Ineke's back!

Today I picked up Ineke, Caroline and Nicholas from the airport as they returned from their 3 week trip in Amsterdam. I was really jealous that she got to see Martin ! I wish I was there too !

They had a great time, and the kids were really happy to see their dad again.

Here is a picture of the whole family. Robert has really changed, but happy to see his kids again.

Happy Birthday Maya

Today its my sister's maya's birthday.. Happy Birthday Kiddo!!! love ya tons !!

Ontario the Beautiful!

Here's a picture of the cottage and the dock, knotice its a log cabin!





I had a wonderful weekend ! my god Ontario is just so beautiful!
My god friend/horn player Ann invited Milo and I up to her family cottage for the weekend.





Here Milo and I are taking our first dip

It's up on Catchacoma Lake, which is about 50 km north of Peterborough, in total 200 km from Toronto. The cottage was full of family and dogs and cats, and with all the swimming and eating and amazing games of euchre (you are a great partner Ann, we creamed them ! ha ! ... and attacking fish.. we all had a blast ! thanks again Ann and I will be back for sure next summer !

Happy Birthday Maya and Alex !

Yesterday, August 18th, was Maya and Alex's Birthday. Maya turned 17 and Alex turned 14.... oh my god I'm getting so old... I can still remember them as cute little babies ! and now look at them ! well.. turned out pretty good I'd say ! I love my little neice and nephew very, very much. Maya her mom Melinda and I went out to dinner last night at Jack Astors to celebrate, she recived a new Ipod mini, Maya was very happy with her gift.



Alex, I heard is out camping in Northern Ontario in tents with the family. Hope there are'nt to many bugs... and today its raining, I hope they can cope !? ... any way guys, Happy Birthday... and enjoy !!

Friendship and love, thicker than Blood

A recent love letter was posted to me publicly on the web by my best friend and biggest love of my life Martin deDeugd. Martin and I were separated, better said amputated from each other in September 2001. We both played in the Amsterdam Opera Comique, the HO, for 16 years; him as Concertmaster, me as principal Horn. The first time we met, it was instant friendship. And later love. But as we both had our destinies we had to part and go where our heart was telling us to go.

In August 2001 he arranged a surprise farewell party for me at his house, and as shown here in this picture, I did indeed had a lot of friends that I had to leave behind. The people in the picture: Left to right - Lies,Petra,Gerard,Brynn,Gottfried,Bill,Jolan,Diana&Baby,Marco,Marc....
R-L,second row,Huub,Martin,Waldemaar,John,Frieda,Wendy& Milo.

Martin and I are still very close, and we have talked about marriage so often it’s getting to sound like a broken record. And that is the way it will always be I guess, broken. With his amazing new solo violin career in Holland, and my commitments to my new life here in Toronto, we as a couple will never be.

Sad, tragic

I just wanted to express my love publicly as well for the one man that is as close to my soul as anyone could be.

Thank god for the phone and internet, which what keeps us sane.

Life takes so many turns

Last night I attended a wonderful and awe inspiring concert, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada at Roy Thompson Hall. The program they played was extremely challenging and impressive ! Schubert, Rosamunde: Overture,Bartok,The Miraculous Mandarin (Suite)Mahler's Symphony no. 5.

I was the most impressed with 2 amazing young stars! the First Horn, Stephen Cameron, from Nova Scotia, this man is quite a talent and I predict he will have won an orchestral audition with in the year ! also I was very impressed at the amazaing talent of the 1st Trumpet, Luise Heyerhoff, from Ontario. As you may know or may not know, the opening of Mahler's 5th symphony starts with a very difficult Trumpet solo, all on your own, as 1st trumpet you set the tone of the whole work!! and Luise did that and to boot too !! then comes the famous horn solo in the 3rd movement, Cameron played it so tastefully and sounded like a very polished professional player, capable of comparing to any principal horn in any Canadian Orchestra today !

