“I feel blessed and humble with ears, eyes, and all my other senses. I hope to observe the world and serve humanity, making it a better place. As a musician, poet, and artist, I inherited these talents from my parents and ancestors, allowing me to enrich people with contemporary art forms.

Joke Kegel, or Jo was born September the 10th in 1960 in Amsterdam, studied piano from six years old with Nora Rijkers, (born 1929) and started from her 15th seriously as an artist in painting, in the class of the artist Rinus Duin (1918-1996) ) drawing and photographing portrets and abstract works. 

After studying at different Art-Academies and the Actorsstudio in Amsterdam, playing in different theatre-productions, with directors as Nouchka van Brakel, Maureen Birney and George Isherwood, she studied for 10 years with the Musicologist Edgard Vreuls, didactics, piano, history of music and did all her States Exames in the Netherlands. From 2001-2007 she studied composition at the department ‘Contemporay Music through Non Western Techniques CMtNWT’ at the Conservatory in Amsterdam. She sang soprano for years in the Choir of New Music, with the conductor Huub Kerstens. For 15 years Jo was conductor of the Eilanden Choir, based in Amsterdam and guest conductor of many other choirs. She sang  soprano in the Anglican choir with the conductor Martin Bleek for one year in 2023/2024.

“I enjoy teaching children as well as adults, beginners and advanced students” Jo is qualified to teach lessons for piano, composition, analysis and music history. She loves to teach singing as well as giving a course in rhythm. She teaches for more then 20 years in her studio in Amsterdam and nowadays also in and around Baambrugge, at her pace as well as at the homes of her pupils. Check her Studio Jokegel here above to contact her for further information and the payment.

Between 1990-1995 she worked as guest lecturer at the Leidse Hoge School  in cooperation with Dick Bloem, lecturer at the department of healthcare Conflict Management training. Within that period she also was a permanent employee of the Boddaert Centre in Amsterdam and set up childcare for mothers who wanted to master the Dutch language. 

She writes contemporary compositions for solos, duos, large and small ensembles. Instrumental and multimedia events, as well as theater and film. Over the years she has organized many concerts with her own compositions and works by other composers.  Some of her works are published by Donemus.  More details : Joke Kegel’s CV Link

She curated: 
*‘Alternative Faces’. Multi media production.
*‘Incorporea’, featuring dance, live music, visual arts and video.
*’Bare feet, Breath and bare Hands’
for live bass clarinet solo and video.
*‘Van een leien dak’, with the recording ensemble work:
*’Who is counting on a pure symmetric triad within a perfect fourth?’ 2004, for Flute, Sopranosaxophone, Trumpet, Bass-clarinet, Bassoon, Vibraphone and Timpani, all tuned in the 24 tone-system and a slide show with visual art made by Gerbrig Seidel.

In 2023 Jo was interviewed as one of the first year’s pupils of the high school for the documentary The Kids of the OSB to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bijlmermeer Open School Community, but also to convey the great ideas of the founders to the new generation. The documentary will be shown internally at the OSB School as well as at future Festivals.

Jo loves to work with dancers and participate also in the Body Body Body classes of Katie Duck. She will be part of The Sunday Sessions, created in 2014 by Katie Duck and Amsterdam based artists. They are aimed for performance artists, singers, dancers, actors and musicians who have interest to do multidisciplinary compositions for performances. Sunday sessions are no workshops or jams. It is a place for artist to gather, discuss and practice real time performances with the aim to perform in confrontation with the public. It is a platform created to celebrate and support experimental, multidisciplinary performance art practices. 

To enrich other people’s lives, she massage her friends and colleagues with back problems or headaches, to lower blood pressure and reduce stress, for a reasonable fee of fifty euros per hour. “They say I’m good, because the pain is gone. I notice that I use all my experiences and make a combination of Shiatsu, which I learned from my mother;  Alexander Technique; Physiotherapy; Yoga and Qigong. I love to listen to Eckhart Tolle, Vimal of Marari Yoga, buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn and Qigong teacher buddhist brother Insight”

Coming soon…

2024/2025  Jo will be part of the team as composer/pianist for the music in the short movie TUTOR and playing the role of grandmother. The Tutor will be compete in the biggest film festivals in the UK.

