Lincoln Orpheus Male Voice Choir
“Singing from the heart of Lincolnshire”
“Singing from the heart of Lincolnshire”
Music Team
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Musical Director
Bea van der Kaaij
We are pleased to have as our Musical Director the very talented, effervescent and energetic Bea van der Kaaij. Rehearsal is always fun and different with this lady around.
Born in the Netherlands, in 1966, Bea van der Kaaij was interested in choral music from an early age. At the age of 6 she joined the local church choir and from then on she was hooked on music.
This great love for music broadened out during her years at secondary school where she joined the school choir and sang music from a wide range of styles. At Utrecht University she initially read Dutch literature and language, but her attraction to music remained, so after one year she transferred to Musicology. In 1992 she graduated.
Immediately after finishing her studies she was asked to lead a local church choir in Veenendaal. After moving to the west of the country, Bea conducted several choirs in the The Hague area. In the meantime she undertook extra training for choral conducting, which led to a further qualification. From 2000 onwards, conducting choirs has been Bea's main occupation.
Apart from conducting, Bea also became involved in organising tours for choirs and organists.
In 2006, a deep love for Anglican Church music led her to apply for the vacancy of Choirmaster at All Saints Church in Leamington Spa and she was delighted that she had the opportunity to step into the amazing choral tradition in this beautiful church. Moving to England was a big step, but Bea and her family very much enjoy living in England. In November 2007, Bea took over as Musical Director of the Village Voices Choir, also based in Leamington Spa.
In 2008, Bea faced a difficult decision – whether to stay in Leamington as Choirmaster, or find her children a place in a Cathedral Choir, to fully develop their emerging musical skills. The decision was made to try the Cathedral route, and three of her four children gained music scholarships at Lincoln Minster School. For two of them, this means singing several services every week in the Cathedral. The fourth child was too young to audition, but hopes are high!
On arrival in Lincoln in the summer of 2008, Bea became Musical Director of Skellingthorpe Village Choir. In January 2009, she began her role as Musical Director of Lincoln Orpheus Male Voice Choir, and in the same month she was offered the post of Assistant Director of the Parish Church Choir of St Mary Magdalene’s in Lincoln.
Now, being settled in Lincoln, Bea sees the opportunity to realise an idea that she conceived a long time ago: organising and leading choral workshops for companies and organizations to reduce stress, to be active as a group in a different, fun way, to discover unknown skills, control breathing, achieve something together in an unfamiliar area. She is very much looking forward to introducing these ‘singing breaks’ for personnel as a healthy alternative to going to the gym and having training days in a more traditional way. Bea can be contacted via her website by clicking here.
Apart from organising workshops and conducting her choirs, Bea also remains active in
Born in the Netherlands, in 1966, Bea van der Kaaij was interested in choral music from an early age. At the age of 6 she joined the local church choir and from then on she was hooked on music.
This great love for music broadened out during her years at secondary school where she joined the school choir and sang music from a wide range of styles. At Utrecht University she initially read Dutch literature and language, but her attraction to music remained, so after one year she transferred to Musicology. In 1992 she graduated.
Immediately after finishing her studies she was asked to lead a local church choir in Veenendaal. After moving to the west of the country, Bea conducted several choirs in the The Hague area. In the meantime she undertook extra training for choral conducting, which led to a further qualification. From 2000 onwards, conducting choirs has been Bea's main occupation.
Apart from conducting, Bea also became involved in organising tours for choirs and organists.
In 2006, a deep love for Anglican Church music led her to apply for the vacancy of Choirmaster at All Saints Church in Leamington Spa and she was delighted that she had the opportunity to step into the amazing choral tradition in this beautiful church. Moving to England was a big step, but Bea and her family very much enjoy living in England. In November 2007, Bea took over as Musical Director of the Village Voices Choir, also based in Leamington Spa.
In 2008, Bea faced a difficult decision – whether to stay in Leamington as Choirmaster, or find her children a place in a Cathedral Choir, to fully develop their emerging musical skills. The decision was made to try the Cathedral route, and three of her four children gained music scholarships at Lincoln Minster School. For two of them, this means singing several services every week in the Cathedral. The fourth child was too young to audition, but hopes are high!
On arrival in Lincoln in the summer of 2008, Bea became Musical Director of Skellingthorpe Village Choir. In January 2009, she began her role as Musical Director of Lincoln Orpheus Male Voice Choir, and in the same month she was offered the post of Assistant Director of the Parish Church Choir of St Mary Magdalene’s in Lincoln.
Now, being settled in Lincoln, Bea sees the opportunity to realise an idea that she conceived a long time ago: organising and leading choral workshops for companies and organizations to reduce stress, to be active as a group in a different, fun way, to discover unknown skills, control breathing, achieve something together in an unfamiliar area. She is very much looking forward to introducing these ‘singing breaks’ for personnel as a healthy alternative to going to the gym and having training days in a more traditional way. Bea can be contacted via her website by clicking here.
Apart from organising workshops and conducting her choirs, Bea also remains active in
Accompanist
Lesley Willis
Lesley, is our uncomplaining and stalwart accompanist. She hails from Aintree in Liverpool and has two musically talented daughters. She was a member of the “Royal Liverpool Philarmonic Chorus”.
On moving to Lincoln she joined The Lincoln Minster Consort of Voices and had vocal tuition from Philip Manser and Maria Kaiser. She also sang with “Operama” a local opera group formed by Alexander Anderson-Hall from Scottish Opera.
A lyric soprano, she has undetaken some solo work at Lincoln Cathedral and with the Lincoln Orpheus Male Voice Choir before becoming their accompanist in 1977.
She has lived in the Lincoln area for many years and never seems to tire of helping Bea drive us forward and upward. Where would we be without her? She cheerfully beavers away during rehearsals and can