The Grachtenfestival is all about music. Young musicians from all over the world surprise you with their own musical story. With Amsterdam as their stage. The Grachtenfestival takes place from 13- 22 August 2021. This year (again), many KonCon students and alumni will participate in the festival. We will summarise some the highlights for you on this page. For the full programme and list of all artists participating in the festival this year, please also check the website of the Grachtenfestival.

Shin Sihan is Artist in Residence 2021

A special shout out goes out to our alumnus Shin Sihan! He won last year’s edition of the festival and will make a special appearance in 2021 as Artist in Residence. He put together a very personal and creative programme for this year’s edition. Shin started playing the violin very early. At the age of 6, he received lessons by Coosje Wijzenbeek at the conservatoire in Amsterdam. Later, he continued studying the violin at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with acclaimed Main Subject Teacher Classical Music Violin Vera Beths. He graduated with honours and won the prestigious Fock Medal Prize for his “phenomenal virtuosity, combined with phenomenal musicality”. More information on his concerts can be found here.

Oscar Back winner Coraline Groen and Jobine Siekman
Alumni Coraline Groen (violin) and Jobine Siekman (cello) will play the most beautiful duos by Martinù, Vasks and Ravel. Rive Gauche: the left bank of the Seine that flows through Paris and a reference to early last century Paris: a breeding ground for the arts. Many famous composers have settled there, including Maurice Ravel and the Czech Bohuslav Martinù. The latter wrote his second duo on his deathbed in just 4 days. In this music, violin and cello dance and sing around each other lyrically. Jobine and Coraline interweave these more modern compositions with works from the 12th century. More information can be found here.

Our School for Young Talent Duo Matthijs and his Sister Adinda

The young musicians Matthijs and Adinda van Delft are happy to take you on a musical journey around the world during their family concert on 15 August, with solo pieces as well as duets. They start their journey in the cultural capital, Vienna, and end it in Buenos Aires with Piazzolla, in honour of "100 years of Piazzolla". In short, a varied music program for young and old! More information can be found here.