A belief that music is a ‘living language’ characterises the work of the bassoonist, Mieke van Dael. She is passionate about helping all musicians – whether beginners or advanced players, young or old – to increase their expressive skills in that rich musical language. Her considerable experience as a performing musician provides an excellent source of inspiration, which she enjoys sharing with her pupils. Mieke sets great store by helping everyone experience the pleasure of learning; in this way she aims to challenge her pupils to develop into self-sufficient and ‘language-competent’ musicians. She derives considerable satisfaction from taking pupils a step further in their musical development.

Mieke has twenty years of teaching experience. Since 2006 she has been building up the bassoon class at Amersfoort’s Scholen in de Kunst; large numbers of pupils of all ages and levels are now taking lessons. At the same time she has become increasingly aware of how important it is for pupils to develop an ‘inner hearing’, a musical consciousness that allows them to take full advantage of their instruments. She also realises how important it is to use learning methods which appeal to the present-day learner. Being a methodology teacher at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague means she herself can actively develop such methods for instrumental education, using modern pedagogical principles and based on experienced-based learning .

Her search for innovative forms of instrumental education led Mieke to join the study group puntComp and to start on her Master’s course of study ‘Music Education According to the Kodály Concept’ in 2014. She completed this course in June 2016 with a presentation of her research in which she clearly showed how aspects of the Kodály philosophy and methodology can be integrated into instrumental music education (‘How can aspects of the Kodály philosophy and methodology be integrated into instrumental teaching?’).

Mieke van Dael studied the bassoon, contrabassoon and chamber music at the Maastricht and Amsterdam conservatories. Halfway through the 1990s she obtained her teaching and performer’s diplomas, as well as a special mention for competence in the contrabassoon and chamber music.

She has played in national symphony orchestras and ensembles for more than twenty years, including a number of years playing regularly with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She has given concerts in almost all European countries, and in Taiwan, Japan, the United States and Canada. Furthermore she gives Masterclasses abroad and plays a great deal of chamber music.

In her position as methodology teacher at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, Mieke coordinates the PI - muziek voor blazers programme (developing methods for young wind players).

Website Mieke van Dael