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Musician Needs Period Instruments

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My name is Samer Massaad. I am a professional, freelancing Bassoonist, Contrabassoonist and Baroque Bassoonist from Gothenburg, Sweden.

I am reaching out to you because I am in need of instruments.

The early music scene in Sweden is growing, both in public interest and in the eyes of those who organise concerts for the public. There are, however, not enough musicians who are able to play on period instruments (built to sound and feel like the instruments of the medieval, rennaisance and baroque eras) available to meet the growing demand. In many cases, said musicians also do not have access to proper period instruments of decent quality. As such, many pieces from the early music eras are performed without a complete orchestra or without utilising the full spectrum of sounds and timbres that even musicians of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries had available to them.

I want to change this.

Through me, I want early music organisers and musicians to have access to not only decent-quality instruments, but also an able musician who can play these unusual and neglected instruments. I want the public to be able to hear these wonderful pieces of early music in as colorful and varied ways as people of old were able to.

Since I took up and started playing the Baroque Bassoon in the spring of 2014, I have always needed to borrow or rent an instrument. These instruments have been of varying quality and my personal development on playing the Baroque Bassoon has been inconsistent as a result. As I am starting to get Baroque gigs regularly, it is no longer sustainable for me to keep renting or borrowing instruments. I need to be able to perform consistently with my own instrument.

This is the first step for me: to aquire a Baroque Bassoon of my own.

Beyond needing my own Baroque Bassoon, it is my wish to also be able to provide a Rennaisance Bass Dulcian and a Baroque Contrabassoon, either with myself behind the instrument or in order to lend it out to others in need of these lower double-reed period instruments.

The problem is that these instruments can be very expensive! Often way above the reach of a freelancer's budget without risking heavy financial debt. Both the Baroque Bassoon and the Bass Dulcian are estimated to cost anywhere from €2000-€4000 apiece at decent quality. The Baroque Contrabassoon is the worst: it would set me back around €10,000 or more!

But with your help it can be done! With your help, that which for me would've been impossible becomes possible! Every contribution counts and would be used to provide this preservation of old culture and old music and keep it very much alive, even in todays modern society. Myself, and many organisers and co-musicians of the Swedish Early Music scene, including its audiences, would be forever grateful to you for helping us continue providing these authentic experiences for the people.


Bio

I began my freelancing career as a Bassoonist and Contrabassoonist in 2013 after studying for 6 years at the Academy of Music and Drama at the Gothenburg University, 2 years of which were at Master's-level. I studied the Bassoon under Anders Engström, principal Bassoonist of the Royal Court Orchestra in Stockholm, and the Contrabassoon under Christer Nyström, then-Contrabassoonist for the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. I began to play the Baroque Bassoon in 2014 in order to open another door on the freelance market and have fallen in love with early music since then.


Thank you for reading this far and thanks so much in advance for your contributions! Together, let's preserve old culture and history. Let's add some more colour and uniqueness to the Swedish early music scene!

Donations 

  • Gunhild Andersen
    • kr250 
    • 6 yrs

Organizer

Samer Massaad
Organizer
Angered, O, Sweden

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