Jard van Nes, mezzo-soprano

After finishing pianostudies, Jard van Nes started vocal studies with Herman Woltman at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
Jard van Nes quickly became one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos of her generation. She worked with the world’s great conductors including Pierre Boulez, Ricardo Chailly, Charles Dutoit, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons, Kurt Masur, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Edo de Waart.
Van Nes’ repertoire ranged from the Baroque to pieces specially commissioned.
She gained a special reputation with the music of Mahler with worldwide performances of his orchestral song cycles, solo’s in the symphonies and his songs.
In recital van Nes performed in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall in New York and the Musikverein in Vienna, amongst others with esteemed pianists including Gerard van Blerk, Roger Vignoles and David Seelig.
Her discography is extensive, many recordings have received prizes such as Edison,
Diapason d’Or, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and a Grammy Nomination.
Her last recording was Symphomy no. 1 by Karl Amadeus Hartmann with the London Phil-harmonic Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein.
Jard van Nes retired from the concert stage at the end of 2000 and dedicates her time to coaching and serving on jury’s of many different singing competitions.
In 2002 her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands appointed her ‘Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw’ in recognition of her contribution to Dutch cultural life.

Hans Eijsackers, pianist

Pianist Hans Eijsackers turned supporting section into essential participant responsible for every accomplishment. Outstanding compatibility of those two instruments, as well as sophisticated completeness, generated long applause of the audience.” (Dubrovnik Festival)
“Gleiche Daseinsberechtigung für Stimme und Klavier.” (Kissinger Sommer)
“We immediately knew we were in the hands of a superb pianist. Eijsackers’ subtlety and panache gripped the audience from the first sinuous chords.” (Bachtrack)
Dutch pianist Hans Eijsackers studied with Gérard van Blerk, Jan Wijn and György Sebök, among others. After his graduation at the conservatory of Amsterdam he was invited to study at the European Mozart Academy in Kraków, as a result he performed in Budapest, Southeast Asia, Cornwall and New York. He was prize winner at the Princess Christina Competition and the European Piano Competition in Luxembourg and was awarded the Medal of the Friends of the Concertgebouw twice.
For many years he was professor of duo class and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and since 2013 he has been appointed as Professor of Liedgestaltung at the Robert
Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. Eijsackers performs frequently as a soloist, chamber musician and song accompanist. He has collaborated with conductors like Otto Tausk, Gordan Nicolic and Yannick Nézet-Seguin. His chamber music partners include Bram van Sambeek, Rick Stotijn, Pieter Wispelwey and Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer.
Hans has been a welcome guest at the Danube Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Festival, the Zeist International Song Festival and the chamber music festivals in Delft and The Hague; from 2007 to 2010 he was also artistic director of the Uitgast Festival in Lelystad.
Hans Eijsackers is a much sought after song accompanist, he often performs with Christianne Stotijn, Peter Gijsbertsen and Henk Neven. Together with Henk Neven he won the Mees Pierson Prize in May 2008, recently their 5th CD “With love from Russia” has been released.
As a jury member he participated in the International Vocal Competition in Den Bosch, the International Student LiedDuo Competition in Groningen and the Princess Christina Competition, invitations for masterclasses brought him to Brussels, Montepulciano and Surabaya as well as the Netherlands and Germany. Since 2019 he is artistic director of the International Student LiedDuo Competition in Groningen.
In his spare time, Hans loves to cook, with his interest ranging from Italian and French cuisine to those of the Middle East, Japan and Indonesia.