Biografie
Jasperina Verheij (1999), mezzo-soprano and recorder player, is a versatile and expressive musician. Combining many interests and studies in music (singing and recorder) as well as science, she seeks the intersections of various disciplines and draws inspiration from everywhere. Consequently, she enjoys collaborating with, for example, theatre makers, scientists, composers, and dancers, while also developing herself as a creator.
She won several prizes at the Princess Christina Competition and sang and performed at the Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, the Opera Forward Festival, Gaudeamus Music Week, the November Music festival, the Festival Oude Muziek (fringe), Batenburg Baroque, the International Liedfestival Zeist, and many other concert series and venues. Additionally, she performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest, and Orkest de Ereprijs. With her own solo performance 'De Bubbels van Babel', featuring a combination of contemporary music, song, and dance, she appeared at the Delft Fringe Festival in May/June 2025 and received the 'Delft Chamber Music Festival Award'.
Together with pianist Willem van den Dool, she forms a liedduo with which she regularly gives recitals. With this duo, they won the 'Vrienden van het Lied' award during the final of the International Student Song Duo Competition, after which they will give several recitals for the 'Vrienden van het Lied' organization in 2025. Additionally, they received an honorable mention at the Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours, praised for their exceptional duo qualities and poetic dedication. Furthermore, together they attended masterclasses at the International Liedfestival Zeist with, among others, Elly Ameling, Robert Holl, Wolfram Rieger, and Malcolm Martineau. In the 2023-2024 season, they were young artists at the Udo Reinemann International Masterclasses in Brussels, where they were coached by Christianne Stotijn, Hartmut Höll, and Sir Thomas Allen, among others. In 2025, they are SongEasel Young Artists and will give concerts and receive masterclasses in London.
On the opera stage, she appeared in scenes from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), directed by Floris Visser, and in Die Zauberflöte (Third Knabe) at the Dutch National Opera Academy, among others. In January 2024, she performed the role of Medea in Handel's opera 'Teseo', directed by Michael Chance. In March 2025, she played the role of the 'Fox' in Janacek's 'The Cunning Little Vixen'. Additionally, she toured with the Dutch National Opera in the ensemble of Dido & Aeneas (conducted by Camille Delaforge). In the 2026/2027 season, she will perform the role of Mercèdes in Carmen at Opera Compact.
Jasperina studied for her Master's in singing with Noa Frenkel at the Royal Conservatory, for which she received the 'scholarship for excellence'. In June 2025, she graduated with a 9.5 and distinction for 'a mesmerizing marriage of body movement and musicianship across all styles'. At the Royal Conservatory, she also obtained her Bachelor's in singing with distinction in 2023, and her Bachelor's in recorder in 2022 under Daniël Brüggen. Additionally, she took singing lessons with early music specialists Peter Kooij, Francesca Aspromonte, and Pascal Bertin. Furthermore, she obtained her Bachelor's in Life Science & Technology at the Universities of Leiden and Delft and is pursuing a Master's in 'Health and Digital Transformation' at Maastricht University.
Jasperina plays instruments built by Joanne Saunders, Ralph Ehlert, and Li Virghi, made possible by the support of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument.