Auke van der Merk
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Auke van der Merk was born in Augustinusga, Friesland. At the age of eight, he started playing in the local brass band. He went from the music school "de Waldsang" to the conservatory in Groningen. There, he studied under Freddy Grin, trumpeter of the current Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. After five years of study, he became a trumpeter with the former Utrecht Symphony Orchestra. After the merger in 1985 until his retirement in 2013, he served as the principal trumpeter with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra in Amsterdam. From 1983 to 2012, he was a principal trumpet teacher at the Prins Claus Conservatory.
