UE composers from the Netherlands

Andreas van Zoelen (PhD, FRSA) is a saxophonist, composer, arranger & scholar. He is the tenor saxophonist of the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet and professor of classical saxophone at Fontys Academy of the Arts. Andreas has published arrangements for many settings, and has received personal permission by Arvo Pärt to work on several of his compositions. Compositions of Andreas have been performed by renowned ensembles and orchestras around the world. In 2024 he was nominated and accepted as Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.

Clemens Hoffman is a classically trained pianist and composer who has also written songs and played in pop and jazz bands from an early age. He has been performing with his band Mirage for years, both in the Netherlands and abroad, mainly playing his own songs. A CD project in Los Angeles, consisting solely of his own work and performed by some of LA’s best studio musicians, resulted in a collaboration with World International Records (W.I.R.) in Vienna, who released the complete works. Clemens has been teaching piano and songwriting since his student years. After gaining experience at the Eschweiler music school, he set up his own teaching practice in 2000. One of the distinctive features of his teaching method is that he records his students’ performances regularly, not only giving the students the pleasure of recording, but also teaching them to listen to themselves critically.

Endhi Houthuijsen, born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, started his musical career at the age of ten by playing the trumpet. At the age of fifteen Endhi started composing to increase his musical understanding. To learn more, he studied composition with Dutch composers Maurice Verheul, Bart Visman and Egmont Swaan. When he was still a teenager Endhi (re)orchestrated classical works for the school's symphony orchestra and was coached by Dutch composer and conductor Nico Hovius. Endhi's first compositions and arrangements were performed during this period. As a trumpet player Endhi studied among others with Frits Damrow, which made him a welcome guest player with countless symphony orchestras and ensembles. As he played lead trumpet in a few big bands, he has played a lot of jazz as well. Finally, to gain more musical knowledge and to learn how to conduct an orchestra, Endhi took conducting lessons with Dutch conductor Marco Hup.

In recent years, Endhi has regularly collaborated with composer and performance artist Professor Russolo. From this, he gained a lot of experience in making symphonic audio recordings with sample libraries. This led, among other things, to the creation of abstract soundtracks for a radio play and a large number of short pieces of film music.

As a composer Endhi is mostly in search for the ultimate blend of art and entertainment. This is reflected in his layered compositions as humor, tragedy and lighter musical aspects are combined with abstract idea's, science, social conflicts and references to all kinds of cultural history. In many cases his compositions illustrate something about communication or organizational problems as seen in many businesses.

Although Endhi feels most comfortable writing for symphony orchestra, he has also written a large number of works for smaller ensembles.

After he had finished his studies piano, church organ and choral conducting at the Dutch Institute for Church Music in Utrecht, Hans Bakker (1945) worked as a teacher at two music schools in the Netherlands. He also conducted two choirs and was active in the improvisational music scene. In between, he studied Sanskrit at the University of A'dam. After his successful graduation, he returned to music and was completely absorbed by teaching at the Globe Center for Art and Culture in the city of Hilversum.

Initially, composing was only a minor occupation next to Bakker's other work. Since 1997 it became a daily activity. He wrote a great number of chamber music works and many choir compositions. He also composed works for orchestra and pieces for carillon, the violin concerto KAIROS - in commission - and about 20 organ works in the last few years. Since 1997 it became a daily routine. He sells his works also via https://hansbakker.musicaneo.com/  

His first album THE UNNAMED SOURCE (2010) features moving performances by the Moravian Philh. Orchestra under conductor Vit Micka and an astounding array of its instrumentalists.  

"Hans Bakker's music...combines the old and the new. He pushes you away with some jarring and unexpected clusters and chords before luring you back in with inviting melodies, glimpses of romanticism, and familiar tropes". Kraig Lamper, American Record Guide May/June '11

Subsequent releases include SLICES, namely his "DUO voor viool en klarinet", and SEEKING & FINDING with seven choral works performed by the Kuhn Choir Prague. Featured on the following compilation CD DANCES OF ETERNITY are Bakker’s orchestral works Canzona L’altra Persona and Canzona II: Tribute to the Sun; “....I have heard some things by Netherlander Hans Bakker before and have enjoyed his direct and compelling style. The two canzoni heard here: Canzona L’altra Persona and Canzona II Tribute to the Sun are both absorbing works and offer some nice contrast. The 'L’altra Persona' is a very brooding, introspective work that sounds a little bit like film music in places (perhaps John Barry) and tension-filled throughout but his 'Tribute to the Sun' is a work that starts dark and gets "brighter" (if you will) and really does exude a sunrise feel to it. I thought these two works work very well separately but also pair very well, as heard here....”   Audiophile Audition, Dances Of Eternity, June 11, 2013, by Daniel Coombs. The compilation CD VOICES of EARTH and AIR, Vol. 3 (2020) contains three choral works: Rat for TTBB and SATB; and Ich habe den Menschen gesehen (SATB).

