On D.V. Saturday evening, 5 April, Leo Ravensbergen will give an organ concert on the beautiful Nijsse organ in the Christian Reformed Church in Drogeham.
It promises to be a beautiful concert with a varied programme, which will include singing together. The start time is 8 pm. Admission is €10.00. Children up to 12 years old are free. Everyone is welcome.
Below in brief what Leo said on his website about himself.
My name is Leo Ravensbergen. I was born on 28 November 1988 in Rijnsburg. At primary school, I discovered that I really liked playing the keyboard. My father is an organ fan and often plays CDs. I really liked that music. So much so, that when I was seven years old, I regularly went to organ concerts with my father.
I asked my parents if we could buy an organ, because I so wanted to learn to play myself. But yes, my parents knew what such an electronic case costs and they thought: if we buy an organ and he doesn't play it after a few weeks... that's quite a risk you take. It happened that the primary school I went to had an old organ that was never played again. I became the owner of that little electronic organ. The best present I had ever received! I was super enthusiastic and that never went away.
At some point, my parents and I met John Propitius at a relative's house and I ended up taking improvisation lessons from him. Through him, my love for organ music only grew. And I learned a lot from him. I even became registrar with him for a while. I think his musical style can be heard in my music. Reading notes really wasn't my thing.
Later, Hans den Dulk taught me how to read notes and learned songs from the new songbook. Then I was ready to start accompanying church services. And that was a dream come true. I play the basic notes and the rest comes from within myself. In time, my parents bought a new organ. And later another. My hobby has since grown considerably; we now have a Johannus Positef 25 in the house. I accompany church services every week. Not only in Rijnsburg, but also in other places. Later, Hans den Dulk taught me how to read notes and learn songs from the new songbook. Then I was ready to start accompanying church services. And that was a dream come true. I play the basic notes and the rest comes from within myself. In time, my parents bought a new organ. And later another one.... My hobby has since grown considerably, as we now have a Johannus Positef 25 in the house.
I accompany church services on a weekly basis. Not only in Rijnsburg, but also in other places. Beforehand, I read the text and think about the theme. Then I look for matching songs and start playing the text. I especially love a psalm, to which you can have the organ sing. If the congregation joins in elevations, something happens to you. Participating for the glory of God gives me an amazingly good feeling.
Twice a year, we organise a concert with our family. That's at Christmas and Easter. These days we do that in a church. Before, we used to hold house concerts. We literally dragged all the furniture out of the house and then sat around sixty people listening and singing. Because yes, singing together is part of a concert for me.
Every year I also go to the YouTube organ day, organised by Minne Veldman. That's a great initiative to listen to each other's organ playing, learn from each other and actually promote love for the organ. But I keep saying: I'm not a professional, this is my hobby. I really can't play classical works. I play by feel, with my heart and that's who I am.
