A Conversation with Karmit Fadael and Calliope Tsoupaki
Calliope Tsoupaki (1963) and Karmit Fadael (1996) met at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. The composers have a strong connection with the “ Residentie Orkest ” and will once again be featured on the program for the 2026/2027 season. They discuss composing in 2026 and their deep-rooted belief in music as an expression of humanity.
Two Routes to The Hague
Calliope Tsoupaki was born in Piraeus, Greece. From a young age, she sang along to the classical music playing at home: “I knew all the melodies by heart, and it was clear early on that I was going to do something with that. It’s part of who I am.” She studied piano and music theory at the Ellinikon Conservatory in Athens and composition with Yannis Ioannidis. She then continued her studies in the Netherlands with composer Louis Andriessen, and since 2007 she has been teaching at the Royal Conservatory herself. Calliope has written over 150 works, ranging from orchestral music to opera, and served as Composer of the Netherlands from 2018 to 2021 (then known as Composer of the Realm).
Karmit Fadael grew up in the north of the Netherlands, but was born in the small village of Treuchtlingen in southern Germany. In high school, she entered a composition contest organized by the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble. That’s how she discovered her talent for composition and decided to study it at the Royal Conservatory, where Calliope was one of her teachers. “For a long time, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my studies. It wasn’t until I found my footing in the field that I realized I really wanted to become a composer.” She now writes for a wide variety of ensembles and orchestras. In 2027, her new work for the “ Residentie Orkest ” will premiere.
Composer or sound artist?
In the past, being a composer was a clearly defined profession: there was a single school of thought, and everyone fit into it. These days, the profession is less clearly defined. What does it mean to be a composer in 2026? “I find it a tricky word,” Karmit admits. “I write music, but it’s not a protected title—anyone can call themselves a composer.” She muses aloud that “sound artist” or “musical artist” might better capture what the art of composing entails. Because, as Calliope says, “We can all run a little, but that doesn’t mean you can run a marathon.”
The word “composer” carries certain connotations. “People think we’re all dead,” Calliope laughs. She’s referring to the strong association with famous composers like Mozart, Grieg, and Beethoven. As if composing only took place in the distant past and has remained there ever since. Both of them believe it’s important for young people considering the profession to “see that a composer isn’t a dead man.” Man—because the list of famous composers includes few, if any, women. They were there, “but in Beethoven’s day, of course, they were trailing 10–0,” says Karmit.
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Two works by Calliope Tsoupaki will be performed on October 16 at Friday in Amare by the Residentie Orkest.
Working really hard
Karmit and Calliope don’t view being an artist as something romantic, as was once common. “You don’t just sit around waiting for inspiration to strike. Composing is just hard work,” says Karmit. That means a lot of studying, researching, and analyzing. Take technique, for example: “You have to know what you’re doing technically, so you can fall back on that if something doesn’t work or needs to be done differently. Just like you can only write if you’re aware of grammar.”
Calliope also emphasizes the importance of historical awareness, which she sees as “a dialogue with the past.” Composing is not detached from history, but relates to existing forms, techniques, and ideas to which the composer responds. “I try to understand which archetypes are embedded in old forms; I don’t start with a blank slate. What is a sonata, for example? And what do I do with that?”
Belief in Humanity
To develop as a composer, you need time, space, and freedom. These are scarce in what Calliope calls our neoliberal context. “In that context, you’re primarily seen as a producer of a final product, which isn’t inspiring for artistic practice.” And because artists are often partly dependent on government subsidies, they are more vulnerable to the whims of politics. “The American composer Melissa Dunphy once said that composing inherently involves elements of a political mission, and I agree with that,” says Calliope. “Becoming a composer in 2026 is a mission that puts humanity at the center.”
That doesn’t mean, by the way, that every piece has to be politically engaged. Karmit wants to connect with her audience and the orchestra members, but it’s up to the listener to interpret her music. “Sometimes I touch on current issues. You’re given a stage and an audience—what do you think people should hear? But I don’t tell a chronological story.” Calliope also conveys a great deal—“more than words could,” she says—but not a narrative. “I respond to the world around me. I try to understand the essence and explain it as clearly as possible.” Her love of melody is always central to this.
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“Music is history”
Karmit and Calliope praise the “wonderful environment” of the Residentie Orkest, where young composers are given a platform, new works are taken seriously, and there is a focus on education. “An orchestra is only relevant if new music continues to be created,” says Calliope. That’s important, Karmit adds, because art is a reflection of the spirit of the times. “Music is history in the making. Just as Mozart’s work reflected his time, so does our music. Art is necessary to reflect on what has been and to pass that on to new generations.”
Calliope began her collaboration with the orchestra during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she wrote *Thin Air, *, a piece about compassion and solidarity that can be performed on a wide variety of instruments. She orchestrated the piece for the * Residentie Orkest*, which gave the orchestral version its world premiere. She even wrote *Perasma* ( 2022) specifically for the orchestra.
Karmit is part of the first cohort of the One Minute Symphony, a collaboration with the Royal Conservatory in which about eight composition students each season are given the opportunity to showcase their talent with a short symphonic work. *Ananim* (2018) was her debut and opened the doors to the world of orchestral music, an “experience I will never forget.” Commissioned by the orchestra, this was followed in 2020 by the string quintet *Yachal* and , in 2021, by the orchestral work *Mei Inoar* and *Reach Tova*, a brass quintet for * Prinsjesdag*.
Brand-new work premieres
Both composers are also on the program for the 2026/2027 season. Karmit is writing a new work that will have its world premiere on January 29, 2027, preceding Mozart’s Requiem. She’s keeping the content under wraps for now, though she expects that she won’t shy away from “heavy themes” in this piece either. She’s looking forward to hearing her music for the first time: “A score is just notes. You need humanity to bring them to life. It’s only during a premiere that you really hear what you’ve written.”
Calliope’s compositions *Falling* ( 2024) and *Thin Air* are on the program this fall at the * What's on*. She believes it’s important for these existing pieces to continue evolving through new interpretations. “A score isn’t a finished product. What you write isn’t what actually happens. It varies from orchestra to orchestra and evolves over time.” That’s why she’s really looking forward to the performance at the Residentie Orkest. “I’ve only heard ‘Falling’ live once, so I can’t wait until October!”