His last full album is SOURCE GROUND (2022), including Ananke for orchestra: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6452/

This work is also track 10 on the compilation SPARKS: EYE OF LONDON by the London Symphony Orchestra under Miran Vaupotic, which contains an unusual compilation of symphonic fanfares: https://www.navonarecords.com/catalog/nv6454/ 

You can find and listen to these works on all major distribution platforms.

A highlight was the world premiere of Exposure by the Keuris Ensemble. It took place on November 19, 2022 in Amersfoort, as part of the project Mondriaan 150, with 7 works of art linked to 7 pieces of music, for the exhibition Unlimited in the Mondriaanhuis.

www.mondriaanhuis.nl/nl/zien-en-doen/tentoonstellingen/onbegrensd

About his compositions:                                    “Since 1997 the source of my music started to flow after I became acquainted with the writings of the German painter Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, also known as Bô Yin Râ. Leonard Bernstein said: "Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable." My music wants to act as an aide-memoire for the listener to tune in to that, but first of all it wants to be enjoyed.

https://hansbakker.musicaneo.com/   

www.bo-yin-ra-the-teaching.com

Nana Tchikhinashvili was born and raised in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Since 1995, she has been living and working in the Netherlands. From the age of 6, Nana sang in a variety of professional choirs in Georgia. In 1989 she was admitted to the Conservatory in Tbilisi, where she studied both Conducting and Singing. While she was still a student at Conservatory, she was one of the youngest singers ever to be asked to join the Academic State Choir. As a conductor, Nana developed her own, unique style. In 1994 Nana graduated from the Conservatory in both Conducting and Singing. Since coming to the Netherlands, Nana has been working as a composer for a variety of animated and documenter films. Next to that she has composed pieces for mixed, female and male choir, some of them with instrumental accompagnement.

Peter Vigh (1987) is a classical saxophonist and composer. He is the alto saxophonist and house arranger of the Berlage Saxophone Quartet, he composed a variety of compositions for leading musicians.

Totaliter Aliter was performed by Ensemble Black Pencil and the Netherlands Women Youth Choir, about which the press wrote: “Totaliter Aliter was of unearthly beauty.” (Brabants Dagblad), and the NRC gave it four stars. His first string quartet was premiered by the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam. He composed the oratorio Seven Years and Three Weeks (a story by Jan Brokken) for Cappella Amsterdam and his own quartet. He has also written for the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, Radio 4, November Music and for musicians such as Arno Bornkamp, members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Elisabeth Hetherington and Cello Octet Amsterdam.

Vigh studied composition with teachers Klaas de Vries, Fabio Nieder and Willem Jeths, and saxophone with Arno Bornkamp in Amsterdam and with Jean-Denis Michat in Lyon. In Berlin he studied chamber music with the Artemis Quartett, and he completed the master at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam cum laude.

Zoran Rosendahl (b. 1994, Grave, Netherlands) is a leading figure in contemporary classical music, acclaimed for his innovative work as both a composer and conductor. With Dutch and Indonesian heritage, Rosendahl’s compositions blend a rich cultural narrative with the classical traditions of the Netherlands. Known for interdisciplinary collaborations and prestigious commissions, Rosendahl’s work includes the one-act opera Nachtlicht with a libretto by Sanne Schuhmacher, premiering in January 2024 as the first opera for soprano, tenor, and wind band. Another highlight is his collaboration with actor Frank Groothof on a musical fairytale inspired by the Grimm brothers' Town Musicians of Bremen, which debuted in April 2024. Rosendahl’s work is widely commissioned across Europe by orchestras, chamber music groups and wind bands drawn to his unique musical voice. His dedication to chamber music has inspired numerous works, showcasing his versatility and depth as a composer.