Netherlands Chamber Choir, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet & Peter Dijkstra
Biography Netherlands Chamber Choir, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet & Peter Dijkstra
Nederlands Kamerkoor
For more than eighty years, the Netherlands Chamber Choir (Nederlands Kamerkoor) has enjoyed a place at the top of the international choral world. Since the very beginning the choir has been known for being adventurous and innovative. It owes this reputation to commissions of works by both well-known composers and young talent, and a continuous search for new formats and exciting collaborations. This results in concerts that appeal to all the senses. The choir has been praised by critics in and outside the Netherlands: “fearless” and “highly rewarding”, according to The Times (London, 2017) and NRC Handelsblad (Amsterdam, 2019): “amazing singing” and “highly relevant”.
Participation and talent development play a vital role in the choir’s mission. The Netherlands has thousands of amateur choirs and numerous youth choirs. The Netherlands Chamber Choir provides coaching and workshops, and ‘adopts’ choirs as support act for their own concerts. Additionally, the choir invests in talent development by offering traineeships to talented young singers, allowing them to create and develop new musical ideas and styles at the highest level possible.
Since September 2015 Peter Dijkstra has been chief-conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir. He is one of the most in demand choral conductors world-wide and is known for his sparkling performances. Amongst his predecessors were such renowned conductors like Uwe Gronostay, Tõnu Kaljuste, Stephen Layton, Risto Joost and founder Felix de Nobel.
Peter Dijkstra
is one of today’s most sought-after choral conductors. He studied at the conservatories of The Hague, Cologne and Stockholm, and graduated summa cum laude with distinction. In 2003 he won first prize at the Eric Ericson Competition in Stockholm, which launched his international career. Between 2005-2016 Peter Dijkstra was Artistic Director of the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks in Munich. He developed the choir into a world class ensemble, known for its versatile music making and with guest appearances at the foremost European festivals and orchestras. From 2007 to 2018 he was also Music Director of the Swedish Radio Choir, and from 2019 has been honored to be their Conductor Laureate.
Since 2015, Peter Dijkstra is Chief Conductor of the Nederlands Kamerkoor and in 2018 he added the position of First Guest Conductor of the Dutch Groot Omroepkoor to his portfolio. Next to his work with these ensembles, Peter Dijkstra is a regular guest of leading European choirs, such as the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Collegium Vocale Gent, the WDR and NDR Rundfunkchöre, the SWR Vokalensemble, BBC Singers and Danish National Choir to name a few. A sought-after guest conductor with orchestras he has conducted a.o. the Symphonieorchester and Rundfunkorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Het Residentie Orchestra, Münchener Kammerorchester and early music ensembles such as Concerto Köln, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and B’ROCK. He won two ECHO Klassik-awards (Fauré Requiem on Sony Classics, Schnittke-Choir Concerto on BR Klassik) and two Diapason d’Ors (Strauss, Wagner, Mahler/BR Klassik and Figure Humaine, Francis Poulenc/Channel Classics). His recording of Brahms Sacred Choral Works with the Swedish Radio Choir received the Edison Klassiek Award 2015.
Peter Dijkstra conducted the World Youth Choir on their African Tour in 2007 and is regularly invited to give and initiate masterclasses and projects to promote choir singing and conducting at the highest possible level. He is Professor for Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne.
Peter Dijkstra is an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Music Academy and was awarded with the Golden Violin 2013, an award for internationally successful Dutch musicians, and with the Eugen Jochum Prize in 2014.
