For five years, Teuny van Wijgerden put her heart and soul into Friends of Song as secretary. Even though her health increasingly troubled her, she remained energetic and enthusiastic. After stepping down, she was appointed an honorary member. To keep Teuny and her love for the art of song alive, the heirs have decided to support us with an annual donation of € 2,000. To manage this, the Teuny van Wijgerden Song Fund was recently set up.
This fund, established in late 2024, aims to stimulate interest in the art of song among young, talented musicians and contribute to their development in performance. The support of this fund makes it possible to strengthen the financial basis under the provision of workshops, master classes and auditions, and to provide young talent with a concert platform.
With the creation of the Teuny van Wijgerden Song Fund, the association has created a new prize: the Friends of the Song Prize consisting of day tickets for the Day of the Song and one year free membership of the association. This prize is especially intended for young song duos to enable them to expand and deepen their knowledge of the repertoire by attending our concerts. The prize is awarded during one of the (regional) editions of the Princess Christina Competition. In March 2025, the prize was first awarded to soprano Marjolein Acke (18) and pianist Elewout Acke (17).
Friends of the Song also wants to reach and support young, professional musicians in their development. And what better place for them to gain stage experience than in the intimacy of a house concert? The direct contact with the organisers and the audience gives them the opportunity to refine their performances and bring the stories they want to tell even better into the limelight. To make that possible, the song fund offers financial support by presenting the Friends of the Song Incentive Award to the best Dutch duo participating in the biennial International Student SongDuo Competition. During the 2024 competition, this prize was awarded to mezzo-soprano Jasperina Verheij and pianist Willem van den Dool, who thus had the opportunity to present themselves to the public with two song recitals for Friends of Song.
For more information on one-off or recurring donations to this fund, please contact treasurer Bram de Ronde: penningmeester@vvhl.nl
