Ineke Vandoorn

THE SINGER

“THE ADVENTURER AMONG THE DUTCH JAZZ VOCALISTS” (Erik van den Berg, Volkskrant) Winner of the EDISON JAZZ AWARD 2001 (Dutch Grammy)


“When jazz singer/lyricist Ineke van Doorn won the prestigous Edison Jazz Award for her album ‘Love is a Golden Glue’ the jury wrote:”Ineke van Doorn distinguishes herself as a singer with her adventurous way of singing. First of all because of her exceptional, striking voice with an extreme range with which she can do anything. Her voice control enables her to cross her limits. Every note is placed at the right spot. Apart from that the singer has a huge amount of guts. She lets herself go completely in panting notes, growling howls and colourful improvisations. She follows the trumpet sounds of Vloeimans effortlessly, but she can also duel with the guitar playing of Van Vugt. She is direct, knows how to swing and seems to tell her own story in every piece.”

Freedom

It’s hard to describe what singing means to me. I think that the word ‘freedom’ comes very close. The possibilities of what you can express through the human voice are just endless. In a way I feel that my singing has ‘a life of its own’. It shows a side of myself that I cannot express in another way. Through my singing and in the interaction with other musicians, I’ve thus discoverd many aspects of myself that I didn’t know about at all. This aspect of discovery and adventure is what I love.

Picture G van der Heijden ©

Performing

I feel privileged to have had the chance to perform with some very influential and inspiring international jazz musicians: trumpettist Kenny Wheeler (UK/CDN), singer Norma Winstone (UK), saxophonist Thomas Chapin (USA), trombonist Robin Eubanks (USA), conductor/arranger Vince Mendoza (USA), pianist/bassplayer Don Thompson (CDN), Andy Sheppard (UK), guitarist Michael Occhipinti (CAN), pianist Jasper van ‘t Hof (NL), pianist Jeroen van Vliet (NL), pianist Rob van den Broeck (NL), saxophonist Sylvain Beuf (FR), singer David Linx (FR), singer Michael Schiefel (G), saxophonist Erwin Vann (B), Sandip Bhattacharia (tabla), Jozef Dumoulin (kb), Paul van Kemenade, Nico Langenhuizen, Eric Vloeimans, Robert Jan Vermeulen, Michael Vatcher, Wilbert de Joode, Yuri Honing and Michiel Braam (NL).

With guitarist/composer Marc van Vugt I collaborate in a duo, trio and quartet and in many projects like the jazz chamber orchestra Marc van Vugt’s Big Bizar Habit. We played at international Jazzfestivals, clubs and concert halls in a.o. New York, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris (Fr) and did concert tours in Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Finland, France, USA, Malta, Macedonia and of course the Netherlands. We released 12 cd’s.

Projects

In 2003 Marc and I were featured guest soloists with the Dutch Metropole Orkest conducted by Vince Mendoza and together we recorded the album ‘Dawn’ with our original work. In 2007 we were guest soloists and conductors with the Netherlands Chamber Choir (Nederlands Kamerkoor) for which Marc and I wrote an original program. In our picture timeline you will find many more projects!

Picture Olivier Panier des Touches ©

I have been involved in several theatrical performances based on texts and poems by Lorca, Pessoa and Paul van Ostaijen. As a narrator I performed in A Symbiosis (2000), a music and dance production designed by choreographer Shusaku Takeuchi. Together with poet Ingmar Heytze Marc and I wrote and performed an improvised space opera called ‘Alice in Space’ (2007). Also with Marc van Vugt I wrote and performed ‘Ballroom dreams’ (2015), a choreographed piece in which we worked together with 10 classical singers (a.o. the German classical vocal ensemble Amarcord).

In January 2018 I premiered I Can See Myself Through Your Eyes, a critical and emotional duet with the acclaimed Finnish dancer/choreographer Cecilia Moiso. We not only received raving reviews but were also finalists of RIDC Competition, the largest choreography prize in the world. In 2009 the Utrecht Jazzfest invited me to do a solo concert. I’d never done a solo concert before, so it was a real challenge. The experiment turned into a succes and since then I’ve done some more (short) solo concerts combining voice, lyrics and vocal effects.

Picture Bart Grietens ©

Starting in 1999 I played 8 years in a duo with pianist Jeroen van Vliet. In the beginning we concentrated on arranging songs, mostly original ones. Later we were much more into free improvisation. Those two things together create an interesting contrast! We released the intimate album Low Tide.

