Robert IJserinkhuijsen receives scholarship Andrea Elkenbrachtfonds

The municipality of Groningen has awarded the annual scholarship of the Andrea Elkenbracht Fund to Dutch composer Robert IJserinkhuijsen. This was announced during the opening of the new school year of the Prince Claus Conservatoire, part of the Hanze. IJserinkhuijsen received the cheque from the hands of Alderman of Culture, Kirsten de Wrede. The scholarship offers classical and modern music graduates the opportunity to further develop their talent by participating in a follow-up course abroad.

The Prince Claus Conservatoire says the following about the winner: Robert's talent was abundantly clear upon his admission to the PCC. After obtaining a Bachelor of Musicology at Utrecht University, his fascination with film and film music led him to study Composition & Music Production at the Prince Claus Conservatoire. Already in his third year, he won the prestigious Golden Eye Award for ‘Best International Film Music 2022’ at the Zurich Film Festival with his composition for The Foundling. This year, he graduated from the PCC's Bachelor of Music degree with a highly commendable rating, specialising in film music composition. Robert has been admitted - after rigorous selection - to the master's degree in Composition for Screen at the prestigious Royal College of Music in London. London is one of the leading global centres for film and television, making it ‘the place to be’ for film composers pursuing an international career.

Andrea Elkenbracht

The fund was created in memory of Groningen concert pianist and music pedagogue Andrea Elkenbracht. She was the first teacher of professional piano education at the Groningen School of Music in 1918 and taught for 40 years at the predecessor of the Prince Claus Conservatoire. The aim of the fund is to offer follow-up studies abroad to talented graduates. In recent years, the scholarship has been awarded to Andrei Makarov (piano), Yuji Shin (saxophone), Alice Andreani (cello) and Julia Doornebosch (violin), among others.

Talent development ‘Make way for talent’

The Andrea Elkenbracht Fund is part of the Groningen municipality's talent development incentives. By awarding this grant, Groningen aims to encourage young talent and offer development opportunities for talented graduates.