Hi! My name is Pieternel (born in 1999). I’m a classical violinist and songwriter, and my greatest passion is connecting with listeners. I studied with Ilona Sie Dhian Ho and Vera Beths at the Royal Conservatory, where I graduated in 2024. I’m currently developing my artistic identity as a creator and writer, with the goal of creating my own performances and projects in the future.
In 2011, I was admitted to the Academy for Musical Talent in Utrecht. There, I studied with Liesbeth Ackermans and later with Ilona Sie Dhian Ho, under whom I also earned my bachelor’s degree at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. During the third year of my bachelor’s program, I spent a year studying at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin through the Erasmus+ program, under Stephan Picard. In 2024, I graduated from the NAIP (New Audiences and Innovative Practice) master’s program under Vera Beths. The NAIP is a master’s program at the Royal Conservatory focused on finding new, creative (and potentially interdisciplinary) concert formats that appeal to new audiences.
During this master’s program, I came up with the idea of combining the violin with my other passions: songwriting and singing. I also began exploring ways to apply electronic effects to the violin. My dream is to bring all these elements together organically in my own music theater production, which I hope to realize in the future.
In addition to this creative exploration, I have a great passion for ensemble playing in a chamber music setting. Since 2017, I have been a member of the Audax Trio, alongside Jorian van Nee (piano) and Florianne Remme (cello). We are not only colleagues but have also been close friends for years. Together, we participated in the Zeister Muziekdagen, where we took masterclasses from great masters such as Boris Giltburg, Elisabeth Leonskaja, and Alexander Pavlovsky.
I was allowed to choose my first violin from Het Muziekinstrumentenfonds when I was 11. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to play various instruments, each suited to my development as a violinist during that period. I am incredibly grateful to the Music Instrument Fund for supporting my growth from a young age, right up to the present day. I currently play a beautiful Italian violin by Hippolyte Chrétien Silvestre, built in Paris in 1888.
