15 December 2025

2025 in review

Dear friends,
As the year comes to a close, I find myself looking back on 2025 with a mix of exhilaration and gratitude. It was a year that kept me moving—from rehearsal rooms to concert halls and theaters, from VR headsets to long writing days at my desk. There were 85 performance days in total, making it one of the busiest years of my career.

Three premieres shaped the rhythm of the year. I wrote a new reed quintet for Calefax’s 40th anniversary, “Link”. Hearing it come to life through 40 reed quintets around the world was both surreal and deeply moving—like watching a single idea refract into 40 different colors. Then came “Entanglements“, a collaboration with the brilliant cellist, vocalist and composer Abel Selaocoe, which he carried to audiences across the globe; the piece felt like a conversation that kept expanding with every performance. And with my doubleA Foundation, we launched HERE, a platform that brings immersive music theatre into your home. Seeing people experience a work as if a small stage had opened right in their living rooms reminded me how technology can serve intimacy, not just spectacle.

The cherry on top was the Cannes Film Festival, where “From Dust“, my VR opera, received the Immersive Award. In addition, I was awarded the Grand Prix of the Dutch Directors Guild for “From Dust”—the highest honor for directors in the Netherlands, recognizing outstanding achievement in film and television.

I spent the rest of the year at my desk finishing my new film opera “Theory of Flames“. We start rehearsals in four weeks, with the premiere in March. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Thank you for listening, for showing up, for your messages and encouragement throughout the year. I wish you a wonderful holiday season, and I hope to see you at a performance in 2026.

Lots of love, Michel

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