Drumband

History

The percussion ensemble of Kempenbloei was started in 1952 as a marching drum band, to join the fanfare band during street parades in the village. Quickly after its formation, the drumband started to collect medals and prizes in various marching contests. Several national championship titels were conquered, as well as 2 golden and 2 silver medals at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade (a golden medal means 80% or more, silver 70% or more).

In the seventies, the focus of the band gradually shifted from being a marching band to a "percussion band", a real revolution for that time. In 1988, a young and promising Dutch composer of percussion music, Leon Camp, became conductor of the percussion ensemble. He introduced a carefully considered mix of ritmical and melodical persussion instruments in the band, resulting in a very innovative style of percussion music.

Heavy investments were done in new melodical instruments: marimba, bass-marimba, vibraphone, etc. These investments were not without results: in the nineties, Kempenbloei won several national titels, both at marching contests as on the concert stage. All this time, they were ranked in the Superior section, the highest section in Belgian amateur music. In 2005, they returned to the stage contests, this time in the Honours section (because there were several very young new members) and immediately got 96.5% in the regional championships and 90.6% in the national championships!

In the same period, the Kempenbloei percussion ensemble also left their mark at several international contests: Several times (most recently in 2004) they were crowned "Champion of the Low Countries" in the section "drumbands" at the "International Marching and Show contest of the Low Countries" in Hamont (B). In 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 Kempenbloei won several titels at the International "Deutschland Pokal" (Germany Cup) contest in Alsfeld (Germany).

Finally, in 1993, 1997 and 2001 Kempenbloei participated in the "stage contest" for percussion ensembles at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade (NL). Each time a score of more then 80% was attained and in 1997 the band was proclaimed "general laureat" in its section.

Conductor Leon Camp

Leon Camp was born in 1964, in a small Dutch village called Ell and he took up the drumsticks at the age of 7 in the local drumband. After his musical studies, he achieved the official certificate of conducting in 1992. Besides Kempenbloei, Leon also conducts the percussion ensemble of Weert (The Netherlands) and he is regularly asked to adjudicate percussion and marching contests in Belgium, Holland and further abroad.

Already at the age of 12, Leon started composing percussion music. To this moment, he has compiled a repertoire of more then 250 compositions. His most challenging composition to date was a commissioned work for the 1993 Wereld Music Contest, called "Chinese Zodiac". It was used as the set test piece for the percussion stage contests.

Since 1998, Leon Camp is involved in his own publishing company, Dutch Music Partners, that tries to sell a new line of original percussion compositions over the internet. In this way, he wants to have a positive influence on the development of percussion music all over the world.

Band members

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