Woodcraft: Five friends having fun with their string instruments
- Music
You don’t have to explain to Noah, Wouter, Joshua, Ischa and Reinout how to play together — the five members of the string quintet Woodcraft know how to do just that. They met at the age of twelve, during a game of football at a music camp. It would be the start of a long friendship and musical adventure, which eventually even led to being placed first at the prestigious Dutch Jazz Competition. We talk to Ischa and Reinout, Classical Music students at the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Zwolle, about the power of friendship in music.
Their musical career is just getting started. Reinout de Vey Mestdagh and Ischa Kooistra are still in the final phase of their Classical Music studies at the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Zwolle — majoring in Cello under lecturer Karlien Bartels. Together with cellist Joshua Herwig and violinists Noah Hassler-Forest and Wouter Torringa they form the string quartet Woodcraft. Until recently, the quintet was named Ragazzi, and even before that, when they started playing together at the age of twelve, they picked the catchy name Lang Leve de Lol (Let The Good Times Roll). “That’s still the name of our WhatsApp group,” Ischa reveals. They have the Dutch Jazz Competition to their name, but letting the good times roll is still the main motto as far as the five friends are concerned.
Street performers
Their first performances were street performances. Ischa: “One day we were approached by a man who had promised his fiancé to arrange a band for their wedding. The wedding was a week later. He asked if we wanted to do it. It was our first gig.” As the boys grew up, so did their music. Reinout: “It almost seemed destined for us to meet. The group consists of three cello’s and two violins, which is a very unusual combination, for which no music has been written. So we were forced to do something completely different.” Reinout describes Woodcraft’s music as a mishmash of inspirations that draws from jazz, folk and classical music, blended together into one unique sound.
The importance of classical technique
All the members of Woodcraft chose to attend a music academy after high school (the Amsterdam Conservatory, the Utrecht School of the Arts, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Zwolle). Still, music was not immediately a professional dream for everyone. Ischa laughs: “We also wanted to become football players.” For some, the academy of music was a logical step — because, for example, their whole family was already professionally involved in music. For others, like Reinout, studying Classical Music was a last-minute decision, but a very conscious one: “The cello is traditionally a classical instrument, so it felt like a logical choice to study Classical Music. It’s very valuable to master the classical technique. ArtEZ allows for classical musicians to develop themselves in other music styles as well, such as jazz and pop.”
In classical courses you learn many musical skills that are also useful in playing jazz.
Ischa: “In classical courses you learn many musical skills that are also useful in playing jazz. But besides that: we’re not a jazz formation, we don’t want to limit ourselves to one style. We have this strong classical foundation, which allows us to flutter off into different directions. I learned to just play a lot. Playing in ensembles taught me to listen well and tune chords. That has helped me a lot in Woodcraft.”
How to work together as friends
The Classical Music course will also help you to learn how to rehearse efficiently. “And that’s really indispensable,” emphasises Ischa: “Especially when you make music with good friends. It can definitely be difficult, because you want to do a lot of things during a very short time. We don’t see each other very often, so you also want to be able to chat with each other. Sometimes we only have a tight three hours where we want to do five pieces and hang out. We’re always looking to balance being friends and working together in Woodcraft. The closer you become, the more you notice that work and private life are separated. Suppose someone does not respond to their e-mail. Then I can say: ‘I don’t think it’s cool that you don’t respond to e-mails. Do something about it.’ That’s work. And then privately you can just go for a beer afterwards. It just works for us that way, there will be no arguments.”
Friendship as foundation
“Our friendship is leading, the core of our music,” says Ischa. “I love that I’m able to share my passion with four good friends. We have a lot of fun together.” Reinout adds: “We are very interested in each other. So when someone announces something new, we are automatically curious. For example: I like Stravinsky, Noah is into bluegrass and Irish folk, Ischa likes hip-hop. Those interests are immediately contagious to the other members. Our strength is our drive. We want to perform a lot, create a lot and achieve a lot.”
Dutch Jazz Competition
And it works. in December 2022, Woodcraft participated in the Dutch Jazz Competition and won the prize for Best Band and the Audience Award. The jury stated that they were on the edge of their seat, because they could tell they were hearing a new sound. Reinout: “We are always looking for new styles and new possibilities. For example, we also do the percussion on our string instruments and sing along. There are not a lot of people in The Netherlands who do that.” Ischa: “A prize like this is recognition for our work. Making original music, that’s what we’re going for. I am very proud of the fact that people are starting to notice.”
More information
- LinkTree Woodcraft
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The first Woodcraft album was released on April 14th 2023. Listen to it here.
We’ve written about Woodcraft before (when they were still named Ragazzi):
In the spotlight: RAGAZZI wins 2nd prize at the Oskar Back Jonge Makers Competition
Classical Music students win prizes at Dutch Jazz Crossover Competition
