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Would you like to write a review or have you taken photos of a house concert? Do you have news that may be of interest to members and other interested parties? Let us know by sending an e-mail to nieuws@vvhl.nl We love to share it!

In connection with the summer holiday is the editor of the newsletter Saturday 2 to Sunday 24 August unable to respond to emails and submitted articles. From Monday 25 August, we will pick up the thread with news, retrospectives and more.

In connection with the holidays is the editor of Friday 20 December to Sunday 5 January unable to respond to emails and submitted articles. From Monday 6 January, we will pick up with news, retrospectives and more.

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That's why you want to be a member!

  • news
Make full use of your membership during the 2025-2026 concert season and enjoy top-level song art together. Because in addition to all concerts with our own musicians - which you can attend for free as a member - your membership also offers attractive discounts on recitals in well-known concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Musis in Arnhem.
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Jury audition 2026: Maarten Hillenius

  • news
Saturday 24 January is the day. ArtEZ Conservatorium Zwolle will then host our annual audition. As every year, the jury consists of musicians who have earned their spurs on the song art stage. We put some questions to them. This time the reaction of pianist Maarten Hillenius: ‘Songs enrich you by touching the most beautiful lyrics and notes and different emotions. You don't have to throw a chair through a café window for that.’
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A Sunday afternoon of sung connection

  • news
There are those afternoons when everything seems to fall together: the right place, the right people and, above all, the right tone. Such an afternoon was the Members-for-Members concert of the Twente branch of Friends of Song, held on Sunday 16 November 2025.
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Feelings of all times

  • news
An intimate house concert with a delightful programme about love: that is what the Friends experienced in Amsterdam. Tenor Jan-Willem Schaafsma and pianist Phyllis Ferwerda convinced and let listeners experience that the romantic song is still relevant, because feelings are of all times.
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Women of all shapes and forms

  • news
For the first time, Salon 1919 welcomed musicians all the way from Germany to perform for us. They were mezzo-soprano Julia Kurig Yazaki and pianist Sofi Simeonidis. Liesbeth and I had already seen them perform in Zeist and we were very impressed by these women.
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Festival The Art of Song Maastricht

  • partner news
Organised by the J.M. Vogl Foundation for the Art of Singing, named after Schubert's friend and promoter Johann Michael Vogl - the first singer to dedicate his career entirely to art song. A week full of music, inspiration and connection - in the heart of Maastricht!
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From Schubert to Silverstein

  • news
Is it a nightclub or a concert hall? On Thursday night 13 November, the Kleine Zaal of the Nijmegen Vereeniging was both for a while. Mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen effortlessly switched from classical to popular songs and back again. Thanks to a collaboration between concert hall de Vereeniging and Friends of the Song, the duo was able to bring a heavenly performance to a completely sold-out hall.
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Jury audition 2026: Micha van Weers

  • news
Saturday 24 January is the day. ArtEZ Conservatorium Zwolle will then host our annual audition. As every year, the jury consists of musicians who have earned their spurs on the song art stage. We put some questions to them. This time the reaction of pianist Micha van Weers, member of our artistic advisory board: ‘A song recital can be a mirror for the listener. If something is moving in the world, it expresses itself in art. And the song remains such a living thing!’
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Jury audition 2026: Jan Willem Baljet

  • news
Saturday 24 January is the day. ArtEZ Conservatorium Zwolle will then host our annual audition. As every year, the jury consists of musicians who have earned their spurs on the song art stage. We put some questions to them. This time the reaction of baritone Jan Willem Baljet, member of our artistic advisory board: ‘Only a singer and pianist shape a recital. So you have to maximise your own creativity. A delightful challenge, then!’
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Anne Sofie von Otter & Kristian Bezuidenhout: Schubertiade

  • partner news
Music into the small hours with Franz Schubert behind the keyboard; we would have loved to have been there. Mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter and fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout take us back in time, to a true Schubertiade. They interweave songs and solo works for piano by the great Viennese to get into the highest Schubertian moods.
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Contacts wanted

  • news
Without contacts, no house concerts. It's as simple as that. Do you love the song and want others to enjoy this intimate art form? And do you live in the region: Den Bosch, Friesland, Leiden or Limburg? Become a contact at Friends of the Song, because together we will put the song on the map!
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Jury audition 2026: Sasja Hunnego

  • news
Saturday 24 January is the day. ArtEZ Conservatorium Zwolle will then host our annual audition. As every year, the jury consists of musicians who have earned their spurs on the song art stage. We put some questions to them. This time the reaction of mezzo-soprano and vocal pedagogue Sasja Hunnego: ‘In these times of impending impoverishment, we must not give up expressions of refinement in thought and feeling. It is a joy for me to work with young people on this every day and experience their inspiration.’
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