Q-riouser & Q-riouser: Multi-Talented Dutch Superstar Herman van Veen in SA this weekend

Tuesday 21 January 2014

Multi-Talented Dutch Superstar Herman van Veen in SA this weekend

The ever-popular celebrated Dutch superstar Herman van Veen returns to South Africa this week for the fourth time to play 2 concerts at the Theatre of Marcellus at Emperor’s Palace on Saturday, 25 January at 8:30pm and Sunday, 26 January 2014 at 3pm and two concerts at the Paul Cluver Amphitheatre in Grabouw, outside Cape Town on Friday, 31 January at 8:00pm and Saturday 01 February at 7pm as part of the Hope@Paul Cluver Summer Festival 2014 ...

Presented by Charl van Heyningen Enterprises, this Dutch singer, composer, painter and children’s’ rights activist, Van Veen will be accompanied by 3 highly accomplished musicians who also hail from The Netherlands. Edith Leerkes plays guitar and Dave Wismeijer plays bass guitar while Willem Wits plays multiple instruments. Each of these fine musicians is highly regarded in their own right.

Recording artist, Edith Leerkes studied at the Conservatory at Twente and then in Spain with Ernesto Betitti. For a period of 6 years she played in several ensembles before she became a member of the Amsterdam Guitar Trio in 1987. With this trio she gave concerts all over the world, including in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall in New York, Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles and the Casals Hall in Tokyo. They recorded CDs of music by Bach, Scarlatti, Albeniz, de Falla, Bizet and Prokofiev. In 1992 Edith played with the trio as a guest on several gala concerts featuring “Herman's Hermits” – the name given to the trio of musicians accompanying Herman van Veen. This was the beginning of a collaboration that led them to permanently change their name to “Herman's Hermits”.

Fellow musician, Dave Wismeijer has been a bass guitarist for as long as he can remember. Since his childhood he has been “addicted” to music. He is studying pop music at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and plays in many different projects including Alfred Jodocus Kwak, the animated little duck that is renowned for being the signature character created by “Herman van Veen”. “Kwak” became world-famous thanks to a 52 episode television series.

Willem Wits is a multidisciplinary artist studying at the Conservatory and the Academy of Art in The Hague. He also began his music career in his childhood when has played in numerous bands, one of which performed at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg when Wits was just fifteen years old.

Herman van Veen together with this trio of superb musicians aka “Herman’s Hermits” promises local audiences an evening of unforgettable entertainment. From singing to miming, this multi-faceted performer and artist will enthrall crowds of all ages.

I personally can't wait for the show this saturday! See you there!