Jacobine van Laar was born in The Netherlands and started her musical career as a flautist. During her final year at the Sweelinck Conservatoire in Amsterdam she started her vocal studies with Wout Oosterkamp at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Jacobine continued her vocal studies at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London as a postgraduate student with Laura Sarti. After this she continued to study privately with Angela Hickey. She took part in masterclasses with the Wagnerian Danish tenor Stig Andersen. Jacobine performed both solo and in opera productions in many venues throughout the UK, The Netherlands and France. Jacobine enjoys making chamber music with members of the Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra but equally loves working with local choirs as a soloist. Jacobine is open to recital, chamber music, opera and oratorio work.
Concert Agenda
16 Nov 2024
7:30 pm
Music for the Bells
Celebrating the renewal of the Penshurst’s bells with Jacobine van Laar (Mezzo-Soprano) Ilya Chetverikov (Piano)
Penshurst, Tonbridge, UK
27 Oct 2024
4:00 pm
Trio Iliade
Chamber Music by Brahms, Bridge & Britten with Jacobine van Laar (mezzo-soprano), Derek de la Bernardie (cello) and Raymond Shon (piano).
Faringdon, UK
15 Oct 2023
3:00 pm
Songs of Desire
Wesendonck Lieder - Wagner
The House of Life - Vaughan William
Great Coxwell, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, UK
9 Oct 2023
0:00 pm
Dowland and Byrd
with Viol Ensemble Ex Animo
Oxford, UK
8 Oct 2023
3:00 pm
Songs of Desire
Wesendonck Lieder - Wagner
The House of Life - Vaughan William
Wallingford, UK
20 May 2023
6:30 pm
Songs of Desire
Wesendonck Lieder - Wagner
The House of Life - Vaughan William
Faringdon, UK
5 Apr 2023
4:30 pm
Stabat Mater
Pergolesi
New Hinksey, Oxford, UK
19 Mar 2023
2:30 pm
Stabat Mater
Pergolesi
Markelo, Netherlands
18 Mar 2023
7:30 pm
Stabat Mater
Pergolesi
Goor, Netherlands
Concert Programmes
Jacobine has a versatile set of programmes that she can perform at your concert venue.
Songs of Desire
Songs of Desire is a song recital including the much loved Wesendonck Lieder by Richard Wagner, paired with Ralph Vaughan William’s song cycle The House of Life. The latter cycle was inspired by Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s eponymous sequence of poems, also known as The Kelmscott Love Sonnets, after nearby Kelmscott Manor, where Rossetti took joint tenancy with designer William Morris and his wife Jane. His relationship with Jane was not only the source of many of Rossetti's mid-to-late paintings, she was also the inspiration for The House of Life. Both song cycles evoke the mysteries of physical and spiritual love.
Busoni centenary
Celebrating the Busoni Centenary with a remarkable concert programme. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Ferruccio Busoni's passing and to honor his work, this programme will showcase a special selection of his music for voice and piano.
Women in Music
A programme centered around works by forgotten and ignored women composers.
The Last Eccentrics
A lively programme including music, anecdotes and poetry by Lord Berners, Peter Warlock, Vaughan Williams and John Betjeman.
A Night at the Opera
A night to remember with some of the most beautiful aria's in the history of opera. A perfectly balanced programme for any festive night out or gala event.
The Anglo-Dutch Connection
A programme featuring 20th Century British and Dutch composers. As a Dutch national with long standing ties with the UK, Jacobine enjoys exploring 20th Century British and Dutch composers and their sometimes lesser known body of work. When doing so she frequently stumbles upon interesting anecdotes, funny and surprising connections as well as a shared piece of history. The biggest reward of all this research is the rediscovery and the bringing back to life of some forgotten songs, which simply are too beautiful not to share.
Music in Wartime
A special programme with songs written by composers whose lives and works were deeply affected by destruction and loss of many loved ones during World War I. Several poets and composer signed up during the war and ended in the trenches, where they wrote some of the most poignantly beautiful poetry and music in English literary and musical history.
