MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT

Conductor
The musical accompaniment to the church ceremony was led by conductor Ed Spanjaard, who since 1982 has been senior conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble orchestra. In March 2001 he conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which he will again be leading in the 2002-2003 season. Since September 2001 Ed Spanjaard has been senior conductor of the Limburg Symphony Orchestra.

Organist
The organist during the church ceremony was Bernard Winsemius. He is the town carilloneur for Haarlem and Amsterdam. He is also one of the two organists of the historic organs in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam. Bernard Winsemius teaches organ at the Rotterdam Conservatory and bellringing at the Netherlands Carillon School. He gives regular courses as a guest lecturer, especially in the fields of Renaissance and Baroque music.

Soprano
Miranda van Kralingen (soloist) sang during the church ceremony. She has a successful Opera and concert career at home and abroad. Her repertoire is very varied, ranging from performances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Mozart) in Maastricht, La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Elisabetta in Don Carlo (Verdi) and especially Hanna Glawari in Die lustige Witwe, to Fewronia in Die Legende von der unsichtbaren Stadt Kitesch (Rimsky-Korsakov) and Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio.

Bandoneon
Carel Kraayenhof played the bandoneon during the Church ceremony. A self-taught player, Kraayenhof founded his first tango orchestra, Tango Cuatro, in 1985. A year later he was asked by the great tango maestro Astor Piazzolla to play as a soloist in the Broadway musical Tango Apasionado. In 1988 Kraayenhof formed the Sexteto Canyengue tango orchestra, which he still leads today. In 1993 Carel Kraayenhof founded a department for Argentinian tango at the Rotterdam Conservatory, still the only place in the world where tango is taught at this level.

Choir
The Netherlands Chamber Choir provided the choral accompaniment during the Church ceremony. The Choir was founded in 1937 and is a full-time independent vocal ensemble. The Choir comprises 28 vocal soloists and concentrates primarily on a capella repertoire, from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The British conductor Stephen Layton took over as senior conductor at the start of this year.

Orchestra
The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra provided the instrumental accompaniment to the church ceremony. The Orchestra was founded in 1987 and consists of members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam. Before that time it was known as the Amsterdam Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra gives concerts in the Netherlands and abroad. The Italian Marco Boni has been the permanent conductor of the ensemble since January 1995. The Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra has performed at other major national events in the past, such as the investiture ceremony of Beatrix as the Queen of the Netherlands on 30 April 1980 in the Nieuwe Kerk church in Amsterdam.