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.”
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 will 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 grip.”
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.”