Emiel de Jongh Swemer

My name is Emiel de Jongh Swemer. I am pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and I have the pleasure of doing so on a beautiful Paul Max Möller viola.

I began taking violin lessons with Mea Fontijn. After seven years of violin lessons, I switched to the viola and began studying with Julia Dinerstein. I have played in various youth and student orchestras, including the Viotta Symphony Orchestra and the VU Orchestra in Amsterdam. In the spring of 2017, I served as concertmaster of the Netherlands Student Chamber Orchestra (Nesko).

In addition to studying Computer Science at Leiden University, I completed my Practicum Musicae minor at the Conservatory in The Hague in June 2017, where I took lessons with Asdis Valdimarsdottir. In September 2017, I began my bachelor’s degree in viola at the Conservatory in The Hague with Liesbeth Steffens, where I also continued my studies with a master’s degree in 2021.

In addition to my regular lessons, I have also taken masterclasses with various renowned violists, including Michael Kugel, Jennifer Stumm, and Lilli Maijala. Since 2018, I have been playing with the National Youth Orchestra, where I served as co-concertmaster in 2020. In 2021, I reached the semifinals of the National Viola Competition.

Since May 2018, I have had the pleasure of playing a viola provided by the Music Instrument Fund. In the summer of 2021, I switched to a viola by Paul Max Möller, a beautiful instrument with a full, deep, and dark tone. This viola gives me exactly what I look for in an instrument: the depth and power to play as a soloist and to have my own voice within an ensemble, but also a refined tone that can sound beautifully soft and blends easily within an orchestra and with other instruments.