Soon a new works with poetry of Michel Cand and other works with which has been developed for flute – and reed quintet as well as a stringquartet for ensembles in and outside Europe. The title of all this series is: Thank you very much, I have no complaints whatsoever.

In 2025/2026 will be hopefully a 90-minute musical portrait of Joke Kegel, shown on Dutch television by New Music NOW at TV-ONS.

Recently…

New music ‘Thank you for everything, I have no complaints whatsoever’ for sale at Donemus for flutequintet, reedquintet, stringquartet and the Rodiontrio.

Vibrant Sky was sung by the Women ensemble  L’EF, from Noordkop, North of Holland. The concert, conducted by Ellen Verburgt is premiered in Julianadorp, Ontmoetingskerk, Juni 2, 2024 and the second concert in a slightly new version was september 1, 2024, at Texel in Den Burg.

June 17th 2023. Day of the Composer. Concert in the Ramses Shaffy huis with the composers:  Jochem le Cointre, Heleen Verleur, Anders Jallén, Sinta Wullur, Rieteke Hölscher. Organized together with www.newmusicnow.
Joke Kegel is inspired by the rhythmic and melodic Carnatic music from south India and studied with great musicians as Manjunath BC, Dr, Manjunath Mysore and Dr. Suma Sudhindra.

  • IRC International Rhythm Course in India 9-17 January -2023. Worked with Dr. Suma Sudhindra, Dr. Mysore Manjunath, BC Manjunath & Ned McGowan. Played in four concerts during study in Bangalore and the Ashram Muddenhalli with other professional musicians from over the whole world. See photos in the CV Link.
  • ‘Who is counting on a pure symmetric triad within a perfect fourth?’ is written for Ensemble Scala: Flute, Bass-clarinet, Viola, Electric Guitar, Carrillo piano, Fokker Organ and percussion with two cymbals, all tuned in the 31-tone system. Premièred december 11th in 2022, in the small hall of the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam,  in the program ‘Distorted Reality’, organized by  the Fokker Huygens Foundation. Live recording of the première: Mp3 recording Personal research: How perfect is a quarter interval in a 24-tone system compared to a 31-tone system? What are the similarities and differences in the arrangement for Ensemble Scala in 2022 compared to the older work from 2004?  

  • November 4rth 2022 was the worldpremière ‘Innenraum (W.P. live recording) for bass clarinet by Albrecht Schwarnweber and alto flute by Letizi Turini, musicians of the El Perro Andaluz Ensemble for the Xenakis project Revierwechsel II, Neue Musik und Bildende Kunst, 2022 in Leipzig, Germany. Eine Kooperation vom Musik Projekt Sachsen e.V und hochdruckpartner / Galerie+Werkstatt. See also my painting and poem  ‘Innenraum‘ at the links-page.  flyer.

  • On July 21, 2021, the world premiere was held in London of ‘Flow water’ for soprano, piano and stonework, an arrangement of the choral work ‘Stroomt water’ which was awarded the first prize by the IKF05. 2022 rewritten for Duo Kurkuma: Flow and Glow. 


New music of Duo Kurkuma are all written by Ere Lievonen, pianist & Joke Kegel soprano:

*’Flow and Glow’
For soprano & piano and stonepercussion, composed by Joke Kegel

*’Imagine we are sea weeds’
For soprano & piano, poetry and composition by Joke Kegel.

*’Different Perspectives’
  For Soprano & Piano. Composed by Joke Kegel.
  Poetry Love After Love by Derek Walcott.

*New recomposed version is in the making for one or more voices,
  sung with her new poem and piano accompaniment. 

*’We grow accustomed to the Dark’
   For soprano & piano. Composed by Joke Kegel. Poetry Emily Dickinson.
*This work is also availabe as a solo for piano and will be published at Donemus.

*’Im Nebel’
For Soprano & piano. Composed by Ere Lievonen. Poetry by Hann Hesse.

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