Edition 2021 was led by chief conductor Daniel Reuss from Cappella Amsterdam. The Meesters of this edition were singers from the same ensamble; the twenty Gezellen were selected through auditions.
Daniel Reuss
Daniel Reuss (1961) studied choral conducting at the Rotterdam Conservatory under Barend Schuurman. At 21 he founded the Oude Muziek Koor Arnhem (Early Music Choir Arnhem). In 1990, Daniel Reuss became the artistic director of Cappella Amsterdam. The ensemble has, under his leadership, gained prominence in the Netherlands with its performances of both early and modern music. Reuss has released several critically acclaimed CD’s with Cappella Amsterdam, such as Lux Aeterna (rewarded with the Diapason d’Or 2009), a collection of psalms by Sweelinck, and recently a CD with the Janáĉek Choral Works, for which an Edision was awarded.
From 2003 to 2006 Reuss was chief conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor in Berlin, with which he released a variety of succesful CD’s. Among these were Le Vin Herbé (Martin), Solomon (Händel) and Les Noces (Stravinsky). These releases were met with critical acclaim in the form of the Preis der Deutsche Schallplattenkritik, the Echo Award, the Midem Classical Award, the Diapason d’Or and the Choc du Monde de la Musique.
Between 2008 and 2013 Reuss combined his responsibilities as Cappella Amsterdam’s artistic director with being the chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. The two choirs would go on to release their collaborative effort Golgotha (Martin) on CD in 2010.
In 2006 Daniel Reuss was invited by Pierre Boulez to the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland as both a teacher and conductor. Reuss made his debut at the English National Opera with Agrippina (Händel) in 2007 and has performed with ensembles and orchestras from all over Europa, including the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the MusikFabriek, the Scharoun Ensemble and the Radio Kamer Filharmonie. From 2015 onwards Reuss has been chief conductor of the Ensemble Vocal Lausanne.
Geert Berghs
Dr. Geert Berghs originally studied medicine and musicology, at a later point also studying solo singing under Margreet Honig, Kurt Equiluz and Henny Diemer. He grew into a versatile soloist and would join Ton Koopman’s The Amsterdam Baroque Choir for several years. Later, through the Catholic research university of Leuven, Berghs researched the development of 200 professional choral singers’ voices throughout the years. He has also been studying with breathing teacher Paul Triepels for years on end. Many young singers who were trained by Geert Berghs can be heard performing on several stages and have joined some of the most important professional choirs in the Netherlands.
As the founder of Tettix, Berghs has organized a St John Passion under the leadership of his former teacher Kurt Equiluz (“Young Singers, Old Master”) in which his students performed both the solos and the choral parts. Having had several years of experience on the audition committee of the Netherlands Chamber Choir, Berghs started Meesters&Gezellen, which has had an annual edition since 2011.
Meesters&Gezellen served as the blueprint for the Tenso Europe Chamber Choir, which started in July 2013 and was led by Kaspars Putniņš with Geert Berghs as vocal coach. Berghs is also affiliated with the University of Amsterdam as a singing teacher and, in 2021, as a guest teacher with the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Marijke van der Harst (Meester)
Marijke van der Harst (soprano) studied the piano at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and graduated in 1990 at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. She has studied under Geert Berghs, Valérie Guillorit and Kurt Equiluz (masterclass). At the time of writing she’s following classes from Ingrid Voermans and Mariëtte Witteveen. For many years she has been a permanent member of Cappella Amsterdam (led by Daniel Reuss), with which she’s released several award winning CD’s; Van der Harst is often responsible for solos within the choir.
She has also participated in projects such as Collegium Vocale Gent, La Chapelle Royale (Philippe Herreweghe), the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Netherlands Bach Society (Jos van Veldhoven), the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam (Harry van der Kamp) and other ensembles.
