Introducing Daan van Koppen

On February 15 of this year, 2025, our founding saxophonist Erik-Jan de With passed away unexpectedly. His death left a deep void in the lives of his family and friends, and also in ours. The question naturally arose: what does this mean for Ensemble Klang? Can we replace Erik-Jan? And, do we even want to?

Over the course of several months, a step emerged that felt logical and, despite everything, also felt right. Saxophonist Daan van Koppen has long been part of our Ensemble Klang family. He has played with us regularly in recent years and has been a member of neo-fanfare 9×13, another branch of our foundation, since its inception. In addition, Daan’s career as a saxophonist is closely intertwined with Erik-Jan’s, and together they formed a fantastic duo (Van Koppen & De With) that performed at our Musical Utopias Festival, among other venues. Daan is also one of the founding members of new music ensemble Kluster5.

Despite everything, we are extremely grateful that Daan said ‘yes’ to our request for him to become a permanent member of Ensemble Klang. Many of you have undoubtedly seen Daan at our concerts, or those of 9×13, but here he gets to tell us a little more about himself and his musical passions.

The starting point & Louis Andriessen

My musical journey began quite naturally. When I was young, I saw a call for musicians for our local music society in Poeldijk. You could choose between trumpet, percussion, or saxophone. My babysitter was also in that band. She had three older daughters who all played the saxophone there. That’s how I first came into contact with the saxophone and decided to give it a go myself.

Around the age of fifteen, Erik-Jan (de With) became my teacher, and that was a real turning point. Until then, I had mainly played in the youth wind band, but the seniors rehearsed right after us, and I really wanted to be part of that group. That motivated me to start studying seriously. Not only for the music, but to become part of that club.

Erik-Jan knew how to fuel that motivation. Under his guidance, I began practicing more intensely. He encouraged me to play pieces beyond the standard repertoire, like works by Louis Andriessen and other challenging composers. He passed on his own passion to his students and, in doing so, laid the foundation for my later connection with Ensemble Klang.

I played my exam piece with Heiko (Geerts), who at the time was a saxophonist with Klang. He had once stepped in at the last-minute for my wind band on soprano saxophone, and that left a huge impression. Someone who could play everything. That inspired me to become better myself, and to understand how you can merge sound, technique, and expression.’

First experience with Ensemble Klang: Walden

‘At one point, Erik-Jan said to me: “You have to come to the conservatory this week, because we’re playing Walden by Heiner Goebbels in the main hall” (in the Heiner Goebbels Festival in 2008). That was the very first Klang concert I experienced live. The music struck me immediately. The sound, the energy, the rawness. It was completely different from anything I’d heard before.

It was a special experience, especially because now, in January 2026, I’ll get to perform it myself.

Later, I often borrowed instruments from Erik-Jan, like his tenor saxophone. Inside the case, I found the Walden score and started studying it myself. It became a personal exploration: how does this sound, how is it notated, how can I recreate it? That’s how I began to understand the music not only technically, but sonically as well.

Klang opened up a world for me in which new music and collaboration with composers were central. I started to see that you can create something completely new together with young composers. Aligning what they want, what I want, and how we can merge those visions. That eventually led to my involvement with Kluster5 and my own ensemble work.’

OCCAM DELTA XXIII

‘What drives me most is the music itself: the interaction and the discovery of new sounds. Playing something that doesn’t yet exist, and bringing it to life together with composers, that’s what I find most beautiful. Sometimes you give the composer full freedom; other times, you add your own ideas.

New music is often intense and demanding. OCCAM DELTA XXIII by Éliane Radigue and Carol Robinson, which I performed with Anton and Joey, is both subtle and extreme: with a single softly played note, we try to evoke overtones and frequencies. It may sound small and delicate, but it’s incredibly intense. You can only rehearse such pieces in concentrated periods, they demand complete focus.’

The Hague School

‘As a saxophonist, I really grew up with the Hague School; I am the last of the Leo van Oostrom generation. Because I inherited this and started doing it, it broadened my playing in different styles, and I hope to pass this on to a new generation together with Klang. That is something we are consciously working on: how can we preserve this sound and pass it on?’

Looking ahead with Ensemble Klang

‘I’m looking forward to all the beautiful projects Klang has planned, but Walden remains a special challenge. I’ve listened to it so often since that concert in 2008 that I can hum the entire piece without ever having played it. It feels like things have come full circle: from listening, to studying, to finally performing it myself.

Other works coming up include Hyper by Michael Gordon, a technical challenge and a massive étude in itself. Playing this repertoire forces you to grow and develop, both technically and musically.

Beyond the repertoire, it’s also about collaboration and sound experience. It’s constant fine-tuning: how do we create a particular sound, how do we respond to one another, how do we interpret the composer? That’s the essence of Klang . Music as a living, breathing experience.’

Exploring new boundaries

‘What drives me is continuing a tradition while also exploring new boundaries. The Hague School, my years with Erik-Jan, and my time with Klang have all shaped me. Now, through Kluster5 and my work with Klang, I try to pass on that knowledge and passion. Bringing new compositions to life and constantly reinventing the sound of the saxophone.

It remains an ongoing quest: how do you preserve the rawness and flexibility of the Hague School while embracing new challenges and collaborations with young composers? That process makes music so fascinating to me. It’s never static, always in motion.’

Video: Distance - John De Simone (Van Koppen & De With)

In this concise but intense work John de Simone tasks Daan van Koppen and Erik-Jan de With with conjuring a sound-world that saturates the listener in baritone sax, before reaching a point of gentle resolution.

Music – John de Simone
Saxophones – Daan van Koppen & Erik-Jan de With
Lighting – Bas Vissers