The Nationale Koren, with more than a hundred young singers ages 11 and up from all over the Netherlands, will give a Christmas concert at TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht on Sunday.

'It's Vírrrrrr-gi-nem! And remember: sing over the bar line.' All eyes in the old Free School building in Zeist are on Wilma ten Wolde. The conductor is rehearsing this afternoon with young singers who have often known her for years, singers trained by her. 'You can take more musical initiative here,' she says as she rehearses the Maria Matrem from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, music from around 1400. 'You have to do it.'
Ten Wolde is the architect of the Nationale Koren. There are four of them: the National Children's Choir (ages 11 through 15), the National Boys' Choir (ages 10 through boys' beards), the National Women's Youth Choir and the National Mixed Youth Choir (both ages 16 through 29). Those choirs are the nursery of singing talent in the Netherlands. When symphony orchestras need a chorus of young voices, they often knock on Ten Wolde's door first. What makes this club so special....

Read the full article in De Volkskrant.