Leon Westerweel
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Already at the age of 9 I fell for the oboe, from which I will never separate myself. My teacher at the Zeeland music school John Groenevelt taught me the first principles for which I am still very grateful. I was admitted to the Zeeland Young Talent Training and in 2010 I won first prize at the Eastman competition in Zeeland. John brought me into contact with Herman Vincken (1st oboist in the South Netherlands Philharmonic) with whom I continued my oboe training at the Tilburg Conservatory. I gained my first orchestral experience with the Zeeland Youth Orchestra, followed by the Euregio Youth Orchestra. From 2011 I played in the Youth Orchestra of the Netherlands conducted by Jurjen Hempel. After 2 years I was proudly in first place. After 5 years with 5 tours and 5 times in a row playing in the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, I said goodbye. In February 2017 I played the beautiful Mahler 9 with the NSO.
At the age of 13 I was admitted to the Young Musicians Academy in Tilburg where I studied for 3 years in addition to my high school. Because I first wanted to go to the Codarts conservatory in Rotterdam, I followed the preparatory course there from 2013-2014 with Aisling Casey and Maarten Dekkers as teachers.
After completing the HAVO education, I followed the bachelor program in Rotterdam from September 2014 with teachers Maarten Dekkers and Ralph van Daal as oboe. After a gap year, I continued my bachelor's degree at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague on 1 September 2015 with Ali Groen and Alexei Ogrintchouk as teachers. In the 4th year, Jeroen Soors was my oboe teacher and Ron Tijhuis my English horn teacher. On May 10, 2019 I graduated with an 8.5. In addition, I successfully completed the minors in composition, education and elective arranging and orchestration. The minor composition with a 9 and a mini-opera written by me.
From 2019 I followed the Master's program in The Hague with the ensemble academy as a specialization. In July 2021 I completed my master's degree. From August 1, 2024, I will be working part-time as a music teacher at Maris College Houtrust in The Hague. As of September 2024, I am following a shortened bachelor's degree in Music in Education at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.
I play on an M2 semi-automatic Marigaux and on a Lorée conservatoire English horn (English horn). Currently I do (orchestral) projects, play in ensembles and focus on professional auditions.
