Teachers

Mieke Kooij studied classical guitar at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam (SCA) under Lex Eisenhardt and attended masterclasses with Roberto Aussel, Pavel Steidl, Carlo Domeniconi, Stefan Hackl, and Alvaro Pierri. She forms a vocal-guitar duo with mezzo-soprano Eveline Juten, specializing in performing romantic-era songs. She has collaborated with the ensemble ‘Les Troubadours du Nord’, focusing on 19th-century songs. She has also given various concerts with a classical guitar trio. After her studies at the SCA, she obtained her Master of Science in Pedagogy from the University of Amsterdam. Mieke Kooij has 25 years of experience in teaching guitar. She has taught at various music schools, including ‘Scholen in de Kunst’ in Amersfoort. She has been giving guitar lessons at the Diemen Music School for over 15 years.

Alice began playing the flute at the age of eight at the local music school in her village in Málaga, Spain. After winning several awards in Spain, she moved to Amsterdam to begin her undergraduate studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory in the class of Vincent Cortvrint (piccolo player of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra). She achieved her bachelor’s degree in 2017 and then pursued her master’s at the same conservatory, in the class of Kersten McCall (flute soloist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra). Alice also studied the baroque flute as a second instrument under Professor Marten Root and followed numerous masterclasses from international flute soloists. Alice’s greatest passion is playing in ensembles, both orchestral and chamber music. She has been selected as a member of the Grafenegg Academy Orchestra (Austria). Alice has been teaching for more than ten years. At the age of 16, she was appointed as a flute teacher at two music schools in Málaga, and since moving to Amsterdam in 2012, she has worked with private students and at various music schools. For her, music and flute lessons are a way to instill passion and dedication, and her lessons focus on establishing a solid foundation, understanding music, and developing a beautiful tone and stable technique on the flute. Playing in ensembles and learning to listen and respond to each other are also an essential part of Alice’s lessons. The most important aspect is good communication and a personal approach to the needs and tastes of each student.

Anna B. Kramer was born in Zurich. She first studied at the Scuola Teatro Dimitri and then studied theater with Roy Bosier, Stephan Teuwissen and Paul Lohr of the Theater Academy in Zurich. M.Yemen Dzakis and Gabriela Fritschi took care of her voice and singing training. She trained in sound-oriented singing at the Lichtenberg Institute in Germany. Since then she visited this town regularly for further training and workshops by O.T. Theater Andrew Morrish and Fons van Tienen. She worked as an actress and singer in various theater productions, including at the Stadsschouwburg in Zurich under the direction of A. Benning, David Mouchtar Samurai and Thomas Koerfer. She was seen at the Theater Kt. Zurich and at the Expo 2002 in Biel. At the City Theater in Munich she was allowed to stage a scene from Don Juan and Faust together with Roy Bosier under the direction of A.Weber. She has also worked with Stephan Teuwissen, Nicole Schwyzer, Melanie Huber and Tom Tafel. In the Netherlands she has collaborated on projects with Vera Stiphout, Cindy Moorman, David Weber Krebs, Liesbeth Groot Nibbelink, Thomas Johannsen, Carola Baertschiger, Jetse Batelaan and Irene Schaltegger, Nina Hitz, Barbara Erdner and Florian Richter. In addition to her performing activities as a singer and actress, Anna Kramer maintains a practice as a singing teacher. She has taught at several music schools and has a private practice. Since 2015 she has worked as a teacher at the Utrecht Conservatory. Nowadays also at Music School Diemen.

