~ biography ~
Renske with her first harp (1993)
At the age of nine Renske Tjoelker (1983) started playing the harp. She studied with prof. Erika Waardenburg at the Conservatoire of Utrecht, where she got her Bachelor's degree with distinction. During the Master study, she studied some months with Jana Boušková at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels. She followed master classes with Fabrice Pierre, Emilia Moskvitina, Brigitte Sylvestre and others.
Renske likes to combine solo works for harp with chamber music. Since 2008, she has formed a standing duo with violinist Angel Marote, the Krinos Duo.
Renske plays in orchestras regularly. She could be listened to in the Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the EU Youth Orchestra (EUYO), for instance. As a member of the EUYO she played with famous conductors likeVladimir Ashkenazy and Vasily Petrenko.
To learn more about orchestra playing and orchestral music, Renske studied with Petra van der Heide, principal harpist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Renske likes to combine solo works for harp with chamber music. Since 2008, she has formed a standing duo with violinist Angel Marote, the Krinos Duo.
Renske plays in orchestras regularly. She could be listened to in the Residentie Orchestra The Hague, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the EU Youth Orchestra (EUYO), for instance. As a member of the EUYO she played with famous conductors likeVladimir Ashkenazy and Vasily Petrenko.
To learn more about orchestra playing and orchestral music, Renske studied with Petra van der Heide, principal harpist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
~ more about Renske Tjoelker ~
Renske Tjoelker ('Tjoe' is pronounced approximately as 'choo' in choose - it's a Frisian name) has a broad solo repertoire, spanning the period from the Baroque till the 20th century. In particular, she likes French and Spanish harp music (Debussy, Ravel, Renié, Tournier, Salzedo, De Falla, Granados, etc.). On miscellaneous podiums, she performs in solo recitals, coffee concerts, etc.
As a soloist, she played the flute-harp concerto by Mozart and the Concertino for harp by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, among other things. In November 2006, she gave a series of performances of the Danses sacrée et profane by Debussy, with the string orchestra of the Conservatoire in Utrecht, of which there is a picture in the Picture Gallery. With the Trio des Songes Renske gave lunch concerts in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Music Centre Vredenburg in Utrecht and in other concert venues.
Renske also regularly accompanies choirs, for instance in the Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, from which you can hear a sample here: Interlude (mp3 3'01, 2,75 MB, live recording of a concert with Apeldoorns Vocaal Ensemble, 17 December 2005). [For users of Windows Vista with IE7: Interlude ]
Further, she frequently plays with symphony orchestras. For instance, she participated in three concert tours of the Dutch National Youth Orchestra (NJO) (Gustav Mahler's Lied von der Erde, Taras Bulba and the Sinfonietta by Leos Janáček, Pétrouchka by Igor Stravinsky and La Mer by Debussy). In 2007 she played in a concert of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), with an American programme (Bernstein, Copland, etc.). In March 2008 she played again in the Spring Tour 2008, with a predominatly romantic programme (Grieg, Strauss, Sibelius and others), giving concerts throughout Europe.
She also played a number of times with the Projectorkest Utrecht, an orchestra consisting of advanced amateurs and (semi-)professionals, in performances of Shostakovich, Symphony no. 13, Brahms, Deutsches Requiem, Richard Strauss, Tod und Verklärung and works of Benjamin Britten. From November 2007, she plays regularly as a substitute in concerts of the Residentieorkest The Hague. She also played in the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Next to her active music practice, Renske works as a teacher, teaching children as well as adults. She knows well how to deal with children, witness also the successful children's concerts she gave in the past years. Her broad experience in concert life is an advantage for her students, who can learn something about professional music practice.
Renske performs on a beautiful concert harp by Lyon & Healy, with a wide soundboard.
Renske lives in Utrecht, in the centre of the Netherlands.
As a soloist, she played the flute-harp concerto by Mozart and the Concertino for harp by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, among other things. In November 2006, she gave a series of performances of the Danses sacrée et profane by Debussy, with the string orchestra of the Conservatoire in Utrecht, of which there is a picture in the Picture Gallery. With the Trio des Songes Renske gave lunch concerts in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Music Centre Vredenburg in Utrecht and in other concert venues.
Renske also regularly accompanies choirs, for instance in the Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, from which you can hear a sample here: Interlude (mp3 3'01, 2,75 MB, live recording of a concert with Apeldoorns Vocaal Ensemble, 17 December 2005). [For users of Windows Vista with IE7: Interlude ]
Further, she frequently plays with symphony orchestras. For instance, she participated in three concert tours of the Dutch National Youth Orchestra (NJO) (Gustav Mahler's Lied von der Erde, Taras Bulba and the Sinfonietta by Leos Janáček, Pétrouchka by Igor Stravinsky and La Mer by Debussy). In 2007 she played in a concert of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), with an American programme (Bernstein, Copland, etc.). In March 2008 she played again in the Spring Tour 2008, with a predominatly romantic programme (Grieg, Strauss, Sibelius and others), giving concerts throughout Europe.
She also played a number of times with the Projectorkest Utrecht, an orchestra consisting of advanced amateurs and (semi-)professionals, in performances of Shostakovich, Symphony no. 13, Brahms, Deutsches Requiem, Richard Strauss, Tod und Verklärung and works of Benjamin Britten. From November 2007, she plays regularly as a substitute in concerts of the Residentieorkest The Hague. She also played in the Rotterdam Philharmonic.
Next to her active music practice, Renske works as a teacher, teaching children as well as adults. She knows well how to deal with children, witness also the successful children's concerts she gave in the past years. Her broad experience in concert life is an advantage for her students, who can learn something about professional music practice.
Renske performs on a beautiful concert harp by Lyon & Healy, with a wide soundboard.
Renske lives in Utrecht, in the centre of the Netherlands.
~ archive ~
Earlier, Renske has occasionally created a few pages about events in her personal life, her hobbies and interests. These pages can be accessed via the links below.
December 2006: Studies in Brussels
October 2006: Pictures from Zealand
May 2006: Poetry
Email:
renske.harp@hotmail.com
