Hidden Pearls

Manuela Okhakovsky / singing teacher
Manuela Ochakovski graduated cum laude from the Music Academy in Iași, Romania. Following her studies, she worked as an opera singer at the Timisoara State Opera. Concert tours took her to major concert halls in Italy, the United States, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. She collaborated on several radio and TV recordings at the invitation of Romania's leading symphony orchestras.
Besides her career as a performing musician, Ochakovsky is active as a singing teacher. Her singing studio Il Portamento has now gained an international reputation, attracting singers from Europe and even Canada. She coaches professionals and also teaches amateurs.

Heleen Vegter / piano
After her piano principal study with Frank van de Laar - at the ArtEZ Conservatoire - the song continued to hold a special attraction for Heleen Vegter. She took master classes with Elly Ameling, Robert Holl and Julius Drake, among others. As Britten-Pears Young Artist, she worked with Angelika Kirchschlager, Anne Sofie von Otter and Kristian Bezuidenhout, among others. She has been heard at international festivals and performed in Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ and the Concertgebouw, among others.
Vegter is initiator and artistic director of Stichting Leading Lied, which aims to make classical song accessible to a wider audience. Outside her well-filled concert schedule, she teaches piano in her private practice in Arnhem and is co-organiser and board member of the national graded examinations of the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA).

Torenlaan Theater / Torenlaan 38 / 3701 VK Zeist