10 questions for 3VIOLAS

Equally unconventional and surprising, 3VIOLAS strings together a wide array of influences for their own viola-informed sound. The three viola players blend elements from classical music, electronica, pop, minimal, film scores, and experimental sounds. With a new album on the way, 3VIOLAS is currently taking part in 24chambers with concerts coming up in Eindhoven (June 11), Utrecht (June 12), and Amsterdam (June 25). Using the notorious after-show set of ten questions by 24chambers, viola players Geerten Feller (GF), Floris Faber (FF), and Hessel Moeselaar (HM) interviewed each other right after their pop-up concert in Rotterdam.

1. What is your personal routine before a concert?
GF: That depends. I try to stay sharp, so a cup of coffee and a banana usually work.
HM: And what about brushing your teeth?
GF: Yes, good one. It’s nice to have a fresh breath. To not be distracted by that. 

2. Your debut album Fauna was an ode to nature. Does that influence appear again on your upcoming album? If so, how?
FF: I would say the influence of nature is also present in our next album.
GF: We have been a lot to Switzerland where we composed music in nature. So it comes quite naturally.

3. You’ve performed at all kinds of venues: from Amsterdam Dance Event to Down The Rabbit Hole, and from Paradiso to Rosendael Castle. Which location has left the biggest impression on you, and why?
GF: Paradiso was the most fun for me.
HM: For me, performing in a church during Amsterdam Dance Event (with 24classics) left the biggest impression. That was the most wholesome one for me.
GF: For me, it was Down The Rabbit Hole. We all have a different favourite!

4. What is your musical guilty pleasure? [Laughs]
FF: I do have one: “The Shire,” Lord of the Rings.
HM: Or Enya!
GF: Let me add Andrea Bocelli to that.

5. Your music is full of sensory stimuli. When was the last time you were stimulated in terms of taste, experience, smell, touch, or hearing—something that really stuck with you?
HM: Good question.
FF: I was at the beach yesterday, that was quite the smell…
GF: Or maybe when we were stuck in traffic earlier. [Laughs]

6. How do people usually react at a birthday when you tell them you play the viola?
GF: “Play us a song!” is a classic one… If you make the mistake of bringing your viola to a birthday party, people always want you to play something.
HM: Do they pay for that? [Laughs]
FF: Nope… When [my partner] Maria and I don’t bring our violas, people get mad.
GF: Another question I get a lot is, “Is that your real profession? Do you earn money with that?”

7. As the saying goes: ‘All good things come in threes.” Can each of you name something good that has happened to you recently?
HM: Difficult one… Let’s veto to skip this question.

8. If you could have a coffee with any musician or composer, who would it be, and what would you want to ask them?
FF: Zanger Rinus. [Laughs]
GF: What in the world would you want to ask him?!
FF: If it’s all real. [Laughs] Just kidding, let’s be serious.
HM: I would love to talk to Max Richter and ask him if he can compose a piece for 3VIOLAS.
FF: Great idea. Mozart would also be nice to talk to.
GF: Fun fact: I think he was about our age when he died. Anyway…

9. Who do you see as a musical mentor? And what have they taught you?
GF: Marjolein!
FF: For those who don’t know, Marjolein Dispa was our teacher at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
HM: She was like a mentor, right?
GF: She definitely taught us the tricks of the trade…

10. If you were guests on Zomergasten, what would the ideal 3VIOLAS television evening look like?
HM: That’s a hard one. Definitely something around our sources of inspiration.
FF: Some politics.

[Long pause]

GF: Sounds like this is going to be an exciting few hours of television. Hopefully not as stiff as our conversation just now…

Join 3VIOLAS next 24chambers concert, check out the dates and request an invitation to our guest list.
24classics flips the script on classical music. 24chambers concerts are curated intimate performances at a secret location featuring musicians who explore classical music’s expansive nature, breaking traditional perceptions. To join a 24chambers concert request an invitation to our guest list. The guest list is open for everyone – although Kleine Vrienden are first in line.