ANDREAS VAN ZOELEN

Andreas van Zoelen started his musical career in the early 90’s as guitar player for different hard rock line ups, of which the band “Sindarin” which featured Andreas with his brother Joachim a.o. could be considered most typical for his early musical direction.

 After that he studied conducting and saxophone (both degrees ‘Cum Laude’) at the Brabants Conservatorium in the Netherlands. In 1999, he made his debut as a soloist with the symphonic orchestra “Consortium Musicum Divertimento”, while touring through France. Subsequently, he also took on the role of soloist with the “Euregio Jeugd Orkest”, the “Orchester des staatstheater Karlsruhe”, Germany and the “Magogo Kamerorkest” in the Netherlands. He has also played many recitals.

 In 2000, he was invited to play at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, where he delivered a programme of pieces written for the bass saxophone, that were conceived by Scottish and Dutch composers. About 130 works where written for van Zoelen, a pioneer of the bass saxophone. Apart from his studies of saxophone and conducting at the “Brabants Conservatorium”, he studied with the famous Carina Raschèr, daughter of the pioneer saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr. He is in his capacity of bass saxophonist, associated to the German Raschèr Saxophone Orchestra. He has performed regularly for international Radio and Television. Van Zoelen could also be admired on many occasions as a musician with the Beethovenhalle Orchester, Bonn, the Brandenburg State Symphonic Orchestra, the Bochumer Symphoniker and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under Sir Simon Rattle. Furthermore, he has performed with musicians like Stewart Copeland (the Police) and Markus Stockhausen .

Van Zoelen is professor of saxophone at the Fontys Conservatory in Tilburg, Netherlands.

In 1996 he was awarded the ‘Spiero’ Prise, in 2002 he was winner of the Jacques de Leeuw Cultural Prise.