Els van Zundert
Els Van Zundert began her flute studies at the music academy in Sint-Niklaas with Lena Lootens. At a very young age her remarkable talent was already noticed, and she became laureate of several competitions, including the Pro Civitate Concours. She later studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp and completed her studies cum laude at the Conservatory of Music in Rotterdam with Jo Hagen. Afterwards she perfected her art with Marieke Schneemann.
Her outstanding artistic performance did not go unnoticed. In 1993 she became laureate of the Tenuto competition and made her radio and TV debut as a soloist with the BRT Philharmonic Orchestra. The Beethoven Academy offered her a concert tour throughout Belgium, where she performed the flute concertos of W.A. Mozart.
At a young age she gained orchestral experience with the BRT Philharmonic Orchestra (1986–1989) and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1989–1994). Shortly after obtaining her final diploma in Performance (1992), she became principal flutist of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague. A year later she became principal flutist of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hilversum.
She has played under conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Simon Rattle, James Conlon, Kazushi Ono, Antonio Pappano, Mariss Jansons, Michael Tilson Thomas and Dmitri Rojdestvenski. In chamber music and as a soloist she has performed with the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, the Asko Ensemble, the Ensemble Walter Boeykens, the Charlemagne Orchestra for Europe and pianist Jan Gruithuyzen.
With the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble she toured Texas, U.S.A., giving multiple masterclasses. As a flute teacher she has taught at, among others, the music academy of Sint-Niklaas and the Rotterdam Conservatory. She is regularly invited to play with the Vlaamse Opera, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and others.
Several Belgian composers have spontaneously expressed a desire to write music for her, including Frédéric Devreese, Robert Groslot and Wilfried Westerlinck.
Since 1995 Els Van Zundert has been principal flutist at the Royal Theatre of La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels. She forms a duo with the French harpist Agnès Clément, performing in chamber music series at De Munt and elsewhere.
The Master Class by Els Van Zundert is presented to you by Yamaha Flutes.
