates a huge desire for proof. "I wanted to prove his wrong. Because suppose he was right. That I can't do it. "

Together with her husband and two sons, she goes looking for a farm in the North in connection with his work as a psychiatrist at the University Medical Center Groningen. It becomes Grolloo, the place where Kingma finally settles with Dirk Kuiper. "I was with him regularly until just before his death in 2006. It felt familiar to both of them. At a weak moment he sometimes said to me: if you hadn't done it, the company would not have been there. "

Wait a year
Everyone asks for Kingma's whistle. Still, she wants to stay small as a company, she says. "No matter how much work there is. Also to be able to keep an overview of everything. ”Only silversmith David works three days a week in her workshop.

There is a lot of pressure on it. People who would rather get their instrument yesterday than today and try to turn a no into a yes. She can now put it into perspective. "There is the music store. You can buy a flute there anyway. ”But those who are sometimes willing to wait a year can count on a tailor-made instrument.

Summer course

Eva Kingma organizes together with the famous Swiss flautist Matthias Ziegler the Grolloo Flute Festival that will be held between 21 and 25 August. It is actually a summer course for upcoming fluent talent from around the world. Participants receive master classes from top teachers. The last three days the group gives a concert in the church of Grolloo.

See also grollooflute.com

From a bare tube to a fully-fledged instrument, she is involved in the construction of a flute from start to finish. "Every screw goes through my hands. I no longer build normal instruments. My heart is really with the low flutes. Thirty years ago I made the decision to stop using all common instruments and to go into depth with the alto and later the bass flutes and double bass flutes. That is how I have distinguished myself in this world, with orchestras and solo musicians. ”

Kingma system
After years of hard work, Kingma has definitively established its name. Her flutes from Grolloo are a household name. She developed her own unique Kingma-System in the early nineties, for which she received an American patent. Musicians praise her: Kingma can now make music that could never be made before, they say about the woman from Grolloo who conquered a big name in the international music world.

She doesn't care that a large part of the Netherlands doesn't know that. The music world - its world - knows it. That counts. And that reflects on everything. "I am so happy at Grolloo. I love living in a small community. ”

She has been working together with former sidecar driver Egbert Streurer for more than a quarter of a century. "Ah, Egbert ... We are two hands on a stomach. Where can you find someone like Egbert in the Netherlands? Just like David is indispensable for me. ”She smiles from ear to ear when it comes to her striking fellow villager.

Streuer and Kingma find each other in technology. "We have a lot of fun together and we share the fascination with metal. He knows nothing about instruments, but he does know about air movements. Let's face it: such a flute, it may all look exciting, but in the end it's just like an outlet. Noise comes from that. "

Always nervous
When the praise is thrown in this way over someone's performance, it will go through life more confidently. Not Kingma. She is always nervous about her work. Uncertain, as she says herself.

"The biggest kick is when someone orders an instrument again. Then I was satisfied. I will be the last to say: I build the best alto flutes in the world. I won't do that until my grave. I take my work very seriously and with every instrument I will always do the best I can. But the NFA award has made sure that I am in a situation that I cannot afford a slip. That sometimes feels like a burden. The expectation is high not only for myself, but also for the flautist, and that can sometimes be paralyzing. ”

Never 100 percent ready
The way Kingma speaks about her work - and especially her instruments - suggests that she regards them all as her "children." "Once you look, you can no longer do it or see it," she says, almost "Cruyffian." "So you see everything. And that has a number of advantages, qualitatively. My instruments look tighter than ever. But to reach the point where you can say: now the instrument is ready. It is finished ... I find that increasingly difficult. "

She says she is attaching more and more to the instruments. "Also because you realize that it is never 100 percent ready. Ending your work: for me it is a compromise with the impossible. It is an eternal search for the instrument that I have peace with ... ”

A deep sigh follows. "I used to be more satisfied with my work. While the instruments were much less. "

 

 

DE SCHAKEL  Wednesday, August 29, 2018  (Wrtitten by Henry Koops - Translated by J-Sketch)

Flutists develop their performance and skills in Grolloo

GROLLOO – Everywhere in Grolloo the sound of different flutes wasn’t easy to miss last week. Participants in Grolloo Flute Session 4 practiced at various places in the village. The 23 students from all over the world prepared for the lessons from coaches Ian Clark, Wissam Boustany and Matthias Ziegler. They teached them certain tips & tricks to play the flute. The lessons provided the knowledge, on top of their own, that they could use for the concerts that were given from Friday to Sunday in the church of Grolloo.

Flutemaker Eva Kingma from Grolloo is co-organizer of the event in her village. She does it together with Matthias Ziegler who came up with the idea a few years ago and a lot of volunteers from the village. ,, It is fantastic. It is a very nice group. We have seven participants more than last time, "says Kingma,"It's nice to see them working together, they've never met, and it's nice to see how they support each other after a while, some are, if they come here, scared to play. They come in like frightened birds, but in a few days, partly because of the enthusiastic teachers, they open up completely." Kingma is pleased that the residents of the village have embraced the event. “Four years ago there was a somewhat cautious attitude. Now they are queuing to give shelter to the students,"says Kingma, who ensures that the local hotel or B&B’s do not miss out on customers.
But for a poor student like Chloé Cuttez, a free shelter is a godsend. The 25-year-old Française is in Grolloo for the second time. Thanks to the help of the inhabitants and some sponsorship, she can still participate in the festival.

