Summer School Saturday July 5
workshops – Hofjesconcerten – sing along – evening concert
Programme for the day (subject to change)
9.30am Joint sing-along -pp
10.15 am workshop -pp
12.00 pm Warm-up Hofjesconcerten in the PHIL*.
1.00 pm start Hofjesconcerten in the heart of Haarlem*
2.00 pm hrs Workshop -pp
5.00 pm end of Hofjesconcerten and start sing along in the PHIL*
8.15 pm Evening concert (to be announced)
– * = free entrance
– pp = included in The Big Sing Summer School passe-partout
This day’s programme will start at 9.30 am with a warm-up for all participants led by Merel Martens and Peder Karlsson. Depending on which workshop you have chosen, you will spend almost 2 hours with:
– Kings Return (soul & gospel)
– Merel Martens and Peder Karlsson (pop)
– Zo Gospel Academy (gospel)
NB: when ordering your passe-partout, places for the the Saturday and Sunday workshops will be allocated in February when the content of these programmes has been finalised.
Then you can let us know which workshops you prefer. We will e-mail you a web form to fill in.
Our famous Hofjesconcerten begin around noon and kick off with with joint singing by many of the participating choirs in the Kleine Zaal of the PHIL. Participants in the morning workshop are also welcome to join in. From 1 to 5 pm, choirs and ensembles will make themselves heard in the Haarlem Hofjes, while the afternoon workshops will take place in the PHIL from 2 to 4 pm. After that there’s a choice of workshops by Merel Martens, Peder Karlsson or Zo Gospel Academy.
Around 5pm, the day will close with a giant sing along by Merel and Peder, where workshoppers and singers from the Hofjes Concert Choirs will shake the foundations of the PHIL to its core!.
The Kings Return (USA)
The amazing Dallas-based dynamic four-piece vocal group Kings Return tours all over the United States and is making its first ever visit to Europe at the request of The Big Sing. They have a breathtakingly coherent and powerful (but also subtle) a cappella sound. Their R&B is interwoven with swinging jazz, soulful bursts of gospel and bright touches of pop – all built on a solid, classical foundation. At the very top of their game, this is a unique chance to work with theis extraordinary group.
Merel Martens is a choral conductor, coach and educator who is well known in the Netherlands and abroad for her work as a workshop leader, ensemble coach, musical director. Founder and leader of the Vocal Leadership degree courses (Codarts, Rotterdam) many of her students have gone on to lead and teach vocal ensembles throughout the country. In 2023, she developed a brand new series of workshops, master classes and sing-along sessions under the name TheBIGSING@PHIL.
In 2025, this musical jack-of-all-trades is the driving force behind The Big Sing Summer School.
Peder Karlsson is an a cappella singer, arranger, composer and teacher of innovative choral accompaniment.
He regards singing together as an art form that requires both individual and collective skills. He leads workshops encouraging singers to give, and respond to, other singers’ initiatives lets you practice giving initiative and supporting others’ initiatives. By alternating between singing as an individual and in a group, you learn to blend in and learn the essence of singing together.
ZO! Gospel Academy
The ZO! Academy is an initiative of ZO! Gospel Choir and their unique and self-developed methodology focuses specifically on Gospel, Soul, R&B and related music styles. Their workshops and masterclasses are designed to foster young talent, as well as those at a higher level, for (semi)professionals and enthusiasts, who want to deepen and improve their skills. ZO Gospel Choir is the leading professional gospel choir in the Netherlands.
