In a grand collaboration with Dunedin Youth Orchestra, international performer and composer Daniel Verstappen (yes, a relative of the F1 driver) will be playing at Hanover Hall on the 1st of April. Belgium-born Daniel fell in love with New Zealand when he visited two years ago, and he hopes this collaboration will inspire and encourage the next generation.
The collaboration will involve five days of rehearsing with the Youth Orchestra, and then a final concert performance. The concert will mix Daniel’s original compositions with film music that everyone knows – such as Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack of the film Interstellar. Then he’ll also be spicing it up with more modern takes on classical pieces such as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
Daniel emphasized that the concert “won’t be too heavy”, and he finds that most people like his music because of how he reimagines classical works for the modern and commercial world. Daniel enjoys working with student musicians, as he himself went through a musical education when he was very young. He feels strongly that young musicians need to be “inspired and surrounded by good coaches”, and that someone “from another world” like himself coming in to change things up can make young people “feel part of something bigger.”
Arranging and conducting Daniel’s concert is Dr. Joe Harrop, director of production company Project Zed. Harrop is the brain behind the collaboration with the Dunedin Youth Orchestra, giving them the chance to work with someone with Daniel’s international experience and education.
This visit is also not just about performing – but also creating new music. Daniel’s music is very visual, drawing a lot of inspiration from nature. He tells Critic that the taonga that is Aotearoa’s landscapes and scenery is “also part of this journey” as a result.
It wasn’t just the nature of Aotearoa that lured Daniel to swing by either. He also loved the quality of the food and wine, losing his steak and cheese pie virginity with no regrets. Daniel lived in the Canary Islands for a time growing up, and being back on an island like New Zealand and being surrounded by the sea was “really quite special.”
Daniel also added that he was always interested in seeing how cultures can work together, and he’d seen that in New Zealand. In Auckland he invited a Polynesian choir on stage, an experience he could only describe as “beautiful”. He wants to take some time to focus and use his love of New Zealand to create music that reflects it.
Having played the piano since he was five years old, Daniel now lives off touring, a privilege he is extremely grateful for. He said that while he’s “had a long journey, that's just how it goes.” And now, through his work and this collaboration in particular, he wants to show us young people that “it's possible to make it if you have that dream. Really wanting something [...] That's the most important thing.”
