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The Dutch bass, Bas Ramselaar, has already sung under the guidance of his father at the age of six. He received his first singing lessons from Miep Zijlstra. From 1981 he studied solo singing at the Utrechts Conservatorium, followed by private studies with Frans Schouten and the famnous Dutch contralto Aafje Heynis and he got master-classes from Robert Holl.
Thereby he was between 1985 and 2001 a permanent member of the renowned Nederlands Kamerkoor, and for years he was a member of the soloists ensemble of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging.
As a concert singer, Bas Ramselaar made himself a name in his homeland and abroad. He has appeared on many European stages, among which the Festivals of Berlin and Bruges, and has also gave performances in San Antonio, Texas. He has sung with renowned ensembles as the Berliner Symphoniker, the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Nederlands Kamerorkest and the Orchestra of the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, under the conductors Frans Brüggen, Harry Christophers, Paul McCreesh, Thierry Fischer, Roy Goodman, Uwe Gronostay, Philippe Herreweghe, Robert King, Reinhert de Leeuw, Jos van Veldhoven and many others.
Bas Ramselaar's singing has been documented on many radio, TV and CD recordings with works of J.S. Bach, Beethoven, D. Buxtehude, De Fesch, Distler, Fauré, Mozart, Huijgens, Schrijver, H. Schütz and G.P. Telemann among others. With Pieter Jan Leusink he recorded the Mozart and the Fauré Requiems. He sang ALL the bass parts in Pieter Jan Leusink’s complete Bach church cantatas cycle for Brilliant Classics, as well as Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) and Johannes-Passion (BWV 245). He has also two solo CD's: the CD ‘Bas zingt Bach’, and a CD with Lieder of Mozart accompanied on piano by Bart van Oort.
Bas Ramselaar is in demand as a tutor and ensemble coach and has a rising career as a conductor. As a director of St. Joris Kamerkoor from Amersfoort, he has been experienced an enormous development in the past past 12 years. He was also sought-after as a co-repetitor, and was ensemble-coach at the Kurt Thomas Cursus (2001-2003). Since 2001 he has been the permanent director of the Bach Cantorij Baarn & Orkest, with which he performed in past seasons J.S. Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium (BWV 248, complete), Johannes-Passion (BWV 245), Mass in B minor (BWV 232), Magnificat in Es (BWV 243a), more than 40 church cantatas and Motets. He is director of Toonkunst Oratorium Vereniging Amersfoort (TOVA), with which he gave concerts with works as Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle; F. Mendelssohn's Elias; Mozart's Mass in C minor, Krönungsmesse and Vesperae Solennes; Vierne’s Messe Solennelle; J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244), Haydn's Die Schöpfung and Verdi's Requiem.
Beside all these activities Bas Ramselaar taught singing at Omroep Jongenskoor and voice choir directing at the Hogeschool Gorinchem. He now teaches singing and voice choir directing at UNISONO in Utrecht. |