After starting his musical studies at an early age, and giving concerts since his 4 years old, Juan Blanco has worked with music and sound his whole life, with an emphazise in classical music, theory and Harp performance. After debuting as a soloist at the age of 15 in Canada with the orchestra I Musici de Montréal, he started his bachelor studies in a colombian music institution based on the educational model of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Juan Sebastián has happily participated as Principal Harp in diverse projects, such as the Netherlands tour with the Jazz Jong Metropole Orkest, the Central American Tour (Panamá, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize etc.) and the Grammy Awards winning European Tour (Germany, Ukraine, Poland etc.) with the Orchestra of the Americas. He has collaborated with top level professional orchestras such as the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Medellín Philharmonic, Bogotá Philharmonic, Conservatorium van Amsterdam Symphonieorkest, Cali Philharmonic, and Colombian Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed in several Festivals along his carreer, such as the Edinburgh Summer Festival in Scotland, the Grachtenfestival in Amsterdam and the Cartagena Music Festival, as well as in prestigious concert halls such as the ElbPhilharmonie in Hamburg, the Kurhaus of Wiesbaden, and the Muziekgebouw aan ’t Ij in Amsterdam. Juan Sebastián completed his Master studies in Harp Music Performance with the highest standards at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where he realized also Triple Baroque Italian Harp studies, after winning various awards such as the Talent Grant from the Amsterdam University for the Arts, the best mandatory piece interpretation at the Rosa Spier International Competition, first prize at the International Mexico Harp Competition, and scholarships to attend the Saratoga Harp Colony in New York with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Today, based in Amsterdam, he works as a soloist, freelancer musician, in a concert hall specialized in Organ music, and in education as private teacher, teacher in the Muziekschool Diemen, and in a youth-driven orchestra organization in Netherlands based in the venezuelan ¨El Sistema¨. As a colombian and latinamerican musician, beyond the interpretation as a concertist and the music itself, his interest resides in taking music to all corners in the world against division and discrimination, and in the social impact and transformative power that music and art has in human societies. For this reason, ideologically and artistically, it’s exciting to announce his recent integration as the harpist of the Latin Orchestra of Europe based in Frankfurt.

Maarten Rongen studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Jan Pustjens (solo percussionist) and Jan Labordus (solo timpanist) of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and for drums with Ton Rooyers. During his percussion studies, he attended various masterclasses and workshops for marimba with Keiko Abe, Leigh Howard Stevens, and Robert van Sice, and for drums with Louis Bellson, Simon Phillips, and Rick Latham. He graduated in 1989 as a teaching and performing musician. Maarten Rongen served as a timpanist with the Amsterdam Wind Orchestra, with which he made several CD recordings. Since 1982, he has been active as a freelance percussionist, and since 1980, he has been working as a percussion teacher at various music schools. Currently, he teaches at music schools in Diemen, Vleuten, Breukelen, Maarssen, Uithoorn, and De Ronde Venen (including Mijdrecht) and conducts project-based workshops at elementary schools. As a conductor, he was associated with the percussion groups of the Bovenkerk Music Association, Amstelveen, Linfano, Linschoten, and De Adelaar, Weesp. Maarten has been the conductor of the percussion group of the Abcouder Harmonie for over 15 years and is also a sought-after jury member for stage, march, and soloist competitions, a national committee member for music exams, a coach at various music associations, and he gives clinics and workshops for (amateur) percussionists. Additionally, Maarten composes for various percussion ensembles.

Judith Sijp studied cello, vocals, and school music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and has completed the accredited postgraduate "Muziek op Schoot" (Toddlers Music) program. She has performed domestically and internationally with groups such as Flairck, the Stips trio (centered around Nits keyboardist Robert Jan Stips), and musical comedian Hans Liberg. Judith is a firm believer in the importance and power of quality music education and has been passionately teaching music to children from 8 months to 10 years old for many years. In addition, she is an enthusiastic children’s songwriter and works behind the scenes in the theater industry

Gabrielle Butler studied at the Conservatory of Enschede DM (bachelor degree) under Jaap van Zweden, and at the Conservatory of Utrecht UM (master degree) under violin pedagogue Viktor Liberman. During her studies, Gabrielle frequently taught violin lessons and played as a permanent substitute in the Orchestra of the East. After her studies, she also performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Gabrielle has a strong affinity for teaching young children and utilizes the Suzuki method for very young learners. She has accumulated extensive experience and has guided several students to the conservatory. Gabrielle has been associated with Music School Diemen since 2019. In 2020, she founded the Diemer String Ensemble and recently started a junior stringensemble.

Hurvy Howard has been appointed as a brass instructor at  Music School Diemen since 1997. He studied at the Hilversum Conservatory, majoring in HaFaBra conducting and minoring in choir conducting. He graduated his bachelor degree in 1993. Hurvy Howard has been involved for many years in the training/conducting of the Diemer Orchestra. He plays various brass instruments including the Trumpet, Trombone, Bass, and Tenor Tuba. At the Diemer Harmonie, he plays the Bass Trombone.