ARCO Soloist - Nicole van Bruggen
Nicole van Bruggen
Originally from Sydney, Nicole performs worldwide and is a highly respected exponent in historical clarinet, basset horn, basset clarinet and chalumeau. She is passionate about Classical and Romantic chamber music and has recorded numerous CDs presenting this rich repertoire.
Nicole is Principal Clarinettist, Artistic Team member, co-founder and General Manager for the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. She has been and remains Principal Clarinettist in many of Europe’s finest historical instrument orchestras such as Concerto Copenhagen (Denmark), Barokksolistene (Norway), New Dutch Academy (The Netherlands) and Arte dei Suonatori (Poland). She has also performed with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Netherlands Bach Society, Tafelmusik (Canada) and Les Musiciens du Louvre (France).
In addition to her performing career, Nicole is committed to music education, particularly associated with historically informed performance (HIP). She regularly conducts education projects in schools and tertiary institutions and participates in forums offering advice both as specialist in HIP and as Arts Manager. Together with Rachael Beesley, Nicole co-presents the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra’s education series Voyage of Musical Discovery in City Recital Hall and co-directs the Young Mannheim Symphonists youth orchestra training program annually in Sydney and Melbourne. She recently tutored at Australian Youth Orchestra’s National Music Camp and Melbourne Youth Orchestras Summer Camp. While living in Europe, Nicole was a panel member for examinations at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague and at the Utrecht Early Music Festival, advising emerging artists on the formation and presentation of chamber music.
Nicole studied modern clarinet at the Sydney Conservatorium following which she was awarded the Queen’s Trust Scholarship to continue her studies abroad. She consequently moved to The Netherlands where she graduated from a postgraduate degree in historical clarinet and historically informed performance at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague in 1997. Nicole has won prizes at the International Van Wassenaar Concours (2001) and the prestigious Flanders Festival Competition in Bruges (1999) and has performed for many years at the Utrecht Early Music Festival as well as other major festivals in Europe.
She returned to Australia in 2012 with her husband and two children after living in The Netherlands for 17 years, and now lives on the Sunshine Coast.