Inga Schneider (Meester)
Inga Schneider has been a member of Cappella Amsterdam since 2000 and of Vocalconsort Berlin since 2011. Schneider also assists in the production of chamber opera, chamber music and oratorio in the Netherlands and Germany. She has studied the violin and singing at the Hogschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. When receiving her Master’s degree in solo singing, she was awarded with a distinction for her integrity and versatility.
“Singing these beautiful compositions in an ensemble, with the same attention for my own voice as the others, is to me the most delightful thing there is. Working together on the same musical ideas with 24 young singers from all over Europe feels both natural and effortless. I am more than joyed to be able to pass on my knowledge and experiences. This new generation of ensemble singers has got me very enthusiastic indeed.”
Martin Logar (Meester)
From 2011 to 2017, the Slovenian tenor Martin Logar was a member of Slovenian Philharmonic Choir, where he regularly performed as a soloist. He obtained a Master’s degree with Matjaž Robavs in 2017 and received the Prešeren award for his performance of the Evangelist role in the St John Passion by Bach. He currently works as a freelance soloist and with ensembles in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In 2015 he joined Meesters&Gezellen as a Gezel after having impressed Daniel Reuss with his performances.
Logar’s recent performances as a soloist include Bach’s Cantatas, Evangelist roles, Oratorios, masses and concerts. His soloistic work is also to be heard in some recently issued CD’s (A. Caldara’s sacred works with Vokalakademie Berlin, D.Močnik: Christmas oratorio, J. Golob: Missa in C).
As a choral singer, he’s been cooperating with a multitude of renowned European choirs, such as Cappella Amsterdam, the Zürcher Singakademie and Chorwerk Ruhr, where he also takes on the solo parts. With Cappella Amsterdam he participated in the production of the acclaimed album “In umbra mortis”. As a chamber ensemble singer, Martin Logar gained experience with several smaller groups: Ingenium Ensemble, Pushluschtae, Klangforum Heidelberg and the Vocal ensemble of the Festival Origen, with which he regularly performs on the suspended stage of the Julier Pass Tower. This stage is located 2284 meters above the sea level, resulting in Logar having to insert a few extra breath marks.
Harry van der Kamp (Meester)
Harry van der Kamp (bass) studied with Max van Egmond at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam, is professor emeritus at the University of the Arts in Bremen and one of the founding members of Cappella Amsterdam. Since then he also spent 20 years with the Netherlands Chamber Choir, seven of which as artistic advisor. In the international Baroque scene he is rewnowned as a bass baritone. Van der Kamp has performed in New York and Beijing with Baroque specialists such as Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
He has performed opera’s from Peri, Monteverdi, Viviers and Knaifel; Requiems by Pierre de la Rue and Giuseppe Verdi; Lamentations from Tallis and Stravinsky. With his own Gesualdo Consort Amsterdam he’s recorded CD premières with compositions from Cavalieri, Laccorcia, C.P.E. Bach and the complete works of Sweelinck. For these he’s received several Edisons, Grammy’s, Echo’s Klassiek and Diapasons. Van der Kamp has been knighted in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
Bram Trouwborst (Meester)
Born in 1977, Bram Trouwborst first studied History at the University of Utrecht, followed by Russian Studies in Leiden. Only much later, in 2011, did Trouwborst begin studying at the conservatory. From 2011 until 2013 he studied Early Music in Tilburg with Ildiko Hajnal. In 2013 he was admitted to the Master ‘Advanced Vocal Ensemble Studies’ at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, which he graduated from with distinction. He’s currently mentored by Geert Berghs.
When it comes to solos, Bram Trouwborst prefers oratoria, passions and cantates from the German, French and Italian Baroque period. He is also partial to the polyphonic ensemble repertoire from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries; it’s no surprise that the ensembles he works with regularly (Seconda Pratica, Cantores Sancti Gregorii, Hemony Ensemble and Ensemble Hieronymus) are all specialized in that area. As a freelance choral singer, Trouwborst works with the Laurens Collegium, Helsinki Chamber Choir, Consensus Vocalis and the Netherlands Chamber Choir.