The invitation is still ‘somewhere’ in a drawer of Dirk Bukkems (54) from Helmond. A scholarship to master the art of conducting at the famous Juilliard music school in New York. But music is his biggest hobby and as far as he is concerned it should remain that way, so Dirk is not going to America. Yet the amateur conductor will be on the stage of the Concertgebouw this weekend, conducting not one but two different orchestras at the same time.
During the corona period, Dirk plays Frank Sinatra record after record. He wants to give this music a new look. It worked and last year he performed a performance about Sinatra in Eindhoven. The idea arises to also do this in Amsterdam. Two Amsterdam student orchestras were immediately enthusiastic and said yes: a symphony orchestra and a big band orchestra. Dirk will conduct the almost one hundred orchestra members.
“And then there’s only one place to do something like that,” he says. “And that is the Concertgebouw.” But Dirk is an unknown amateur conductor. “I thought, no one wants a 54-year-old conductor from Helmond. And the whole world wants to be here.” Dirk will not be held back and takes the plunge: together with the two orchestras he makes a ‘pitch’. The Concertgebouw has space and says yes.
“The entire neighborhood enjoyed my reaction.”
The call from Amsterdam comes on a sunny June afternoon when Dirk is sitting in his Helmond backyard. “The entire neighborhood enjoyed my reaction,” he laughs. In Eindhoven he was responsible for production and financial risks, something that does not often happen to conductors. “That is not possible in Amsterdam, so now the orchestras also bear a lot of responsibility,” he explains. The 1,500 tickets for the Sinatra performance at Symphony this weekend are almost sold out.
Dirk experienced the reception at the Concertgebouw as a ‘warm bath’: “They give us the same attention as the major professional concerts. They are very human and thoughtful.” Dirk immediately takes up the challenge of conducting not one, but two orchestras. “Luckily I have two hands,” he laughs. “It is also quite an experience for the students who play. They come into contact with Sinatra, music that they do not play every day.” Dirk promises the audience ‘an enormous warm blanket’ with his concert. Singer Frank in Person portrays Frank Sinatra and comes ‘very close’.
“Music is the biggest outlet I have.”
In daily life, Dirk is an independent project manager, in which role he arranges new software for companies. A world of difference from the stage, you would say. “When I was young, I was convinced that I could become a professional conductor. But the higher you go, the thinner the rinse,” he explains. Can I really make a living with it, he wondered. “Fortunately, I found something else I enjoyed studying. By having it as a hobby, I can put a lot more of myself into it. Music is the biggest outlet I have.”
