We would like to introduce you to our new main subject teacher Vocal Studies: Ilse Eerens. Praised for her luminous voice, musical sensitivity and versatility, the Belgian soprano enjoys an international opera and concert career in repertoire that spans from Bach to works of the 21st century.

Eerens began her vocal studies at the age of 14 at the Lemmens Institute in Belgium. On completion of her studies she was accepted to the New Opera Academy in The Netherlands in 2002, and graduated with her Bachelors and Masters degrees in 2004. Through the years, she has performed with many major orchestras including the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Dutch Radio Orchestra’s, Orchestre National de Lille, Brussels Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Wiener Philharmoniker and she already had the pleasure to work with conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Hartmut Haenchen, Lorenzo Viotti, Kazushi Ono, Peter Dijkstra, Jaap van Zweden, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Ton Koopman and Frans Brüggen.

Ilse: “I look forward to travelling this musical journey together with the young singers, teaching them solid singing technique and conveying them my love for this wonderful profession.” Head of department Marjolein Niels also is delighted to welcome her. “We are very much looking forward to the appointment of Ilse. Her rich international experience as singer, both on the concert stage and the opera stage, will be a source of knowledge and inspiration for our students!”