Organ lunchbreakconcert NSRT with Hayo Boerema x Peter Somuah

On Tuesday 1 July 2025, trumpeter Peter Somuah (Artist in Focus North Sea Round Town 2025) and organist Hayo Boerema will meet in the centuries-old Laurenskerk: a place where the monumental church organ sounds regularly and the space invites stillness, reflection and wonder and where two instruments with a powerful character of their own, trumpet and pipe organ, enter into dialogue.

Rooted in jazz, West African rhythms and gospel, Peter Somuah brings his intuitive playing and spiritual approach to a space he knew as a child as a place of collective sound experience. Boerema, organist-titular of the Laurenskerk since 2005, seeks out the extremes in his playing and creates contrasts that fill the space with tension and colour. The musicians let the sound speak – from grand outbursts to quiet moments in which every note lingers in the space. The encounter unfolds in improvisation and mutual listening, with room for groove, silence, repetition and spiritual layering. The result is a musical meditation that stretches between worlds, styles and memories.

Peter Somuah (1996, Accra) is a Ghanaian trumpeter and composer with a deep, velvety tone and a special sense of timing. His playing is as sensitive as it is powerful, drawing on jazz, funk and traditional African rhythms. He learned to play the trumpet by listening to Miles Davis, but soon developed a voice of his own. Somuah is rooted in the musical energy of Accra and the scene of Rotterdam, where he has rapidly developed into a unique voice in the new generation of makers in recent years. In 2021 he won the Erasmus Jazz Award and in 2022 he was awarded the prestigious Edison Jazz Award in the category ‘National’. His debut album Outer Space received rave reviews, and he played at North Sea Jazz, Injazz, Supersonic Jazz, Transition Festival and on the main stage of Theater Zuidplein, among others. Somuah is part of the Batavierhuis and is involved in various collaborations at home and abroad. As Artist in Focus 2025, he is developing six projects for North Sea Round Town that showcase his artistic universe – from intimate to grand, from groove to silence. Peter Somuah is the Artist in Focus of North Sea Round Town 2025. Read more about this process here and for an overview of all concerts.

Hayo Boerema has been titular organist of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam since 2005. As a performing musician, composer and teacher, he makes the organ accessible to a wide audience. In his interpretations, he looks for extremes and contrasts – from Sweelinck to contemporary music – and regularly collaborates with choirs, ensembles and soloists from a variety of genres. Boerema has been awarded several times for his playing and is considered one of the leading organists in the Netherlands.

Photo credits: Peter Somuah door WDR Big Band, Hayo Boerema door Maarten Laupman (NSRT – 2024)

This concert takes place in collaboration with