I Cambristi, a Belgian association founded in 2000 by Franz Marcus, brings together those who play chamber music for pleasure, whether they are amateurs, students or professionals, singers or instrumentalists.
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Contact us : icambristi@gmail.com
By joining our association, you can :
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have access to our membership list and find more easily the right partners to play with;
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access our library and borrow scores;
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participate in our "Music Evenings" and "Music & Tea" afternoons and perform the chamber music pieces you have worked on in front of other members;
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improve your playing skills by following the advice of excellent teachers at the Tutti Cambristi and masterclasses we organise every year;
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meet other members more easily at our orchestra sessions;
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participate in "Play-Ins", informal meetings for sight-reading or presenting to other groups the works you are working on.
How to become a member
Adults: 20€ per person for one year (registrations from abroad are accepted)
< 18 years: free
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Our committee
Marc Mignon, President
Brigitte Legrand-Brasseur, vice-president
Fabian Radoux, treasurer
Dominique Desmedt, secretary
Marcelline Bosquillon, Internship Committee
Françoise De Moor Longrée, Internship Committee
Orhan Erenberk
Franz Marcus, Honorary President
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Abroad
Several sister associations have been established abroad based on the same principles of chamber music practice. These associations also bear our name I Cambristi.
Chti Cambristi: chticambristi@yahoo.fr
Cambristi Milano: cambristi@aimamusic.it
Cambristi Lemani: cambristilemani@gmail.com
If you wish to become a sister association, please consult our charter.
Our other partners : Amateur Chamber Music Players, Inc / The Mazer String Quartet Society / AMA
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Our history
I Cambristi was founded in Brussels in 2000 by the Danish engineer and cellist Franz Marcus, who had just retired.
Inspired by chamber music associations for amateur musicians in America and Scandinavia, Franz Marcus decided to create a similar association in Brussels. He was assisted by Cécile Ferrière, then secretary of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, by Marc Danel, first violinist of the Danel Quartet, and by people with connections to the Royal Conservatory and the Boondael Chapel.
The aim is twofold: on the one hand, to establish a repertoire of amateur musicians in Belgium - of which there are many - and on the other hand, to organise musical encounters that give the musicians a goal and lead them to work to improve their individual and group level.
The first evening took place on 23 February 2000 in the Chapelle de Boondael and was an immediate success: 105 people attended. Since then, these evenings have been organised on a regular basis, most frequently at the Chapelle de Boondael, and have become THE meeting point for musicians who present a work they have worked on to an audience of other members of the association. A very wide repertoire is played, ranging from baroque music to classical or romantic music, including contemporary music, whose composers some members like to introduce. During the traditional drink that follows each evening, everyone has the opportunity to meet, discuss and possibly form new groups.
In addition to these musical evenings, other activities are also organised: sessions dedicated to duets, singing workshops, and of course the "Tutti Cambristi", during which, first for a day and then for a weekend, our members work on a piece of music with the help of professional coaches.
Since 2014, masterclasses are held every year in Stavelot, during the Chamber Music Festival, with the Zemlinsky Quartet (Czech Republic).
And finally, since recently, still with the aim of putting our old and new members in contact, orchestra sessions are also offered.
In 20. I Cambristi became an ASBL with a board of directors and an annual general meeting; Franz Marcus was the first president, he was succeeded by Françoise Longrée De Moor and currently Marc Mignon.
We have also had the pleasure of seeing "sister associations" develop on our model: in 2006, the Chti-Cambristi (Lille); in 2012, the Cambristi Milano (Milan), and more recently the Cambristi Lemani (Lausanne).
With each of these associations, joint activities have been organised: joint masterclasses with the Chti Cambristi, where we met the Zemlinsky Quartet; our 15th anniversary in Milan with I Cambristi Milano; and finally a big "I Cambristi Wedding" evening at the end of 2017 in Brussels bringing together the four associations.
We also have the support of ACMP (Association of Chamber Music Players) with whom we collaborate on World Chamber Music Day.
In 20 years, the world has changed a lot. Nevertheless, chamber music remains the most demanding and interesting genre for musicians, both amateur and professional. Our aim is to keep it alive
Charter
Company number: 0874.366.215
Head office: 48 rue E. Banning, B - 1050 Brussels
The purpose of the Association is to promote chamber music in Belgium for non-professional purposes by organising the performance of chamber music works by its members, by encouraging the participation of young musicians in these activities, by calling on instructors in order to raise the technical and musical level of its members. In order to achieve its aims, the Association may perform all acts and carry out all operations, auxiliary and accessory (directly or indirectly contributing to them). In particular, but not exclusively, to promote chamber music in Belgium, and in particular in the Brussels region,
The Association may, among other things:
* Establish a repertoire of people in Belgium who play chamber music for pleasure
* Work for the performance of chamber music literature by amateur and professional musicians
* Organise sessions that allow members to perform works in front of an audience of music lovers
* Organising meetings where all members can meet and play together (Tutti Cambristi), with the participation of instructors
* Organising concerts by members in different places and for different audiences
* To promote the participation of young musicians in chamber music groups, from music academies, conservatories, etc.
* Organise exchanges with other organisations with the same aim (e.g. Amateur Chamber Music Players)
* Receiving chamber musicians on temporary visits to Belgium
* Establishing relations with chamber music instructors, in order to raise the technical and musical level of the members
* To organise advanced courses (workshops, masterclasses...)
The appellation I Cambristi is reserved exclusively to the asbl which has its seat at 48, rue Banning, 1050 Brussels; thus any new musical grouping of amateurs will be independent from I Cambristi, as well legally as financially. We can nevertheless make the publicity of these new groups or training courses with your request, on our site.