De Mis van Martin

Nederlands Kamerkoor 

The Netherlands Chamber Choir has been among the absolute top choirs for almost 90 years. The choir performs choral repertoire from the early Middle Ages to contemporary music and frequently collaborates with dancers, poets, actors, filmmakers, and scholars.

With consistently surprising, often overwhelming, and sometimes truly groundbreaking programs, the choir explores the boundaries of choral singing. Based in Utrecht, the Netherlands Chamber Choir is praised both nationally and internationally for its versatility and urgent programming. In recent years, it has performed at venues such as Lincoln Center New York, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Konzerthaus Vienna, and Teatro Colón Buenos Aires. Numerous composers have written for the choir, including Poulenc, Gubaidulina, Michel van der Aa, Caroline Shaw, Zad Moultaka, and Nico Muhly.

Education and participation are integral to the choir's mission, and it shares knowledge and inspiration through Singing Days across the country. Recent graduates are trained as future ensemble singers in the talent development program NKK NXT, where they are encouraged to experiment with new forms of choral music.

Since 2015, Peter Dijkstra has been the chief conductor of the choir. His predecessors were Hans van den Hombergh, Kerry Woodward, Uwe Gronostay, Tõnu Kaljuste, Stephen Layton, and Risto Joost. The choir was founded by Felix de Nobel, who served as the first chief conductor until 1972.

Peter Dijkstra chef-dirigent

Peter Dijkstra is one of the foremost choral conductors of our time. He studied choral conducting, orchestral conducting, and solo singing at the conservatories of The Hague, Cologne, and Stockholm, graduating summa cum laude with distinction.

After a long tenure as principal guest conductor, Dijkstra was appointed chief conductor of the Netherlands Chamber Choir in September 2015. In addition, he was reappointed as artistic director of the Bavarian Radio Choir in 2022, a position he previously held from 2005 to 2016. Under his leadership, this ensemble has developed into an internationally esteemed and versatile vocal group.

From 2007 to 2018, Dijkstra served as chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir, following in the footsteps of the legendary Eric Ericson. In 2019, this renowned choir appointed him as Honorary Conductor.

Beyond his work with these ensembles, Dijkstra is a sought-after guest with many prestigious professional choirs in Europe, such as the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, WDR, MDR, and NDR Radio Choirs, the Danish Vocal Ensemble, SWR Vokalensemble, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and the BBC Singers. He is also a frequent guest with esteemed orchestras, including the Symphonieorchester und Rundfunkorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Deutsche Symphonieorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Münchener Kammerorchester, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the Netherlands, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra, and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, he regularly collaborates with baroque orchestras such as Concerto Köln, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, B’Rock, and Freiburger Barockorchester.

Dijkstra is widely recognized as a specialist in vocal music and is comfortable with a broad spectrum of musical styles, from medieval polyphony to contemporary music. He has premiered works by composers including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lera Auerbach, Erik Esenvalds, Joost Kleppe, Jacob Mülrad, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Caroline Shaw, Martin Smolka, and JacobTV, and is a passionate advocate for emerging choral composers.

His interpretations of major oratorios by Mozart, Handel, and Bach have been released on CD under the BR Klassik label and have received numerous awards. He won two ECHO Klassik awards for Fauré’s Requiem (Sony Classics) and Schnittke’s Choir Concerto (BR Klassik), two Diapason d’Or awards for an album featuring works by Strauss, Wagner, and Mahler (BR Klassik) and Poulenc’s Figure humaine (Channel Classics), and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recording of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. He was also nominated for two Grammys. His CD of a cappella choral works by Johannes Brahms, recorded with the Swedish Radio Choir, won an Edison Klassiek award in 2015.

Dijkstra is particularly dedicated to bridging the gap between professional and amateur music practice. He enjoys working with amateur ensembles and is the artistic director of the vocal ensemble MUSA. He also engages with the next generation of conductors, giving regular masterclasses at the Dirigentenforum des Deutschen Musikrates, the Lund International Conducting Masterclass, and the Dirigentenforum des Chores des Bayerischen Rundfunks. From 2016 to 2020, Dijkstra served as Professor of Choral Conducting at the Musikhochschule Köln, and from October 2023, he will hold this position at the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg.

Peter Dijkstra is an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. In 2013, he was awarded the Golden Violin, a prize for internationally renowned musicians from Northern Netherlands, and in 2014, he won the Eugen Jochum Prize.