This year, 27 students at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague are studying with the support of a scholarship through our Excellence Scholarship Programme.
In this winter update—the first of three updates during the 2025–2026 academic year—a selection of scholarship students share their experiences of the start of the new academic year at the Royal Conservatoire. Each term, a different group of students is featured. We select students with a particularly compelling story or a recording that is especially worth watching. Alongside each student’s profile, you will find a link to the relevant recording.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the private donors, foundations and corporate partners whose generous support makes the scholarship programme possible: Fonds 1999, the Ritsema van Eck Fund, the Keep an Eye Foundation, and the Revoir Group.
The students
It was an inspiring, intensive start at DNOA, great coaching and clear growth in both singing and acting. My goal is to develop further as a singer and performer, refining my craft and defining my career path.
Regarding the video, this was an opportunity for us to work on recordings and see how we could achieve a good result. We had a very short amount of time per person, just enough to record the piece once. At first, I thought the pianist was going to play the whole introduction, but she started just before my entrance. That’s something to keep in mind for future auditions.
Composer: Stravinsky
No word from Tom sung by Anne Trulove in the opera The Rake’s Progress
Pianist: Luba Podgayskaya, invited for the workshop
The start-up week was both challenging and inspiring, surrounded by talented people. Collaborations sparked new ideas, my class feels warmly welcoming, and the Haagse Bos gives me a sense of calm.
This year, I aim to prepare inspiring repertoire, explore The Hague’s free improvisation scene, refine my electronics skills, and study musical flow with a neurology student for my Master’s Project.
Composer: George Crumb
Vox Balaenae: Vocalise for Flute and Piano (For The Beginning of Time...), transcription for soprano saxophone
Pianist: Alessandro Soccorsi
Here are some excerpts of my collaboration with composer Nicolas Speda from the Composition Department. We are currently experimenting with different electronic feedback textures while using the saxophone as a kind of acoustic synthesizer.
My year started great! I have already performed in The Hague and Croatia, and I am looking forward to more soon. My goal is to collaborate with other musicians, play more concerts, and successfully finish this school year.
I was awarded the Grand Prix ‘Ferdo Livadić’ for the Best Artistic Personality at the 22nd International ‘Ferdo Livadić’ Competition for Young Musicians. This opened up many new concert opportunities at some of Croatia’s most prestigious festivals, including the Samobor Music Festival, Dubrovnik Summer Festival, Osor Music Evenings, and Musical Evenings at St. Donatus.
In addition, I will have the opportunity to perform with the Zagreb Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and renowned Croatian double bass player and composer Dubravko Palanović will compose a new piece for me, which I will premiere at the Samobor Music Festival.
I have also been invited to perform in the 2025/2026 concert season of the Zadar Concert Office, one of the most significant concert series for musicians in Croatia.
Furthermore, I performed at the Festival Gitaar aan de Sluis in Leidschendam with my school’s guitar quartet, and in early November I gave a solo concert at the Classical Guitar Days in Split, an event recognized by the European Festivals Association and awarded the EFFE Label.
Composer: Fernando Sor
Fantasie and Variations brillantes, op. 30
The second year of my studies I am focus more directly on my future career. I am developing my own teaching practices and designing workshops for PIA and as for part of my ongoing program. My goal is to keep building my own teaching practices, explore my professional identity, and help students develop their musical skills in a consistent and high-quality way, as demonstrated in the evaluation of my teaching.
The video is a part of my pilot PIA workshop, which focuses on developing musicality through body movements, free improvisation and other musical games.
Watch video
Musicians: my own piano students
About the Excellence scholarship programme at the Royal Conservatoire
Fundraising for the scholarship programme and special projects is coordinated by the Royal Conservatoire Fund (also: Fonds KC). Fonds KC was established in 2024 through the merger of three support foundations: the Fund for Excellence of the Royal Conservatoire, the Instrument Fund of the Royal Conservatoire and the Friends of the Royal Conservatoire.
For the 2024–2025 academic year, Fonds KC has awarded scholarships to students who achieved exceptional results in their entrance examinations for a master’s programme at the Royal Conservatoire.
Scholarship candidates are nominated by the Head of the relevant department based on their (outstanding) entrance examination for the Master’s programme and the quality of their Master (research) plan. Excellence Scholarships are in principle awarded for the full duration of the two-year Master’s programme, subject to the availability of funds.
In addition to the Excellence Scholarships, the Royal Conservatoire is awarding three NL Scholarships this year, made possible by NUFFIC. The same selection criteria—entrance examination and Master plan—apply to both scholarships. For the NL Scholarship, students must also meet the additional requirement of holding a non-EEA nationality and studying in the Netherlands for the first time. The NL Scholarship is awarded for one year; if the student shows satisfactory progress and if funding allows, an Excellence Scholarship is granted for the second year. Both scholarships are equivalent to the applicable tuition fee for the student.
Thanks to the support of Fonds 1999, six students have received additional high-value scholarships: five Fonds 1999 Top Scholarships of €12,000 and one Fonds 1999 Development Scholarship of €15,000. These were awarded to students whose talent and creativity stood out even among an already excellent group.
Finally, two students were awarded a Keep an Eye Talent Award of €10,000 each, distributed over the two years of their Master’s studies.
