A near 20-year crisscrossing of paths and collaborations, e.g. within the context of rock bands and free improvisation groups as well in contemporary ensembles, provides the backdrop for the members of the Amsterdam-based CATCH quartet. In 2003 the world premiere of Steve Mackey’s Dreamhouse - a Holland Festival commission - finally provided the opportunity to bring together the talents of all four musicians on one stage.
Since then, the quartet has been involved in further premiere performances (Christopher Fox, Peter Adriaansz), ensemble collaborations (Cappela Amsterdam), and has become the ensemble in residence at the OUTPUT festival in Amsterdam. In April 2007 the group was in residence at Princeton University, culminating in the premiere performance of seven new works specifically written for the occasion. The long-awaited North American premiere of Dreamhouse was presented May 2007 with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project about which Jeremy Eichler of the Boston Globe wrote: “the four guitars (played by the Catch Electric Guitar Quartet) bring some highly unusual sonorities to the orchestra and some turbo-charged power to the work's caterwauling climax.†Later this season the group will collaborate with the Slagwerkgroep Den Haag, featuring a tour of Holland.
