5 Questions with…Eve Willems

Welcome to this month’s “5 Questions with…” Today’s guest is Belgian accordionist Eve Willems, who plays with Cirque de Soleil!

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What is your musical background?

I started music as a child. Around 8 years old I learned music theory and the first instrument I played was classical guitar. About 4 years later, as I was curious and wanted to approach more instruments, I fell in love with accordion.

When you already have some music knowledge and you can read, you learn faster.

Very soon, I played in concerts, private events, various festivals… Accordion is a great instrument to walk about and entertain an audience. So I had a big repertoire of French songs, Folk, Traditional, Swing-musette…

It was clear to me that I wanted to make a living out of music and I went to Conservatoire Royal de Liège to study classical guitar. I also studied accordion at IMEP of Namur. Meanwhile I learned viola to be able to play in orchestras.

My favorite thing about music is sharing. And my best memories are the summer courses I took in Germany, France, Wales where I met a lot of people from different countries, I had my first jazz lessons, etc…

During my studies I did a lot of various projects, with bands playing World, Gypsy, Jazz music. I’ve always loved world music and felt more and more attracted by jazz and improvised music. This is what I’m now trying to explore and improve (by taking classes through Berklee Online, for example).

Would you explain a little about how the chromatic button accordion
works?

Accordion looks mysterious but it is actually a very systematic instrument. I’ll explain basically how a standard button accordion is built.

The right hand is for the melody, the left hand the accompaniment.
On the main accordions, the buttons on the left hands are full chords (major, minor, dominant 7th) and they are set following the cycle of fifths.
That’s why learning accordion is a good way to understand how harmony works because II-V-I-(IV) are right next to each other.

The sound is produced by the bellows in the middle. When you play you always have to push or pull to have a sound (at the same time you need to push a button obviously).

If you open this magical box, what you’ll see inside looks like big harmonicas. That explains why the sounds may be similar.

There are a lot of different sorts of accordions with their own technique: diatonic, bandoneon, concertinas, bayan, musette…

What is it like touring with a big production like Cirque du Soleil?

It is wonderful to be in this company. You get to travel a lot, I never thought I would visit all these places.

You work with extremely talented people and I’m very proud of all the friendships I developed there.

Also the show itself is magnificent, it is such a big team who works behind.
The show I play is called Corteo. It’s the perfect position for me as I can play accordion, guitar and even a little bit of mandolin.

It feels great to be on such a beautiful stage. We have an acting part, we are in costume and make up. We are playing to enhance the breathtaking performance of the acrobats. We smile at the clownery and we are fully part of the action.

All along the show the audience can see us. The show takes place usually in big venues so every night we play for 1000 to 7000 people. There is an incredible energy!

The music was written by a cooperation of several composers few years ago and is a mix of Klezmer, Tango, Flamenco…

I love playing with the band: each one of them [the band members] has a high level of musicianship. They come from all horizons and it is extremely enriching for me to be able to talk with and learn from them.

The only downside is that life is intense touring with Cirque du Soleil. There are a lot of shows per week, so sometimes you don’t have enough energy to practice for yourself and make your own music, and you have to be careful to not lose yourself in the show.

Do you have any advice for other musicians who want to make music a career?

I am a very instinctive person. I think if you follow where your passions lead you, it is always going to be the right way.

Give yourself the means: practice, be open to new experiences, meet different musicians, listen to the wise and experienced ones. And also of course, if you want to make music, you have to listen to a lot of it.

Try to find what touches you, what makes your heart beat. There are so many styles and possibilities.

Who else should be a guest for the “5 Questions with…” series?

Hard question, I feel all the musicians I know would have tons of valuable things to say, nice stories to tell and good experience to share.

I’d choose:

• one Cirque du Soleil colleague: Roger Hewett, who is our bandleader and an incredible piano player who has a long experience at Cirque du Soleil;
• one band mate (Suprises du Chef): Laure Bardet, she plays the tutti 1st violin in the Flanders Symphony Orchestra and she is a beautiful improviser;
• one Summer Course friend: Zacharie Defaut. He is a guitar player but also plays cello. He owns a mixing mastering and production studio and knows a lot about music of today.

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And there are “5 Questions with…Eve Willems.” Be sure to say hi to her instagram & check out her band’s website here.

Do you want more accordion? Check out this video where I get my squeezebox out!

-Barbara

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