Tjeerd Top

The Dutch violinist Tjeerd Top (born in 1978) started playing the violin at the age of eight. In 2000, he passed his final exam with credit at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands), after studying with Qui van Woerdekom and Jaring Walta. Now he studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and his teacher is Alexander Kerr. Tjeerd Top was 1st prize winner of the 2001 Oskar Back Violin Competition. In this same competition he also won a prize for his interpretation of a contemporary work written by Carlos Micháns. As a soloist Tjeerd Top has performed with several leading orchestras and conductors (Hans Vonk, Vassily Sinaisky a.o.). He is also active in the field of chamber music, especially with contemporary music. In October 2001, he and his pianist Mariken Zandvliet will record a CD, including new works of the composer Carlos Micháns.