Katrien Bos was born in the Netherlands in 1978. After many happy years studying the violin, the 16 year-old Katrien found her great love – the double bass. She studied classical double bass at the Rotterdam Conservatoire with Hans Krul and Peter Leerdam, and became passionate about the Argentinian tango. She also followed courses in folk and world music, klezmer, jazz and improvisation, and like to experiment with the extraordinary possibilities of the double bass.
In 2002 she moved to Belgium where she now lives and works. For many years Katrien has played in bands such as We-nun Henk (Dutch folk music), Quinteto ASTOR (Argentinian tango), Balacordes (balfolk), and her own solo composers Bos ‘n’ bass (where she plays her own compositions with double bass, loopstation, violin, toy piano and more) and many others.
She enjoys composing, which is inspired by the European folk repertoire, Argentinian tango and experimenting with modern sounds.
78 by Katrien Bos is lively and rhythmic, full of engaging music and energy which makes it a perfect piece for all types of audiences.…
78 by Katrien Bos is lively and rhythmic, full of engaging music and energy which makes it a perfect piece for all types of audiences. The additional percussion adds another dimension to a piece which is brimming with fun and good humour. The composer is happy for the players to repeat sections as they choose and to create a performance which is truly unique.
Katrien Bos writes: “Since my childhood I was inspired by Eastern-European folk music and fascinated by different time signatures such as 7/8 or 11/8. This music has a certain natural swing in it which I really like. It reminds me of the warmth of my childhood when my parents played in a folk music group and my mother used to folk dance. They also took me to summer camps where many people played folk music from different parts of the world.
This piece also refers to my year of birth: 1978 and the title also reflects this and is in 7/8 time.”
78 was premiered at Wells Cathedral School (Somerset, UK) on Sunday 3 December 2017 by Alex Heather, Eloine Vatteville, David Heyes, Connie McDonnell, Tom Mahoney and Jan Cowell.
