Lavanya Vossen
violin, violin bow
My name is Lavanya, and I was born in 2008. I attend the Sweelinck Academy and study violin with Judith van Driel. I combine this Young Talent program at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with regular high school classes and an honors program. My greatest passion is playing the violin, and I’ve had the opportunity to perform at many concerts, competitions, tours, summer courses, and masterclasses in various locations and across a range of genres.
In addition to the time I devote to my studies, I really enjoy performing because it allows me to share my passion for music—and the emotions and thoughts associated with it—with the audience. I really enjoy performing as a soloist, but I also love playing chamber music and in an orchestra.
My goal is to further deepen my classical violin playing and knowledge of music, to continually search for my own voice in my interpretations, and to look forward to new opportunities and challenges that can help me develop musically.
Concerts, Competitions, and Festivals
Some special moments from recent years included the laureates’ concert of the Young Talent Competition at the Groote Kerk in Maassluis, a soloperformance at the AFAS Circustheater as part of a show, a tour with the Dutch Youth String Orchestra, conducted by Carel den Hertog, to Vienna, where we participated in the international Summa Cum Laude Festival and won first prize, as well as performances in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein and at the Konzerthaus Wien.
Other special moments included performing as a soloist with the Jonge Strijkers Amsterdam at the Amstelkerk Stadsherstel when I was 12, two performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London as part of a massive gala featuring hundreds of children and young people from all over the world, performing as a semifinalist in the Small Hall during the Royal Concertgebouw Competition, a tango project with the Keep an Eye Foundation featuring Carel Krayenhof, a Brazilian project with Nils van Haften, a soloperformance featuring vocals and violin at Parkpop and Festival Classique, a solo concert during Heritage Day, and serving as concertmaster during the Remembrance Day ceremony at Nieuwspoort.
I have played in ensembles ranging from Baroque to modern, alongside instruments such as guitar, recorder, piano, violin, cello, and viola. By participating in competitions, masterclasses, and summer festivals, I hope to continually improve my violin playing and my understanding of music, as well as to meet other musicians. I have already won several prizes and received honorable mentions.
Education
My musical journey began at birth, followed by general music lessons and courses at the Academy of Vocal Arts. When I was two, I heard Janine Jansen play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major. I found it so beautiful that I immediately wanted to start playing the violin as well.
When I was three, I got a small violin, and when I was five, I started taking violin lessons using the Suzuki method with Stieneke Voorhoeve-Poot. She even had me perform on stage at the Koorenhuis during my trial lesson. In the years that followed, this expanded to include group lessons and group performances at many fun events in The Hague, such as children’s book fairs, festivals, Christmas markets, cultural activities, Festival Classique, charity concerts, and regular performances at nursing homes and churches. This certainly shaped my love for performing.
In 2017, when I was 9 years old and in 7th grade, I began attending the School for Young Talent at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where I studied violin as my major in the junior program. In addition to regular elementary school subjects and violin, I also took piano lessons, solfège, choir class, junior orchestra, and music theory.
When I was 10, in 2019, I transferred to a gymnasium, and from that point on, I took lessons from Emma Breedveld at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She is a violinist with extensive experience across various genres who taught me techniques for playing from the heart of the music and, above all, instilled in me strong study habits. Since then, I’ve also been mentored by other inspiring teachers at the Sweelinck Academy of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where we take classes in musicianship, music theory, choir, accompaniment, and chamber music.
I have been taking lessons from Judith van Driel since I was 12. She is very versatile, knows an incredible amount about compositions and performance practices, and is the first violinist of the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam, with which she tours all over the world.
Since September 2022, I’ve also been a member of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra, conducted by Carel den Hertog, with which I rehearse weekly and perform very regularly.
In addition, I attend a gymnasium and find it incredibly interesting to learn about political, historical, and cultural issues, study languages, read, travel, and reflect. I also tutor in violin and Latin.
My Honors Program for high schools focuses on violin studies, and my capstone project will explore political issues in music.
Master Classes
Over the years, I have taken masterclasses with Peter Brunt, Yoshiaki Shibata, Martha Kadhem-Missagh, Oene van Geel, Shunske Sato, Lisa Jacobs, Maria Milstein, Coosje Wijzenbeek, Sarah Kapustin, Wiesje Miedema, Noa Eyl, Martin Schaefer, Snezana Kis, Tim Kliphuis, Mireille van der Wart, and surely others I’ve forgotten to mention. In addition to my primary instructors, I received coaching from Mayte Levenbach for 6–8 years, from Kaya Gur for 10–12 years, and from Kira van der Woerd when I was 14. Each of them taught me something truly special.
Violin and Bow
I am grateful that, since November 2022, I have been able to play the 1818 Amsterdam violin by Lodewich Roumen. It is the first full-sized violin I have ever played. I had never heard of this violin maker before, but the violin offers enormous possibilities for creating variations in timbre and dynamics across all genres—I knew and heard that almost immediately. Since my violin maker in The Hague made a few adjustments and improvements, I’ve been able to build a close bond with this violin. The Musical Instrument Fund has also provided me with a bow by Paul Max Möller; it complements the violin incredibly well and offers me even more possibilities for creating tonal color.
