Denise van Leeuwen

Denise van Leeuwen is a professional clarinet player from the Netherlands. At a young age, she was accepted into the clarinet class at the School for Young Talent; the secondary school of the preparatory course of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. During this period, she was followed by the documentary maker of ‘School of Young Talent’, a documentary about the life of young musical talents. Denise went on to study at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague as well as the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf as part of the Erasmus program. During this period, she followed master classes with Martin Fröst, Karl Leister, Michael Collins, Olivier Patey and Ulf Rodenhauser. In 2015 Denise completed her Master’s degree summa cum laude. After graduating, Denise took lessons from Suzanne Stephens to specialize in the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Currently Denise is a clarinettist in the Royal Military Band Johan Willem Friso. Denise played in various orchestras and ensembles, such as the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Conservatoire, the Ligeti Academy of the Schönberg Ensemble, the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra and she is regularly stand in, in The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Dutch Air Force. She also performs regularly as a soloist. For instance, in 2018 she performed the Clarinet concert of G. Finzi with the famous Orquesta Sinfónica Simon Bolivar from Venezuela and she performed the solo work Viktor’s Tale with the Colletivo Sinfonico. She has also performed Eve’s role as solo basset hornist at the Holland Festival 2017 in the opera Michaels Reise um die Erde of Stockhausen with the Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Moreover, she played the basset horn role of Eve in the opera Donnerstag aus Licht by Stockhausen in June 2019 during a marathon of the cycle Aus Licht, which was a joint venture between the Holland Festival, the National Opera in Amsterdam, the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Stockhausen Foundation.

Denise also likes to perform chamber music. She has played with ensembles in the Kleine Zaal of the Concertgebouw, the Dr. Anton Philipszaal and in TivoliVredenburg.

Denise is a Dutch ambassador for the Henri SELMER Paris Privilège clarinets.

Photo credit: Piet Gispen