Day of the Song < 30

Jan Willem Baljet / baritone

Jan Willem Baljet graduated with distinction from the Utrechts Conservatorium and the Conservatoire Régionale de Metz. At the Mozarteum in Salzburg, he was taught by Hartmut Höll and Mitsuko Shirai, among others. In recent years, Baljet has appeared regularly as an opera oratorio and lied singer. He is widely praised for his versatility, theatrical and comic talent and lived interpretations.
Baljet has been a guest at various music festivals at home and abroad and has worked with orchestras such as Camerata RCO, the Residentieorkest and the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra. He is also part of the singing gentlemen's formation Frommermann, performs for the Diva Dichtbij foundation and is a member of Amsterdam musicians' collective Splendor.

***

Henriette Feith / soprano

Henriette Feith studied singing at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music with Cora Canne Meijer and, after graduating, specialised in baroque oratorio and chamber music. She worked with a variety of ensembles and instrumentalists and was for many years associated with the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Groot Omroepkoor. Since her student days, she has formed a lied duo with pianist Maurice Lammerts van Bueren. Feith programmed seven seasons of the vocal chamber music series Music on Chairs, for which she brought together nationally and internationally renowned musicians, and was guest programmer at theatre Flint in Amersfoort. She also has her own teaching practice where she teaches beginning and advanced singers.

***

Marie François / piano

Marie François started playing the piano at the age of four and obtained her bachelor's degree at the Maastricht Academy of Music, where she was taught by Joop Celis. Following that, she obtained her masters with Alan Weiss and a postdoc with Polina Leschenko. She refined her artistry at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole and by taking master classes with Elisabeth Leonskaja and Jan Wijn, among others. François gave concerts in and outside Europe and has since released several CDs, including Who doesn't love Chopin's Nocturnes in 2025. Her playing is loved for its virtuosity, fervour and François’ ability to let the music speak with which she takes the audience into a world where music becomes a narrative.

***

Jacobus den Herder / piano

Jacobus den Herder studied at the conservatories of Zwolle and Amsterdam and completed his studies with David Kuyken and Willem Brons. He gives regular concerts with mezzo-soprano Rosanne van Sandwijk and baritone Jan Willem Baljet. He is also a member of the Jacob Olie Trio with violinist Diet Tilanus and cellist Jurrian van der Zanden, and the Simeon Quartet, which focuses on performing works by its namesake Simeon ten Holt. Den Herder is also active as an arranger. He arranged Schubert's Winterreise for baritone and piano trio and Willem Jeths' Requiem at his request. He is also presenter of the NPO Classical programme Under Den Herder's Wings.

***

Apollon Kalamenios / piano - violin

Apollon Kalamenios aspired to become an all-round musician at an early age and played violin and piano. He is currently studying piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music where he focuses on contemporary music, liedinterpretation and composition. He already has many performances to his name at home and abroad where his own work has also been performed. In doing so, Kalamenios also likes to seek interdisciplinary collaborations. With ballet dancer and visual artist Wisse Scheele, for instance, he created the piece Echoes of a Lost Bird, which combines music, dance and images. He forms a lied duo with soprano Madeline Saputra, with whom he won the Vrienden van het Lied engagement prize at the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2025.

***

Dinant Krouwel / musicologist

Dinant Krouwel studied musicology at Utrecht University, specialising in lied art. He is manager of music shop Broekmans & van Poppel in Utrecht and works for their publishing house. Several times a year, he writes with great expertise about new editions of known and unknown lied repertoire in the membership magazine of the Vereniging Vrienden van het Lied. As editor, he collaborated on the new edition of Alphons Diepenbrock's liederen.
Krouwel accompanies various vocalists at the piano and, together with vocal pedagogues, gives interpretation lessons. He also lectures on lied.

***

Maurice Lammerts van Bueren / piano

Pianist Maurice Lammerts van Bueren graduated with Jan Wijn at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and subsequently obtained the chamber music endorsement. He was taught lied accompaniment by Graham Johnson and Rudolf Jansen, among others. Before devoting himself wholeheartedly to lied accompaniment, he was mainly active as a chamber musician. Lammerts van Bueren collaborated with many instrumentalists and singers such as Henk Neven, Ellen Valkenburg and Lilian Farahani. He has since recorded eighteen CDs, including the 2022 double album 57 MAZURKI featuring all of Chopin's mazurkas.
He is also a coach at the vocal department of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and has given lessons and master classes in lied coaching at the Utrecht Conservatoire and ArtEZ conservatoire as a guest teacher.

***

Kelly Poukens / soprano

Kelly Poukens completed her master's in classical voice and chamber music and her master's in Classical Music Theatre both suma cum laude. She was then admitted to the London Masterclasses at the Royal Northern College of Music and was artist in residence in Luxembourg for TalentLAB. Currently, Poukens regularly takes private lessons with soprano Dame Felicity Lott.
Poukens is a beloved opera oratorio and lied singer. Acclaimed internationally for her excellent vocal control and vocal and theatrical interpretations, she enjoys seeking interdisciplinary collaborations. For instance, she is part of the London-based collective UU studios, where she explores new ways of making opera. She also gives recitals and has since released a trio of CDs.

***

Leo Samama / musicologist

Leo Samama studied musicology at Utrecht University and composition with Rudolf Escher. He taught music and cultural history at the Utrecht Conservatory. He then became a lecturer in 20th-century music at Utrecht University. Samama was also a music critic for De Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad and is known as the Dutch expert on modern music and musical life in the Netherlands.
He has written several articles and books and regularly gives lectures and guest lectures on topics including the relationship between music and poetry. His lectures can be heard on CDs for Home Academy.

***

Madeline Saputra / soprano

Madeline Saputra studied classical singing at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and can regularly be heard in oratorios, operas and liedrecitals from classical to contemporary. She also co-founded the project ‘Rumah’ with Singaporean pianist Elizabeth Goh, actively performing music by Indonesian and Singaporean composers throughout the Netherlands and Singapore. In 2023, she won a scholarship from the Eva Kleinitz Opera Europa Competition. She also performed under the direction of Ed Spanjaard, Jeppe Moulijn and Sam Weller.
She forms a lied duo with pianist Apollon Kalemenios, with whom she won the Friends of the Song engagement prize at the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2025.