For 17 years in a row, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam has been the stage for young talented musicians. Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours has since 2003 been the place par excellence for the most gifted Dutch conservatory students to present themselves to a large audience. Here, all major conservatories nationwide showcase what they have to offer, selecting their top students for the national preliminaries. In this preliminary round, the students will compete to be one of the six contestants in the finals of the Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours.
On February 8th 2015 the finals of the 12th edition took place in the NedPho-koepel in Amsterdam. Pianist Daahoud Salim won the Jury Prize, consisting of a sum of €2,000 to be spent on education and/or development, made available by the Mohamed Yakoubi Foundation. Mandolin player Ferdinand Binnendijk won the Audience Prize.
The finalists, in alphabetical order: Ferdinand Binnendijk (mandolin, ArtEZ Conservatorium Zwollde), Sebastiaan Kemner (trombone, Conservatorium van Amsterdam), Martin Oei (piano, Fontys Conservatorium Tilburg), Daahoud Salim (piano, Conservatorium van Amsterdam), Kasper Schonewille (piano, Conservatorium Maastricht) and Varvara Tishina (soprano, Prins Claus Conservatorium).
Note: The Vondelpark open air theatre is freely accessible and offers seats and standing places. If you want be guaranteed a seat, please book through this website. Seats are €5,- per person.