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Fie Schouten, born in Amsterdam and still living there, performs in various formations at many different podia and festivals. She has performed all over the world and is playing on all the clarinets with a warm preference for the low ones.
Ensembles & Solo
As a specialist in performing new music, she can be heard extensively as a soloist and in chamber music formations, oa in duo with cellist Katharina Gross, flutist Tarmo Johannes, percussionist Ruud Roelofsen. Many new pieces are written for and premiered by her groups by composers with very diverse styles and of very different backgrounds and nationalities. Free improvisation is an important part of her practice, she collaborates with pianist Guus Janssen, cellist Vincent Courtois, drummer Sofia Borges, saxophonist Sophie Hassfurther, Frank Gratkowski sax/clarinet.
Basklarinet Festijn
Fie Schouten initiated and leads together with Tobias Klein the Basklarinet Festijn, with four editions: 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020-2022.
The coming edition takes place in autumn 2025.
Nieuwe Noten Amsterdam
Fie Schouten is initiatior and curator (together with composer Aspasia Nasopoulou) of the series for contemporary chambermusic Nieuwe Noten Amsterdam, at Plein Theater nieuwenoten-amsterdam.nl | plein-theater.nl
Working with composers
Fie Schouten workes together with composers since her studies. She learned to enjoy this collaboration from former teacher Harry Sparnaay, now she teaches the younger generation and is still working with composers of all over the world, young and old(er). About 100 compositions were written for Schouten and her ensembles and she performed them all.
Teaching
Schouten is professor at the Prince Claus Conservatoire, for the Classical and the Jazz Department, in Groningen in the Netherlands. She teaches the next to the (bass) clarinet, the bassethorn, contrabass clarinet, contemporary techniques, she conducts the studentensemble of the conservatoire performing contemporary music and regularly invites composers to work with the studentperformers. Fie Schouten was guest-professor bass clarinet at conservatoires in Vienna, Tallinn, Split, Provo, Chicago, Jerusalem, Rotterdam.
Awards & CDs
In 2019 Fie Schouten received 1st Nieuw Geneco (composers association) Fair Practice Compositioncommission Award for her impact on the musicscene in the Netherlands, an inspiration for many and with attention for Fair Practice.
Schouten’s duo Kaida (flute & bass clarinet) received the Tera de Marez Oyens Prijs in 2002 (NL). It won prize for best impro at the International Gaudeamus Competition (NL 2003), best windensemble at 13th International Chambermusic Competition Illzach (France 2003).
She produced own CD’s:
Improvised music
VOSTOK Remote Islands (2023)
Contemporary chamber music
bee sage (2024) figures (2022) Nut (2021) Nature (2020) Chambery (2018)
Spielzeug (2009) Amsterdam, de wereld (2007) Of Villages and Spaces (2005)
Contemporary solo music
Monologues 2020 (2021) Ladder of Escape 11 (2014)
Stockhausen
From 2008 to 2018 Fie Schouten performed many works by Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Fie played the solistic part as one of the ‘Clownesque Swallows’ in MICHAELS REISE um die Erde many times – mostly with the German Ensemble MusikFabrik and in regie of La Fura dels Baus, but also with the Dutch ASKO-Schonberg ensemble and the French Ensemble Le Balcon.She performed LICHT-BILDER (SONNTAG aus LICHT) in the production of musikFabrik/Oper Köln in 2011; MICHAELION (MITTWOCH aus LICHT) at the London 2012 Festival with the Birmingham Opera Company; HARMONIEN (KLANG) oa at the MusikTriennale Köln; BASSETSU TRIO (MITTWOCH aus LICHT) and ROTARY quintet at the Festival d’Automne Paris 2013/2014; BASSETSU solo and TIERKREIS.
Ensembles, orchestras
Fie Schouten collaborates with the German Ensemble Musikfabrik since 2008. She was guestmusician in Orkest de Volharding, Ensemble Mulitfoon. She played as a guest with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Klangforum Wien, ASKO-Schönberg Ensemble, Insomnio Ensemble, Het Balletorkest, Noord-Nederlands Orkest.
Study
She studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she received her Bachelor Diplomas in clarinet and bass clarinet and a Masters Degree in bass clarinet with Harry Sparnaay, Tom Sieuwerts, and Herman Braune. She has participated in masterclasses in Austria (Impuls), Germany (Darmstadt) and France (Pablo Casals Festival), where she had lessons with clarinettists Ernesto Molinari, Michel Lethiec.
Other activities
Fie was jurymember in 2024 and 2018 during Gaudeamus Muziekweek for the Tera de Marez Oyens (composition) Price. During 3 years she was (2016-2019) Advisor at the Amsterdam Art Council, AFK. She is a member of Kunstenbond and Bimpro. She teached Professional Writing at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, faculty Business and Economy from 2018-2023.
Clarinets
Fie is playing on Jochen Seggelke clarinets, Buffet bass clarinet and bassethorn and Leblanc contrabass clarinet. Her mouthpieces are made by Edward Pillinger, she uses Florian Popa ligatures and Vandoren en Seggelke reeds.
Fie Schouten is Buffet Crampon Artist | Vandoren Artist
Personal
married & mother of two children
