When everything comes together during rehearsals with the CineMusic orchestra, he falls silent and doodles a heart on paper. Once in the theater, he enjoys chatting with the audience during the intermission or after the concert show. We are pleased to introduce you to our artistic director: Stef Heijnen-Bakker.
What do you do as artistic director?
“In short, I am responsible for all the artistic choices we make to give the audience a fantastic experience. That includes the songs we play, the order in which they are played, the film images we show, the lighting design, but also the moment the intermission starts, and the moments when René Mioch comes on stage to tell the audience about the film music and the composers. Of course, I do this in consultation with the management and with the technicians who edit the film images or create the lighting design. René writes his texts and together we determine what is told in each ‘presentation block’ in terms of content. There is plenty of room for improvisation, which makes the show so intimate and unique every night!”
What do you look for when you put together the repertoire?
“I want us to put on a varied program. So not 20 rom-coms, or 20 science fiction films in one evening. Of course, we keep track of which films and which music are the most popular. I also make sure that I am present at the concert show myself once or twice a month. During the intermission and afterwards, I strike up conversations with the audience. I want to hear which films the people in the audience miss, and which music touches them the most. So if you see a man walking around with a hat, come and talk to me. I’d be happy to have a drink with you.”
Why do you always wear a hat?
“That started during the corona period. I had a lot of online meetings and one day I decided to put on a hat. I had found it in the women’s department of H&M for five euros. I did that a few times, and when I didn’t wear the hat at a subsequent meeting, I heard people asking where I was. So that hat works very well for my recognisability. I decided to take advantage of that. I also think it looks luxurious, fun and artistic. A hat radiates creativity and authority. In the past, all men wore a hat. It’s a shame that that has disappeared, because we have also lost etiquette as a man. For example, taking off your hat out of respect for someone.”
How did you get involved with CineMusic?
“Within my company studio HB Staging, I have been active as a director for stage and theater companies for many years. A few years ago I divested that, because I want to fully focus on set design and storytelling. Through my work as a director, I met conductor Henk Ummels and pianist Ruud Luttikhuizen in 2014. They have both been involved with Cinemusic since 2019. In 2021 I was introduced to the initiator John van der Sluijs. He wanted to grow and was looking for someone with good artistic and creative ideas.”
What was your first reaction?
“When John van der Sluijs told me his idea, I thought two things. ‘That man is crazy.’ But also ‘How cool, fun and beautiful!’ It actually seemed too big and too intense. How were we going to arrange all that? At the same time, I was immediately enthusiastic and said that I would like to come on board.”
How did it go from there?
“In 2021 we did two performances. A year later there were seven. In the 2023/2024 season, we really toured the theaters for the first time and played to 18 full houses. There are even 30 performances planned for the coming season. We are growing exponentially.”
What makes your work so enjoyable?
“I sometimes sit crying in the office. And that is in the most positive sense of the word. When we choose new music for the repertoire and we listen to the film music from The Little Mermaid, for example… that is so beautiful! That touches me. It is very special that I experience those moments during my work.”
What do you have with film?
“Film is of course about storytelling. I am very happy when a story is well put together. When I look at an image from Harry Potter, everything is right. When a film has that, you are really transported to another world. You are away from the daily worries for a while. Film music is subordinate in that. You often don’t immediately realize what beautiful pieces are under the film. At The CineMusic Experience, the film music is central. The audience comes for the orchestra. During the show, the film images reinforce the music instead of the other way around.”
Does the film music that the orchestra plays still touch you?
“To my core. Some pieces go straight to my heart. If I’m having a good day, and Hester van der Vlugt, our concertmaster, plays the solo from Schindler’s List, I break down. Even though I’ve heard that solo dozens of times.”
Were you fascinated by film from a young age?
“More by everything that happens around it. When I was little, I always looked for old radios and TVs in the bulky waste. Then I would take off the front so I could see what the printed circuit board looked like or what happened when I turned a certain button. I have always wanted to know how things worked. I still do. Take a Pirates of the Caribbean; I think I’ve watched the behind the scenes videos more often than the film itself. Then you see how such a ship is built on a plateau and then, with a green screen and a million liters of water as rain, it ensures that you as a viewer think that the ship is sailing at sea. I enjoy the road to it even more than the end product itself.”
What would you like to achieve with The CineMusic Experience?
“I can’t reveal all of that yet! We are already working on a three-year plan. We have set a goal. Believe me; my wish list is long. I am thinking of certain concert halls and venues where we would very much like to perform. Some animated films that we cannot play yet because we are still too small. And maybe we can cross the border. We work far in advance. We have just announced in which 30 theaters we will be playing next season, but behind the scenes we are already planning the 45 theaters in which we want to play in the 2025/2026 season. With which repertoire. And what title the show will get then. The first film montages for that season are already being made.”