Joep van Geffen

"My love for music started at the Waldorf School. As a toddler, I loved listening to the teacher sing, and music continued to play a big part after kindergarten. That our class was musical soon spread like wildfire through the school. And so it came about that we were allowed to take part in a performance of the St Matthew Passion conducted by Daniel Reuss. When I first heard Freddy Mercury's voice at secondary school, I knew for sure: I wanted to sing! I did so enthusiastically in the school choir and at music lessons. After secondary school, I got a job as a singing clerk and worked in an Italian speciality shop during the week because I didn't know what I wanted to study. My singing teacher advised me to go to the conservatoire. When I heard Schubert songs for the first time, sung by Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, I was hooked. At the conservatory in Arnhem I absorbed everything like a sponge. I wanted nothing more than to sing, alone or together.

"After my studies, I joined the Groot Omroepkoor, a world full of crazy experiences and with a sea of music. Apart from the Groot Omroepkoor, I sing in small ensembles and solo. Why choose? Through singing, the world opened up for me."

"Cooking, and especially Italian cuisine, remains a huge passion. I hope that with my enthusiasm for music and food I can inspire others and plant a seed that can grow and blossom somewhere."