Matthijs Koene - Panflute
Stefan Gerritsen - Guitar

Matthijs Koene

Matthijs Koene (1977) finished his studies Cum Laude at the Conservatory of Amsterdam in 2001. Matthijs studied with the panflute players Nicolae Pirvu and Michel Tirabosco, with the flute player Harrie Starreveld, and the recorder player Walter van Hauwe. His coach was Daan Manneke, teacher of composition as a main subject at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Besides Verso, Matthijs is also a member of Theo Loevendie’s ensemble Ziggurat. This group consists of the exceptional combination of panflute, duduk, bass recorder, erhu, ganun, double bass, viola da gamba, percussion, and mezzo soprano. Ziggurat has made several tours through the Netherlands, but also Russia, Finland, and England. Moreover, the ensemble played for Queen Beatrix in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Apart from founder and resident composer Theo Loevendie, many other composers like Fabio Nieder and Guus Janssen write for Ziggurat. One week a year, the ensemble works together intensively with a specially selected group of young composers on their compositions for this special lineup, subsequently to be performed during the Gaudeamus week.

In addition to a cd recording of Loevendie’s work, tours are planned of Mexico, Russia, and Singapore.

 

Additionally, Matthijs works closely together with organist Jos van der Kooy. Their repertoire includes work from the Renaissance up to the newest compositions. One of their present projects is performing the sonatas for flute by J.S. Bach, for example during special masses in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam and recording them on cd.

 

Together with the Dutch composer Andre Douw, Matthijs is working on the realization of a cd with all Douw’s panflute works. The panflute will be presented in compositions with various other instruments: Soprano (Valérie Guillorit), percussion (Enrique Monfort-Barbera), cello (Anna Magda de Geus), organ (Gijs Boelen), and other panflutes (students of the Conservatory of Amsterdam).

Matthijs cooperated with several ensembles for new music: the Ictus ensemble in Brussels, Die Musikfabrik in Cologne, the Vocaal Laboratorium in Amsterdam, and the Ensemble Prime in Groningen, for example. As soloist Matthijs performed Vivaldi’s flute concert op.10 no. 2 with the Promenade Orchestra, and Mozart’s flute concert KV 313 with the RBO Sinfonia. Both works were performed in the big hall of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as in other concert halls.

 

Since September 2005 Matthijs is employed by the Conservatory of Amsterdam to teach panflute as a main subject. The goal of the study is to place the tradition of the instrument in a further development of the panflute, through contemporary music.

 

Stefan Gerritsen

Stefan Gerritsen (1977) had his first guitar lessons at the age of eleven. One year later he already won a competition for young talent in his home town Alkmaar.

After private lessons with Ruald Didrich he started on his studies with Wim Pfister and later Lex Eisenhardt at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Stefan finished his Teacher of Music studies Cum Laude in 1998, and in 2000 he completed the Second Phase, again Cum Laude. After lessons at the ‘Sweelinck Conservatory” he was coached intensively by the young guitar virtuoso Laura Young.

In 2001 he studied with Alex Garrobe at the acclaimed Ascola Luthier in Barcelona.

Stefan performs in the Netherlands and abroad, as a soloist and as a member of chamber music ensembles.

 

Together with panflute player Matthijs Koene they make the duo Verso.

In 2003 Verso won the Vriendenkrans and the Concertgebouw award in the Vriendenkrans Concours of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. In the same year, they were laureates in the Comradio Concours in Barcelona (an award for contemporary music). In 2005 and 2006 they were finalists in the Concert Artist Guild competition in New York.

Matthijs and Stefan won the Ibla Granprize 2006 as well as the Piazzolla-award on July 9 of that year. Ibla is an international music competition held annually in the baroque centre of Rabusa (Ibla) in Sicily.

In April 2007 Verso gave its debut performance in Carnegie Hall, New York. This was followed by a tour of America.

 

In November 2006 Stefan received the second prize at the 38^th edition of the international guitar competition in Zwolle.

Stafan worked together with renowned ensembles for contemporary music, like the Nieuw Ensemble.

He is a member of several ensembles for contemporary chamber music, amongst which are the Asmterdam Kwintet and the Ensemble Radak.

In August 2005 Stefan and Ravind Shanka gave a small recital of old music for Queen Beatrix.

Stefan contributed to several cd recordings, like Archipel III for guitar solo by Daan Manneke, on Manneke’s cd ‘Si blue si Calme’.

In December 2005 Stefan appeared as guitar soloist in Antonio Vivaldi’s Lute concert in D, to be followed by Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the upcoming season.