VU Orchestra
The VU Orchestra is a symphony orchestra with approximately 90 musicians. Every year, the orchestra gives various performances in the Netherlands and abroad. View the website for more information.
VU Choir
The VU Choir is an enthusiastic student choir that has 55 members. They sing large and smaller or lesser-known choral music from different traditions. Visit their website for more information.
Send an email to info@vukoor.nl and receive detailed information about the open rehearsals in August.
VU Chamber Orchestra
The VU Chamber Orchestra has around 35 musicians. It performs both modern repertoire and classical works for chamber orchestras. The VU Chamber Orchestra regularly works with talented young soloists. You can find more information on their website.
VU Chamber Choir
More than 30 ambitious choral singers make up the VU Chamber Choir. There is room for both old and brand-new music, both accompanied and a cappella. Visit the website for more information.
Concerts
As a VU employee, you can attend concerts by the VU music groups for free: in fact, 35 seats have been made available for each regular concert, funded by the Executive Board and the VU muziekkoepel.
This month, two concerts by the VU Orchestra conducted by Arjan Tien with soloist Vera Kooper.
An American in Paris - Gershwin
Piano Concerto for the Left Hand - Ravel
Petrushka - Stravinsky
Rendez-vous à Paris
George Gershwin incorporated his own experiences as an American in Paris, where he became friends with Ravel, into his symphonic poem: An American in Paris. Complete with taxi horns and many jazz influences, it paints an energetic picture of the French capital through the eyes of a walker. Not long after, Maurice Ravel wrote his Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, commissioned by the famous concert pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War. The dark aftermath of the war is clearly audible in this jazz-filled concerto, which also features the Gregorian theme of Dies Irae. A few years before the First World War, Igor Stravinsky wrote the ballet Petrushka for the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev's Russian ballet company in Paris. It tells the story of three puppets that come to life and experience all kinds of intrigues. Together, these masterpieces take the audience on a journey to the bustling Paris of yesteryear.
Soloist Vera Kooper
In collaboration with the VU Orchestra, internationally acclaimed Dutch pianist Vera Kooper tackles Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, a challenging and exceptional work. Known for her expressive playing, technical virtuosity and musical depth, Kooper travels all over the world. As co-founder of the Delta Piano Trio, she has won international competitions and released several albums. In 2021, she formed the du Toit–Kooper duo, which combines classical repertoire with lesser-known works by female composers and composers from minority groups.
On Thursday 15 January 2026 at 8.15 p.m. in the Stadsgehoorzaal in Leiden, tickets can be found here, and on Monday 26 January at 8.15 p.m. in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, click here for tickets in Amsterdam. If the free tickets are sold out, regular tickets can be ordered here.