• Students from all over the world have come together in Grolloo to play together and develop their flute skills. (foto: Bertus Reinders)

"The inhabitants of Grolloo are great," she says. "They are not superficial, but very interested in me as a person. They are very interested in me. They take good care of me these days. "The French flutist, who has been playing flute since she was seven, also enjoys the cooperation with her fellow students and the lessons of the three teachers." I received very good advice on my technique and play. It is also nice to exchange experiences with the other students, and the contact with the audience is also very pleasant, it is a pleasure to play here, to play your instrument and with great music. It's great to see Eva's workshop, so you get an insight into how my instrument is built, I love it here and I've made many friends."

A bit further on, coach Wissam Boustany takes on another one of the students. He alternates a strict approach with humor. He tries to take away the fear and give the students more confidence. If the student continues to make the same mistake, he says: "Making mistakes is human. But it has a lot to do with concentration. You cannot lose the concentration. You have to attack the difficult notes while practicing, just as long as the note is normal, just like all those other notes." He then turns to the bystanders. "You have to keep practicing constantly, but practicing should not be a vicious circle, it has to be a spiral of development."

The Professor of Flute at the Royal Northern College of Music in England enjoys working with students from different cultures. "The cultural differences are not that important. It's about the person. We are all people. I enjoy motivating them. Students are taught not only in playing on a flute, but also in their development as a human being. And if they get the best out of themselves, understand the process, be open to new ideas and develop themselves, it can also be instructive for myself. " Boustany is fully enjoying Grolloo.

"Grolloo is one of the most important places in the flute world, because of Eva, her innovations have been so important, and it is more than right that she has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award, she has to be appreciated. Her flutes have to be bought, so that the developments can continue. When flutists continue to purchase the popular standard flutes, the innovative developments stop, these developments have to do with the Kingmasystem, and people should be very proud of this. "

• The group of students who participated in Flute Sesions 4 in Grolloo. (photo: Bertus Reinders)

 

Press release from the NFA on June 19, 2018

Download original pressrelease in English

 

 

Unieke fluiten leveren Eva Kingma prestigieuze award op 

Bron: RTV Drenthe

GROLLOO - Fluitisten van heinde en verre laten hun instrument maken door de handen van Eva Kingma uit Grolloo. Gisteren ontving zij voor haar creaties de Lifetime Achievement Award in het Amerikaanse Orlando.

Deze prijs wordt toegekend aan iemand die met zijn of haar carrière een grote bijdrage levert aan de muzieksector. De uitreiking van de prijs gebeurde tijdens de grootste internationale fluitenbeurs. Daar verzamelen zich professionele fluitisten, fluitenbouwers en fluitenbedrijven over de hele wereld. "Daar werd de award met veel bombarie aan mij uitgereikt. Het was fantastisch, echt fantastisch", memoreert Kingma.

Foto RTV Drenthe

Hoogste op vakgebied

Een jaar geleden wist zij al dat ze de prestigieuze prijs had gewonnen. "Dat was zo overdonderend dat ik dacht, na een jaar is het vast allemaal wel gezakt. Maar nu heb ik het gevoel dat ik er nog een jaar aan moet wennen. Want dit is toch het hoogste wat er in mijn vakgebied valt te winnen."

Kingma werkt in Grolloo aan haar fluiten. "Een fantastisch dorp, met veel activiteit op muziekgebied. Het is geweldig dat mijn werk dat ik daar maak Orlando weet te bereiken."

De gelauwerde instrumentenmaker maakt 43 jaar fluiten. Begin jaren '90 begon ze met het bezoeken van de beurzen, al was ze bang dat dit een verlammend effect op haar creativiteit zou hebben. "Collega's haalden me over en al snel bleek dat het een goed besluit was. Het is erg fijn om met anderen te praten over het vak." Daarna is ze het evenement blijven bezoeken. Door heel Amerika, waar het ieder jaar in een andere plaats gehouden wordt.

Alles op bestelling

Kingma specialiseert zich in fluiten met lagere tonen, zoals de alt-, bas-, en contrabasfluiten. In de loop der jaren is ze zich beginnen te onderscheiden van fluiten uit de rest van de wereld. "Mensen weten de 'lage' fluiten in Grolloo heel goed te vinden. Ik maak alles op bestelling. Muzikanten komen van heinde en verre om daar hun instrument te halen of uit te proberen. Afstand blijkt dan niet uit te maken. Dat vind ik heel bijzonder."

Volgens de vakjury zijn de fluiten van Kingma de beste instrumenten in haar categorie. Geïnteresseerden kunnen ze krijgen zoals ze willen, zegt de inwoonster van Grolloo. "Ik maak ze voor grote handen, kleine handen, voor jazz, improvisatie, klassieke muziek, noem maar op. Daarom zijn ze uniek." En ook qua geluid onderscheiden de fluiten zich, zegt Kingma. "Op de beurzen zie je veel werk uit China. Dat ziet er mooi uit, maar ze missen iets in het geluid. Het is meer massaproductie. Daar wil ik niet aan meedoen."

Terug naar Grolloo

Als je een instrument van de hand van Kingma wilt hebben moet je wel minimaal een jaar geduld hebben. "Gelukkig knapt daar niemand op af."

Kingma kijkt ernaar uit om straks weer terug te vliegen naar het rustieke Grolloo. "Dat is toch wel fijn na dit enorme circus. Je zit hier toch met vijfhonderd tot duizend fluitisten die zitten te spelen." Lang van de Drentse rust kan ze niet genieten. Over een week vertrekt ze naar Engeland, waar haar prijs gevierd wordt op een fluitenbeurs. "Een soort hommage aan mijn werk."

Als dat achter de rug is, vinden er in haar woonplaats fluitfestiviteiten plaats. Dan begint het Grolloo Fluit Festival. "Fluitisten over de hele wereld komen om masterclasses en lessen te geven. Plus twee grote muzikanten uit Engeland en Zwitserland, plus twee pianisten gaan er de boel op z'n kop zetten. Ik kijk daar enorm naar uit."