Bart Jansen
Bart Jansen (1986) learned a wide range of percussion instruments under the supervision of Chris and Hans Leenders, Richard Jansen and Danny van de Wal at the Rotterdam Conservatory. During the these years, he joined the Dutch National Youth Orchestra where he got his first experience as a timpani player. After being accepted in 2009 in the Orchestral Percussion Class of David Searcy and Michael Quinn at Civica Scuola di Musica Claudio Abbado in Milan, his studies were mainly focused on timpani playing.
After being active as a timpani player in the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester from 2008 until 2012, Bart has been active as Timpani/Percussion tutor in that same orchestra since 2017. Apart from teaching members of the Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester, he has taught at the Spanish and German youth orchestras and is a guest professor for timpani at Codarts University for the Arts in Rotterdam.
In the late 2010s, after obtaining a two-year scholarship from the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds, he studied audition and solo repertoire for timpani with Raymond Curfs at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. During his Masters in Munich he got accepted to the Academy of the Symphonie Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Mariss Jansons as Chief Conductor.
At the age of 26 Bart won his first audition as Solo Timpani player at Operahouse La Monnaie in Brussels. Only shortly after he won the position of Solo Timpani player in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Donald Runnicles as General Music Director.
Alongside his job in Berlin he also holds the position of Solo Timpani player in the European Philharmonic of Switzerland in which former and present members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra play together annually at the Festival Septembre Musicale in Montreux with such reknown conductors as Charles Dutoit, Gergely Madaras and Lorenzo Viotti.
Working with contemporary composers such as Wolfgang Rihm, Maurizio Kagel, Sofia Gubaidulina or Krzysztof Penderecki gave shape to his vision on the modern classical repertoire.
As a guest Bart has performed with ensembles such as the World Orchestra for Peace, The Orchestra of the Bayreuther Festspiele, Orchestra de Paris, Staatskapelle Berlin, Deutsches Symfonie Orchester and Symphony Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
As a student Bart learned how to make his own timpani sticks and now leads one of the most successful ateliers in the field named Picarde Timpani Products from where he ships timpani sticks worldwide. Within the company he has build series of sticks with timpani players from the Dutch, German, French and Italian cultures learning about different cultures, acoustics, techniques and styles.