Garden sessions

After three successful editions of the TUINSESSIONS in the gardens of Het Noordbrabants Museum and Kloosterhotel de Soete Moeder, this summer Theatre on the Parade - in collaboration with Willem Twee music and visual arts - organises a series of intimate concerts in the Citadel Garden. During this summer Sunday afternoon, settle down on a picnic rug in the grass to enjoy the live music of the IVC International Vocal Competition 's-Hertogenbosch with Songs in the Citadel. 

The International Vocal Competition (IVC) will organise the 57th edition of the competition focusing on classical singing in 2024. The IVC is a competition for young talented singers. The organisation aims to give every participant - including those who do not win - a valuable experience that serves as encouragement for the future.

The TUINSESSIONS also provide the perfect stage for this. On Sunday 28 July, Mitch Raemaekers (Tenor) and Virgile Van Essche (Fortepiano) of the IVC will provide a festive vocal sound in the open air. This top vocal talent is invited for a recital under the title Songs in the Citadel. Summery songs to dream away or pleasantly wake up to. The programme includes songs and opera arias by composers such as Tosti, Bellini, Schubert and Rossini and others.

About Virgile van Essche

Pianist Virgile Van Essche (Belgium, 1992) studied at St Petersburg's Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and the Royal Academy in London and counts among his teachers the renowned pianists Malcolm Martineau and James Baillieu, among others. In recent years, he has focused on both modern, romantic piano and historical keyboard instruments. Virgile also obtained degrees in song accompaniment and pianoforte in Brussels, where he lives. The languages and cultures closely associated with his favourite repertoire are close to Virgile's heart. Besides his native language French, he is also fluent in English and Russian and a handy word of German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

About Mitch Raemaekers

Tenor Mitch Raemaekers (Netherlands, 1992) studied singing at the Maastricht Academy of Music and musicology at the Catholic University of Leuven. After completing his studies, he took numerous master classes at institutes such as the Britten-Pears-Young-Artist-Programme, The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and the IVC in 's-Hertogenbosch. He took his first steps on stage with Nationale Opera & Ballet in the talent production Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Poulenc) and the youth opera Hondenhartje (Maier; van Geel). In recent years, he toured the country with Opera Zuid, first with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten) in 2022 and then with Der Schauspieldirektor (Mozart) in 2023, sharing the stage with lauded baritone Sir Thomas Allen. 

Citadel: a seventeenth-century coercive castle

Het concert van het IVC vindt plaats in de tuin van de Citadel: een prachtige zeventiende-eeuwse dwangburcht, waar het Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC) gehuisvest is. Het is een unieke historische plek, waar je als inwoner van ‘s-Hertogenbosch niet snel komt. De intieme sfeer, de historische entourage en het optreden van het IVC zorgen voor het ultieme luistergenot tijdens deze zomerse zondagmiddag. 

Extra bij te bestellen: goedgevulde picknickmand

Complete your TUINSESSIONS experience and order a well-filled picnic basket in advance.* In this basket you will find a delicious couscous salad with cherry tomatoes and young goat cheese, roasted chestnut mushrooms, a watermelon halloumi skewer, charcuterie, an organic cheese, bread and dip, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives and nut blend. Drinks are exclusive and can be ordered at the bar on the spot. It will be a feast!

*A vegan or vegetarian picnic basket is also possible. Please send an e-mail to: info@tuinsessies.nl. 

Images: Huib Kleian, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC), IVC and Willem Twee music and visual arts.