I am so proud, happy and excited to announce that I have received my Master in Performance with Distinction! After two years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama I have successfully completed the full Guildhall Artist Masters program.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank my voice teacher Sarah Pring, who has taught me so much. She grounded me, showed me the next steps in my development and wasn’t afraid to challenge me and encourage me. Next to my voice lessons, my electives in Year 1 contained Donizetti arias and duets, 2 opera scenes projects and contemporary music with Jane Manning. Year 2 held another opera scenes project, a role in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Guildhall Opera Course, and the collaborative creation and world premiere of a new composition in Wigmore Hall.

Next to this framework I have received countless coachings, language lessons, impromptu rehearsals, acting and movement classes. Not to mention my roles (yes, plural!) during the grand opera production Thijl in the Netherlands in 2018 (that was nominated for an International Opera award), almost weekly auditions, competitions and masterclasses and being an entrepreneur for my own career.

It has been an intense, amazing and rewarding two years, and I’d like to thank my teachers at ArtEZ University of the Arts (namely soprano Claudia Patacca and coach/pianist Marien van Nieukerken), preparing me with their enthousiasm, knowledge and dedication to me as a student; they really have believed in me. I’d also like to thank the funds that have made all of this possible: Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VSB fonds, VandenEnde Foundation and the Fundatie van Renswoude!