My name is Pieter Streefkerk. I was born in 2008, and I’ve been playing the violin with great joy ever since I was 5. I think it’s really cool to make music on my own or with others and to share it with an audience. Especially with the violin by the Italian luthier Giovanni Danieli (c. 1780) from the Musical Instrument Fund, which I’m privileged to play!
Ever since I first picked up a 1/8 violin at the age of five, I haven’t put the instrument down. At the Utrecht Center for the Arts (UCK), I completed the four-year PI program for violin under the guidance of Sarah Noorlag, a partnership with the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Since 2017, I have been studying with Chris Duindam and am affiliated with the Academy for Musical Talent.
In late 2019, I received the Johan van den Boogert Prize from Herman van Veen at the Singer Theater in Laren. In the summer of 2020, I won the Britten Violin Competition in the youngest age category. In September 2021, I was one of the winners of the Spotlight Competition at “Klassiek op het Amstelveld” and performed with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra. At the 2022 National Violin Competition (Iordens B), I won second prize; later that year, I won first prize at the Britten Violin Competition (Category II) and second prize in the national finals of the Princess Christina Competition (Category I). I had the opportunity to tour a few times as a soloist with the Britten Youth String Orchestra to Germany, Switzerland, and France. Last spring, I received first prize in the highest category of the Princess Christina Competition and performed as a soloist with the Maestro Jules Orchestra in the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw. I also won third prize at the “Victoria BCN” International Violin Competition in Barcelona. And in January 2026, I will perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto, accompanied by the Amersfoort Youth Orchestra.
In addition, I have taken many masterclasses with renowned violinists, including Leonidas Kavakos, Pinchas Zukerman, David Takeno, Alexander Pavlovski, and Marc Danel.
I really enjoy playing in projects organized by Cugnon, a program founded by Chris Duindam for young string talents. And I really enjoy playing chamber music with other musicians, for example during the chamber music festivals in which I’ve participated (including the Xenia International Chamber Music Festival (Turin), the Cugnon International Chamber Music Festival, and the Zeister Muziekdagen).
In 2026, I’ll take my VWO final exams at the HNL in Bilthoven, and after that I’ll study at the Royal College of Music in London. I am very grateful for the support I have received over the past few years from the VandenEnde Foundation, for the beautiful violin on loan to me from the Musical Instrument Fund, for the flexibility at school, and for the scholarship I am receiving from the Royal College of Music.
