Carolien
Music is the essence of life for Carolien Devilee. She is a talented pianist and singer, with classical training from the Royal Conservatoire (Koninklijk Conservatorium) in The Hague. Carolien arranges and composes music, and regularly performs in a wide range of styles, from early music and contemporary classical to world music and Arabic repertoire. She had led several choirs and ensemble projects, and she gives private singing lessons, as well as piano accompaniment for singers and musicians. Carolien, 52, lives with her partner in Leiden.
“I had lessons in music arrangement at the conservatory. I was asked to arrange music, and then turned to composing. I can write music in all different styles, whatever style people want. But when I’m writing for myself, it’s often modal music with some jazziness. I write classical music with free tonality, with a link to impressionists like Debussy and Ravel.”
”My work has always been in music. I’m active as a singer and pianist, and I conduct choirs in Leiden and Den Haag. I like all that I do.”
“I started with piano as my main instrument. Then I studied singing. I also play the recorder.”
“It all has to do with connecting with what you really are. When I’m teaching singing, I want my students to get to know himself or herself, and to express their true voice and feeling. When performing, you want people to feel and be moved. Music goes directly to your heart.”
“From my fourth or fifth year I was doing music. My parents put me in a local music school. As a teen, music was like a cocoon. I could draw back into my world of sound and put my emotions there. Music allows me to express myself. There are no words for some feelings, but in music you don’t need words. The sound is the feeling. For me, that was very helpful, it was my world.”
“At the conservatory, you’re surrounded by other people who have the same kind of autism about the world of sound. You don’t need to speak. You’re connected underneath with another person when you’re making music. You’re connected in sound, but it’s connecting on a different level.”
“There’s so much beautiful music. There’s too much for one life. I never get bored. In music you’re never finished, there’s so much to learn.”
“It has so much to do with your age. When you play a piece in your 20’s, you bring the experience of a person in their 20’s. When you play the same piece in your 70’s, you have a truly different feel and interpretation.”
“I feel very lucky. I’m very aware that it’s a privilege to be able to have music as a job and as a way of life. It’s who I am.”
“My goal for future years? I have some beautiful concert programs that are finished. They’re thought out, and I can sing them. I could perform in more places than I do now. As a musician, you need a big network to get concerts. My aim is to build a wider network so I can play more. I need to let go of some commitments, so I have more time to get the best out of myself.”
Carolien Devilee gives private singing lessons at her lovely home on Nieuwstraat in Leiden, near theHooglandse Kerk. Information about Carolien is available at www.caroliendevilee.nl
