Monasteries at the Cello Academy

Featuring masterclasses by top-level musicians – we will share these names with you as soon as possible.

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Jeroen den Herder completed his studies with distinction with Maria Hol, Dmitri Ferschtman and Christopher Bunting. He then became a leader of the Cello Octet Conjunto Ibérico, a group with a worldwide reputation as a full time cello ensemble.

Den Herder gained several music awards. Among them a first prize-winner of the “Postbank Sweelinck” cello competition and the first prize of the Foundation of the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He’s been an active chamber music player, performing with musicians like Janine Jansen, Igor Roma, Anner Bijlsma and as a member of the Ruysdael Quartet Den Herder performed in all major concert halls in Holland (Concertgebouw) England (Wigmore Hall) and Japan (Oji Hall). Their concerts at the Amsterdam Quartet Biënnale received much acclaim. Between 1999 and 2012 Jeroen has been the cellist of the Nieuw Ensemble, one of the leading Dutch ensembles for contemporary music.

Fulfilling the function of artistic director CelloWercken Zutphen, which embodies both the International Cello Festival and the Cello Academy, he commissioned contemporary composers the write for the festival, leading to inspired projects such as The Tibetan Book of the Death and Passion of Innocence.

Den Herder has been a dedicated teacher ever since he took a professorship at the age of 22 at the Utrecht conservatory. His lessons are based on the development between mind and body, and a cello technique inspired by his teacher Christopher Bunting, a former student of Pablo Casals. Cello playing based on natural principles like gravity, character and playfulness.

“Everything is music, play not to avoid mistakes, delegation of body functions and breathing” are some key topics which will lead to a healthy way achieving perfection. His main focus is making people aware what they exactly practise. He believes being aware of one’s imagination, sensitive listening, intuition and delegation of body functions are elements that have proved to be the best teachers for life.

He’s been a regular guest teacher at the Conservatory in Minsk (2003-2010) and visiting guest- professor at the University in Tainan, Taiwan. Furthermore he has given masterclasses in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, France, China and Israel. Today he helds positions as a teacher at the Conservatories of Utrecht and Rotterdam.

“I’ve heard Jeroen den Herder performing the Elgar cello concerto with the Sint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He played with great distinction and sensitivity, and I believe he will grow into a wonderful cellist” Yehudi Menuhin, 1995.

Born in Tainan, Taiwan. Hua-Hsuan began her piano studies at the age of five when she studied in the young talent class with Taiwanese pianist Wei-Lung Li and his wife Chun-Ju Yen. After finishing her bachelor degree in Tainan National University of the Arts, Hua-Hsuan continued her studies in Germany with the esteemed Russian pianist Stepan Simonian at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theatre Hamburg where she graduated from her master with distinction.

As a talented pianist, Hua-Hsuan Lee has been awarded prizes in numerous national and international competitions in her young age, including the first prize of International Cross-Strait International Music Competition(2015), the first prize of International Violin & Piano Competition of Vienna (2011), the first prize of Taiwan Music Competition (2007) , the second prize of Taiwan National Student Competition(2007) and awarded as 3ème Prix à l’unanimité of International Music Competition in 2022.

Later on, she was invited by International Cellofestival Zutphen, performed with great maestros Gavriel Lipkind and Jeroen den Herder.

Being a highly sensitive and explortative artist, Hua-Hsuan has unusual sensation and deep desire of searching in different artistic way of self-expression. She is a curious and challenging artist who is speaking with her unique voice in music, eventually it leads her to the toypianos. Since finding the first toy piano, she continued to acquire many others, including 1940s rare typatune.

When he was 16 year old Siebe Henstra constructed his first harpsichord against the advice of his parents, but Siebe persisted. After school he studied the harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt and Ton Koopman at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He has won prizes at competitions in Edinburgh (1982) and Amsterdam (1987).

Since then, he has played with many ensembles; the best known are the Netherlands Bach Society (www.allofbach.com), the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, the Leonhardt Consort, Tokyo Baroque, La Petite Bande, the Ricercar Consort, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

He worked as continuo player with several famous directors – e.g. Frans Brüggen, Gustav Leonhardt and Jos van Veldhoven- with whom he co-operated for recordings (CD, radio, TV) and opera-productions (for Ricercar, Denon, Philips, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Sony and Telefunken), in most of the European countries, Israel, Japan, Russia, Mexico and the United States. Also as a soloist on harpsichord and clavichord he gave numerous performances throughout the world.

He is continuo player (organ and harpsichord) of the Netherlands Bach Society, forms a duo with Lucia Swarts and forms the duo ‘Der prallende Doppelschlag’ with Menno van Delft on two clavichords, harpsichords or organs.

Siebe Henstra has given a number of masterclasses in Finland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Japan, the USA, Mexico, Catalunya, and the Czech Republic. He teaches harpsichord since 1988 at the Utrecht conservatory and was professor 2017-2021 at the Royal Conservatoire, The Hague. He is asked regularly as member of the jury for competitions as well as for examinations of several conservatories.