Musicians
Nederlands
Gerard van Vuuren was born in Surinam, and he moved with his family to Holland when he was 7 years old. He started playing the piano at age nine, and studied this instrument at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. Realising he was getting more and more interested in Baroque music, he decided to switch instruments, and went to study harpsichord with Jacques Ogg at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague – where he graduated in 1992. Together with fellow students he founded ‘The Beggar’s Banquet’, giving concerts in Holland, England, Germany and Poland. Gerard has been playing continuo with several other ensembles and choirs. He has also been featured as an accompanist at Baroque music festivals, including the International Early Music Course at Mateus (Portugal), where he also took part in concerts in Northern Portugal,with Jacques Ogg and Wilbert Hazelzet, among others. A few years ago Gerard also began playing the clavichord and is excited by its possibilities – broadening his technical abilities and musical horizon.
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Mesmerized by the pure, almost vocal sound of the flute since she first heard it as a child, Amanda Markwick has since made that fascination her own reality, playing historical flutes and earning such encouraging feedback as “beautifully flowing, colourful tones” and “you play a golden sound”. In her journey through musical refinement, Amanda has received Bachelors and Masters degrees from both Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A, and the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, the Netherlands. Thanking the thoughtful guidance of her teachers Barbara Kallaur, Kate Clark, Wilbert Hazelzet, and Barthold Kuijken, Amanda has since become a sought-after collaborator in chamber music and orchestral work, performing regularly throughout the United States and Europe.
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