The committee is impressed by Elisabeth Hetherington’s tonal dexterity when singing. “With seemingly effortless suppleness and clarity, she transverses a wide-ranging repertoire of renaissance, baroque, to newly composed music. Elisabeth Hetherington goes from intimate to temperamental, from serene to dynamic, with an astounding naturalness. This musical playfulness surprises the listener, makes her performances captivating and refreshing, and repeatedly casts the music in a new light.”

On Friday 4 October, Hetherington will perform a special concert in De Doelen Rotterdam in collaboration with the Flemish baroque orchestra B’Rock and HIIIT (formerly Slagwerk Den Haag), after which she will receive the Nederlandse Muziekprijs. The concert uniquely combines two entirely different ensembles, with Hetherington bringing together old and new music with her voice. She will connect familiar with unfamiliar works, and will alternate between 17th and 21st century music with her signature ease.

The concert and the awards ceremony are open to the public. Tickets for the festive evening are available through de Doelen website.

Since moving to the Netherlands, the Canadian soprano Elisabeth Hetherington has built a reputation across Europe as a versatile performer and interpreter of contemporary and modern repertoire. She studied Voice Performance at the University of Toronto and attained a Master’s degree (cum laude) in Early Music Singing at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Elisabeth Hetherington works with composers and choreographers and has played memorable roles with several opera and music theatre companies in the Netherlands, for example in The Cherry Orchard, De Vliegende Hollander and Divorce of Figaro. She is furthermore a respected researcher in the field of ‘Original Pronunciation of Elizabethan English’ and gives masterclasses and lectures in Canada and Europe.

Candidates for the award complete a study programme dedicated to personal musical development, working with musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Upon completion of the programme, the committee of the Nederlandse Muziekprijs advises the Performing Arts Fund NL whether the prize can be awarded. The committee members are Mauricio Fernandez, Ad 's-Gravesande, Marcel Mandos, Simone Meijer, Bart Visman, Ralph van Raat, and Karin Manuel as independent chair.

Previous winners (in Dutch) of the Nederlandse Muziekprijs include the organist Laurens de Man, baritone Raoul Steffani, recorder player Lucie Horsch, mezzo-soprano Jard van Nes, and pianist Ronald Brautigam.