The Rotterdam Symphony Chorus is a new professional symphonic choir, founded in consultation with Rotterdam’s concert hall De Doelen and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Artistic director and conductor of the Rotterdam Symphony Chorus is Wiecher Mandemaker. The chorus is an extension of the Laurens Collegium Rotterdam (www.laurenscollegium.nl) and belongs to the same organisation, the Stichting Laurenscantorij. Rotterdam Symphony Chorus has been brought into being to be able to perform compositions requiring a professional symphonic chorus.

The Rotterdam Symphony Chorus performs Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Laurenscantorij and conductor Martyn Brabbins on November 6th (Den Bosch) and November 7th (de Doelen), 2015.

One of the recent highlights was the premiere of four choruses from The Death of Klinghoffer by John Adams, arranged for chorus and instrumental ensemble by Bob Zimmerman in February 2015. In 2014, it performed Britten’s War Requiem with the Gelders Orkest, as part of the events to commemorate Operation Market Garden in WO II. This performance was highly acclaimed in Dutch newspapers (5 out of 5 stars in Trouw, 4 out of 5 stars in Volkskrant).

The Rotterdam Symphony Chorus made its debut in the season 2013-2014 with the young piano brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen in Johannes Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem in the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam. Another notable performance was Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (click here to listen) in the Doelen with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir sang at the ceremony of the Children’s Peace Prize held in the Ridderzaal in The Hague, the international city of peace and justice, in the presence of Nobel price winner Desmund Tutu.

Wiecher Mandemaker is the artistic director and conductor of the Rotterdam Symphony Chorus, the Laurens Collegium Rotterdam and the Laurenscantorij. Wiecher works as the Choir Conducting section representative at the Rotterdam Conservatoire, where he is also conductor of the Codarts Chamber Choir. For choir projects, he cooperated with conductors such as the late Frans Brüggen, Jaap van Zweden, Ton Koopman, James Gaffigan, Harry Christophers and Ed Spanjaard.

Since adopting a new artistic profile, The Hague Philharmonic is demonstrating more than ever that symphonic music can still be meaningful to large and diverse audiences in the 21st century. The orchestra’s home venue is the new Zuiderstrandtheater in Scheveningen. Special productions are also provided at The Hague’s Paard van Troje throughout the season, making the orchestra appealing to both students and young professionals as well. In addition, The Hague Philharmonic performs regularly at various other major concert halls at home and abroad. with two principal conductors: Jan Willem de Vriend and the young Englishman Nicholas Collon (from summer 2016).
The Hague Philharmonic is renowned throughout The Hague and Leiden region. The orchestra takes part in many important high-profile events, including the annual Speech from the Throne and Festival Classique. During Christmas, New Year and Prince’s Day, the orchestra celebrates with people across the region by performing various special concerts. There are also many prolific collaborations with a wide range of local partners, including the Dutch National Theatre, Paard van Troje, Gemeentemuseum and The Hague African Festival, as well as with the Dutch National Opera and the NTR Saturday Matinee.
The Hague Philharmonic’s ambitions are spearheaded by a proactive education policy. Its educational projects involve over 31,000 contact moments with school children annually, which makes The Hague Philharmonic the driving force behind music education in the region. Numerous special activities have been developed for both primary and secondary schools.

Jan Willem de Vriend is the artistic director of Combattimento Consort Amsterdam and since 2006 the chief conductor and artistic director of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
Combattimento Consort Amsterdam devotes itself to the music of about 1600 to 1830. Since its founding in 1982, it has performed virtually throughout the world as well as on many CDs, DVDs and television productions.
Since De Vriend was named chief conductor in 2006, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra has become a notable phenomenon on the Netherlands’ musical scene. It has presented semi-scenic performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Mendelssohn. There were premieres of works by Offenbach, Say and Mahler. And by substituting historical instruments in the brass section, it has developed its own distinctive sound in the 18th- and 19th-century repertoire. Recently, the orchestra performed music by Schumann at festivals in Spain. The release of Beethoven’s complete symphonies, conducted by De Vriend, is a big project which starts with the release of this current CD. Also the orchestra's long Mahler tradition is being continued in recordings and tours.
De Vriend has been a guest conductor with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hague Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Germany, Sweden and Australia. He is often invited to conduct both in the Netherlands and abroad. He has engagements pending, for example, with The Hague Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as well as orchestras in China, Germany, Austria and Italy.