From 2004 I sang for 6 years in the German United Woman’s Orchestra both as a soloist and as part of the ensemble.

Awards

  • 2002 Double nomination Edison Jazz Award (Dutch Grammy Award
  • 2001 Edison Jazz Award (Dutch Grammy Award)
  • 1986 Centraal Beheer Art Promotion Award
  • 1986 Finalist Pall Mall Swing Award

THE TEACHER

BOOKS

In 2009 my book on singing ‘Professioneel Zingen voor iedereen’ was published in The Netherlands. An English, and updated edition ‘Singing from the Inside Out, was released in 2016. Please check this website to read more about both books.

Inspiration

As a teacher and as a musician I find ‘inspiration’ of utmost importance.

  • Inspiration to search for a personal style and thus becoming a musical personality of ones own.
  • Inspiration to keep on investigating and exploring ones expressive and technical abilities.
  • In this search the matter of ‘style’ is not so important. More important is to strive for (also technical) freedom and an open mind towards fellow musicians, different musical styles and different opinions.
  • And….. in order to be able to be an inspiring teacher I suppose that my first responsibility is to be inspired myself!

EXPERIENCE

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES

From 2011-2020 colleague Jolande Geven and I organised and taught professional development courses for singing teachers. Subjects taught (e.g.): Improvisation as a teaching tool, Working towards a personal interpretation with students of all levels, Teaching breathing and much more. For more info you can read an article that I wrote about our work or go to www.vandoornengeven.nl (in Dutch)

teaching positions

  • 1993-present Teacher at the University of the Arts, Arnhem. Teaching main courses in singing: interpretation and technique, singing methods, physiology, improvisation, vocal group, duo classes, coaching master students.
  • 2022 Masterclasses at the KASK Conservatory Ghent (B) and at the international ICVT congress in Vienna, Austria
  • 2021 Masterclasses at Universities in Helsinki and Kokkola, Finland
  • 2019 Masterclasses in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia.
  • 2018 Artist-in-residence in Canada at the universities of Toronto and Vancouver. Masterclasses in Ottawa and Selkirk College, Nelson.
  • 2016 Masterclasses in Canada e.g. at the universities of Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.
  • 2016 Masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music, Aalborg, Denmark.
  • 2012 Guest teacher at McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul (MN), workshop at Ganado (AZ, USA). During international tours I taught masterclasses on singing in Tokyo, Japan and in Toronto (CAN) with my group Vandoorn at the International Jazz Festival Vancouver, and as a duo with Marc van Vugt in Jakarta, Indonesia.
  • 1985 -2000 Singing teacher at de Lindenberg te Nijmegen working with amateur singers and ensembles.
  • In The Netherlands I taught masterclasses for the Dutch Voice Teachers Association on working with groups, and at the Schools of Music in Amsterdam (workshop and masterclass), Groningen (lyric writing), Hilversum (improvisation), Rotterdam (interpretation, improvisation for school teachers), The Hague (duo/trio-playing with Andy Sheppard), Zwolle, Arnhem (duoplaying), Enschede (stage presentation, duo playing and ‘Interpretation and intensity’).
  • Vocal coach: As a vocal coach I worked with dancers and actors in “Mum’s the word” (by choreographer Cecilia Moisio – 2015) L.O.V.E. (Cecilia Moisio – 2014) and the musical play ‘De Bende van de Korenwolf” (2011).
Picture Maarit Kytöharju ©

Lectures

  • 2022 Masterclass ICVT – Vienna, Austria
  • 2022 JEN Conference – Dallas, USA
  • 2019 International Jazz Voice Conference IJVC – Helsinki, Finland
  • 2018 Keynote Masterclass on duo-playing at Eurovox – The Hague
  • 2017 Keynote Masterclass ICVT – Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2017 International Jazz Voice Conference IJVC – Helsinki, Finland
  • 2016 Lecture nd masterclass at the annual meeting of the French Singing Teachers Association (AFPC)
  • 2015 Eurovox – Riga, Latvia
  • 2015 International Jazz Voice Conference IJVC – Helsinki, Finland
  • 2014 Leo Sings – Aalborg, Denmark
  • 2013 The annual meeting of the Dutch Singing Teachers Association, Amsterdam, NL
  • 2013 Prins Claus Conservatory, Groningen, Netherlands
  • 2012 McNally Smith College of Music, St. Paul, USA.