Netherlands Silent Film Festival

Musicians

The silent film has never really been silent. From the very beginning, the films were accompanied by music. That is why the NSFF shows silent films as they were intended: with live music, performed by top musicians!

DAAN VAN DEN HURK

Film pianist and composer

FRANK VAN DER STAR

Drummer

ANDRA BACILA

Piano

MEG MORLEY

Piano, filmpianist and composer

BART SOETERS

Bassist

MAUD NELISSEN

Classical piano, filmpianist and composer

SATTAR ALSAADI

Traditional percussion, Nay, Ud

EMMA VAN DOBBEN

Multi instrumentalist

JOSÉ MARIA SERRALDE RUIZ

Piano

GABRIELE RIGO

Piano, guitar

NETHERLANDS FILM ORCHESTRA OLV SANDER VREDENBORG

DAAN VAN DEN HURK

Daan van den Hurk (*1987) is film pianist and composer. He studied classical piano, jazz piano and compostion at the HKU Utrecht Conservatory. After following a masterclass in film accompaniment at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival he started to devote is carreer to silent film accompaniment, promotion and research. Since a number of years he is one of the regular musicians of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival and Bristol Slapstick Festival and performed at many other international festivals such as Il Cinema Ritrovato, Locarno Film Festival and Istanbul Silent Film Days. He also works often closely together with the Eye Filmmuseum, f.i. for writing the music for THE BRILLIANT BIOGRAPH (2020). In 2017, together with Stichting Zolderkamertjesklassiek, he founded the Nederlands Silent Film Festival. Daan teaches classical piano, improvisation and musical theory at the HKU.

FRANK VAN DER STAR

Frank van der Star is a drummer who certainly doesn’t shy away for the unknown. In his musical career he has been everywhere and in every style.
From the small club to the large stadium, from Jazz and Sing & Songwriters to Heavy Metal, and has also been found at the NSFF for many years. 
A fantastically beautiful musical challenge and new love. Always honored to be able to accompany fantastic films with these top musicians. 

MAUD NELISSEN

Maud Nelissen studied classical piano in Utrecht and has since then, devoted on her great passion: the musical accompaniment of silent films. She has collaborated with Eric James, Charlie Chaplin's last musical arranger and has become a much sought-after musical accompanist at various film festivals and events in (and beyond) Europe. She has founded her own film ensemble 'the Sprockets' and performs with them, or various other ensembles and orchestras, in the Netherlands and abroad. 

MEG MORLEY

Since performing her first improvised score for silent film in 2016, Meg has regularly played at various international film festivals (Il Cinema Ritrovato, Netherlands Silent Film Festival, Le Giornate del Cinema Muto) and has recorded original scores for several DVD releases (including Hitchcock's The Ring for US company Kino Lorber). She is a house pianist for the British Film Institute which commissioned her, in 2018, to compose, perform and tour a score for the Meg Morley Trio to accompany several silent films starring Mabel Normand. She is currently collaborating with Derbyshire's electronic band Haiku Salut on a score for the 1930 German experimental silent film People on Sunday for Birmingham's Flatpack Festival 2022. Full Bio: https://www.megmorleymusic.com/biog

BART SOETERS

Bart Soeters (1980) is a bassist, composer and core teacher at the Utrecht Conservatory. At the NSFF he is a regular bassist and improviser.

Bart recently founded Lemon Sharks, a trio on the interface of improvised and classical music. He is also known for his versatility: he has worked with Kaz Lux, Fay Lovski, Izaline Calister, Cello Octet Amsterdam, Born, Birgit Lewis, Jason Rebello, Lev Markiz, Lori Lieberman, Rutger de Bekker, Laura Fygi, Het Brabants Orkest, Thijs van Leer, Izak Boom, Herman Woltman, Orgel Park Amsterdam, Het Nationale Toneel, Holland Opera and many others. He released the CD Morse with Floris Verbeij. out at Challenge Records. The Bass Sounds videos that he produced together with Joris Holtackers have been viewed several million times on YouTube.

Bart completed his master studies in bass guitar and composition in 2006 at the HKU and received several awards. He received the Pim Jacobs Music Prize in 2005 from Han Reiziger. He had lessons from Theo de Jong, Marc van Vugt and in the US from Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller and Clare Fischer. As a child, Bart had piano lessons from his parents from an early age.

EMMA VAN DOBBEN

After her bachelor's degree in Music in Education in Rotterdam, Emma van Dobben focused on folk music on various instruments. During music lessons to young children, she uses piano, guitar, mandolin and ukulele, among other things. During her Master of Music in Utrecht she went to Ireland and Scotland to discover the local music, together with her accordion.

Later, during the Master's in The Hague and Hungary, she got to know the music of Central Europe. With her band Lemonaki she traveled to Lesbos to investigate the Greek rebetika style.

For her work at the Archeon she learned to play the hurdy-gurdy, rebec, lyre, drum and one-handed flute, typical medieval instruments. In addition, Emma is also a puppeteer and has her own puppet theater for children.

This arsenal of instruments is a nice addition to the piano accompaniment during the NSFF.

ANDRA BACILA

Andra Bacila is a Romanian pianist studying at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of Joanna MacGregor. After receiving a full scholarship, she has performed extensively in solo and chamber music concerts inside and outside the UK and has won several awards.
During her studies she participated in the Improvisation to Film project under the guidance of silent film pianist and composer Neil Brand.
Following the projects with Neil, she has been invited to take part in the Masterclass of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival "Le Giornate del Cinema Muto.

SATTAR ALSADI

Syrian musician Sattar Alsaadi is specialized in ethnic Arabian music, the traditional rhythms of the Middle East and the Arabic flute. He plays many traditional percussion instruments, Nay and Ud. Aside from being a performing musician, Sattar gives workshops in Arabian rhythm and music.