As I read a Quote from Today's Toronto Star reviewing last night concert it is equally as enthusiastic - "Youth orchestra tames massive Mahler" - "The centrepiece of the evening was the massive, daunting Mahler Symphony No. 5, a work to stretch and challenge even the most experienced orchestras; It opens with a brass-filled funeral march"... "You also need an outstanding brass section and this is one of the undoubted strengths of this year's orchestra. There is some wonderful talent here..."


Attending a concert like this is so important for all middle age professional players like myself.. why.. because it reminds you of the PASSION you once had when you where that age. You played because you loved it, it was your passion... you didn't play to make some money to pay your bills, many middle aged professional players have unfortunately lost sight of what really stimulated them to practise for hours a day when all your other friends were outside playing baseball or something.

I'm glad I went to this concert, not only was I able to enjoy wonderful music making but experience the feeling of being young again !

Now off I go to practise my self, in preparation of my many wonderful musical experiences that I will be passionately experiencing this year in and around the Toronto Music scene...

I do miss Amsterdam

Ineke, Caroline and Nicholas are in Amsterdam for 3 weeks. They left last Friday, and I have just recieved word from them that all is going great and they are enjoying the treats of Amsterdam. Ineke is going to hear the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra play Mahler's 6th on the 22.. now I am jealous! I am going to listen to the National Youth Orchestra of Canada play Mahler's 5th this tuesday the 16th at Roy Thompson Hall. Of course the Concertgebouw will be the concert to be at... but I guess I can't choose that one right now... Amsterdam is famous for all it's bikes as well... it would be a great idea to build a Bike parking lot at Union Station , just like the one in Amsterdam, where you can park your bike inside, for one day, or one year, plus if you have a flat tire, it would be fixed by the end of the day when you pick it up ! now thats a good idea !!

Love is in the Air

My Best friend Kathy Halvorson, Proffesional Oboe play, announced to me last week that she is getting married !

I am so happy for her. Kevin Mallon is the husband to be (Conductor of the Cork Opera, and Aradia Ensemble)... Last night , I went to their house ( in Toronto) for dinner and wine, we had a great evening of catching up on stories and experiances from the last weeks. Milo was not to happy later that evening having too be locked up in the house as we sat outside enjoying our dinner under the stars of a great summers evening, because of a bitchy cat that was not happy with a dog on her turf. It would have been a real cat and dog fight kind of like the picture below of Kathy and Kevin as she was telling Kevin to get out of the kitchen !!!

Summer in the city

Here are some shots of the city. This summer has been amazing.. breaking every record in the book. We have had over 40 days of above 30 degree celcius tempratures ! Sunny, Sunny and sunny ... I can't even imagine what it would be like 4 months from now in the dead of the winter

The Rolling Stones Live in Toronto

Boy Melinda sure is one very happy Rolling Stone fan today. Last night she got to see the Stones in a very private concert here in Toronto. She and Ken were one of 800 that saw the Stones perform a live concert here in Toronto at the Phoenix night club. She has all the right connections to have gotten the tickets. She came to see me today at the office and was all teary eyes and emotional in explaning her amazing night to never forget. Above is a picture taken at last nights concert, Melinda was that close to them !

What's in your Attic?

Today I went to have a nice dinner in the garden at my friends house Renas and Nico. They just bought this great house in Scarborough. Renas was telling me a wonderfull story of what they discovered in their attic. They found this sort of secret door to the Attic as they were moving in. And low and behold they found 30 silver trumpets just laying on the ground of the Attic. No cases nothing, just laying there to be discovered. Renas showed some of them to me, seen in this picture above. What I think has happened, that a former owner of the house back in around 1950 was probably a marching band director and these were the instruments from the Band. The band probably disbanded and he stored the instruments in the Attic to be used maybe one day again. Well they never were and 40 years later Renas and Nico found them. I will ask my Brass bud, Ron if he could find a collector and buyer for them.

here is Renas with the trumpets
here I am in their wonderful backyard/Garden
Renas and Nico