Classical Voice & Performance
The Classical Voice & Performance course combines singing, acting and movement to offer students a broad range of vocal and acting skills for performing in opera, contemporary music theatre, song-recitals and oratorio. During their studies, students participate in classical and contemporary operas under the guidance of their tutors.
In the first two years of the course, a solid foundation for the profession of classical singer-performer is laid through weekly singing lessons and actor training. Performances, both in- and outside the institute, aim at gaining stage experience and performance skills.
In the last two years, these skills are deployed and further developed in two opera projects a year, one classical and one contemporary.
Our graduates will be well-equipped for a career as soloists or ensemble singers, for further training in an opera studio or a master’s programme in voice.
The course features:
- Individual and collective classes on vocal and breathing technique and on musical and dramatic interpretation.
- Extensive drama classes including actor training, theatrical improvisation and ‘song acting’.
- Masterclasses by renowned singers and voice teachers.
- Language coaching in Italian, French, and German.
- Movement classes and physical training.
- Projects throughout the academic year, in collaboration with professionals of various disciplines.
- Support in recognizing and developing each individual singer’s unique personal talent.
Teachers
Margriet van Reisen
Margriet van Reisen has performed all over the world with orchestras and ensembles like the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Percussion Den Haag, and many more. Margriet van Reisen’s repertoire ranges from the Baroque (e.g. J.S. Bach’s Passions) to the newest music like Ligeti, Boulez, Schönberg and Gubaidulina. She was trained at the Utrecht Conservatory and completed her studies at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She was awarded the press prize in the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch, first prize in Guildhall’s Schubert competition and she was a laureate at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2000.
Since September 2016 Margriet has started as a vocal teacher at the Fontys Conservatorium in Tilburg, the Netherlands. She currently leads the singing class at University College Roosevelt Middelburg.
Sinan Vural
"I learned to use my voice as a reliable musical instrument with its own instructions for use. At times I failed, but I fought back and gained insights, probably much more than when things would have gone smoothly. I developed a liking for the collective nature of our work, always in touch with other singers, instrumentalists, stage directors, conductors, visual artists, costume and set designers, and learned to function as the part of a whole and to cherish this connection. I learned humility in the face of the awe-inspiring history of our playground. I also learned that art does not restrict itself to concert halls and red-velveted and gold-plated opera houses, but it’s everywhere around us. It is an invisible channel from heart to heart. Not only here and now, but art also connects us to the hearts of artists long dead whose legacy we keep alive today. It goes without saying that I think this is the best profession in the world, and if you have the same feeling as well, I would gladly share all my experience with you, to ensure the continuity of our art in a world which needs it more than ever."
Michelle van Daalhoff
Raoul op 't Hoog
Audition
Candidates living in the Netherlands/ Belgium/ Western Germany will do a live audition.
Candidates from other countries will do an online audition.
Duration of the live audition is 15/20 minutes.
The audition program should include two vocalises, songs or aria's from the classical repertoire, and one of your own choice (classical, musical, jazz, pop).
Next to the pieces you prepare a monologue or poem, this can be in any language.