St Matthew Passion

Founded The Hague, 1904 

Current chief conductor Anja Bihlmaier 

Permanent guest conductors Richard Egarr and Jun Märkl 

Chief conductors Henri Viotta, Peter van Anrooy, Frits Schuurman, Willem van Otterloo, Jean Martinon, Ferdinand Leitner, Hans Vonk, Evgenii Svetlanov, Jaap van Zweden, Neeme Järvi, Nicholas Collon. 

To be seen at Amare, Paard, The National Opera, Royal Concertgebouw, De Doelen, TivoliVredenburg among others . 

Education Annual outreach to over 40,000 schoolchildren, adults and amateur musicians in educational projects. Part of this is The Residents, through which the orchestra brings hundreds of children from districts in The Hague into contact with classical music. 

Study Oxford University 

Current position Chief Conductor Tampere Philharmonic (Finland). 

Highlights Is regular guest conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Houston Symphony and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, among others. Recent highlights include Mahler's Second Symphony with the Toronto Symphony, the U.S. premiere of James MacMillan's Fourth Symphony with Pittsburgh Symphony and his Chicago Symphony debut. With his background in historical performance, he was among the first to guest conduct Nikolaus Harnoncourts Concentus Musicus Wien. Debuted with the Residentie Orkest in 2011. 

Studied York University; Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. 

Highlights An important milestone in his career was winning several prizes at the prestigious International Vocal Competition in 's-Hertogenbosch in 2006. In-demand soloist in Baroque through contemporary concert and oratorio repertoire and operas. Sang with Concentus Musicus Wien, The English Concert, The Sixteen, BBC Symphony, The Philharmonia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra with conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Roger Norrington, Harry Christophers, Paul McCreesh and Sir Mark Elder. Soloed on various international stages and festivals. 

Studied Schola Cantorum Basiliensis; Musikhochschule Luzern. Won the Edwin Fischer Gedenkpreis in 2006. 

Highlights Worked with ensembles such as Les Arts Florissants, Collegium 1704, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, La Tempête with conductors such as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Jordi Savall, Paul Agnew and Paul Goodwin. In the field of opera, his wide repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to contemporary music and includes, in particular, operas by Handel and Viktor Ullmann. Has made numerous CD and DVD recordings. Teaches at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. 

Studies Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. 

Highlights Sang various opera roles at Opernhaus Zürich, Opera de Lille, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Handelsfestspiele Karlsruhe and Theater Bonn, among others. Gave recitals at Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, at Wigmore Hall, MozartFest Würzburg, St John's Smith Square in London and the Oxford Lieder Festival. Soloized with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, North Dutch Orchestra and Concerto Köln with conductors such as Christopher Moulds, Peter Dijkstra and Risto Joost. 

Studied in Detmold and Berlin and took master classes with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Andreas Scholl and Thomas Quasthoff, among others. 

Highlights One of the leading vocal artists in the contemporary classical music world. Sang in several operas and is in great demand as a concert singer as with the London Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Berliner Philharmoniker and Gabriele Consort under conductors such as René Jacobs, Pablo Heras-Casado, Daniel Harding, Iván Fischer, Frans Brüggen and Tomáš Netopil. Made her debut in 2016 at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and sang with the Freiburger Barockorchester Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni. She made her debut at the Opéra National de Paris in 2019 and at Opernhaus Zurich in 2022. 

Highlights Born in Istanbul and raised in Vienna, Ilker Arcayürek is one of the most versatile vocal artists of the Last years. Worked with orchestras such as Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Orchestre National de Lyon, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia under conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Ivor Bolton, Marin Alsop, Philippe Herreweghe and Adam Fischer. Sang various opera roles with the Canadian Opera Company, Opera Vlaanderen and Opera National de Montpellier. Was a member of the Zurich Opera Studio (2009-2013) and ensemble member of the Stadttheater Klagenfurt (2013-2015) and Staatstheater Nürnberg (2015-2018). His first CD was released in 2017. 

Studied Hochschule der Künste Berlin; Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. 

Highlights Winner of the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. In addition to regular performances at Wigmore Hall, recitals have since taken him to venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Performed with orchestras such as the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg and Staatskapelle Dresden. Sang various opera roles at Theater an der Wien, La Monnaie in Brussels and Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, among others. 

The Netherlands Chamber Choir has belonged to the world's top choral music for more than eighty years. The choir covers the entire repertoire of choral music, from the classical traditional canon to the latest, most avant-garde music. It is known for its new vistas when it comes to the development and performance practice of top-level choral music. Using choral music as a medium, the ensemble explores and expresses social themes and collaborates with other artists such as actors, dancers, DJs, vjs and poets, as well as with partners from healthcare, education and business. In this way the choir tells a contemporary story with its music every time. 

The choir was founded in 1937 by Felix de Nobel, who was its first chief conductor until 1972. Since 2015, Peter Dijkstra has been chief conductor of the choir. 

The Haags Matrozenkoor was founded in 1928 by conductor Theo van Elferen. The choir consists of a preparatory class and a concert class consisting of sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. The concert class sings a wide repertoire from classical to modern, gives its own concerts and collaborates in productions of well-known choirs and orchestras. At Passion time, the sailors sing along in Matthäus Passion performances around the country, and at Christmas time, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is traditionally performed. The choir tours abroad annually. Peter van der Leeuw has been conductor of the Hague Matrozen Choir since 2021.