Jurriaan Poesse
Jurriaan Poesse is a Dutch choral conductor, singer, and teacher. He studied Music Education at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede and completed both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Choral Conducting with Klaas Stok at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Zwolle. In 2015, together with fellow students, he founded Vocaal Ensemble Cordier. The ensemble focuses on Renaissance and contemporary classical repertoire and actively promotes new music by young composers. Its members include conservatory-trained singers, music teachers, music therapists, and professionals from the cultural sector. As a conductor, Jurriaan works with a wide range of chamber choirs, vocal ensembles, and larger choral formations. His work mainly involves a cappella repertoire from all periods, but also regularly includes collaborations with orchestras on major choral works, with performances of pieces such as Mozart’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn’s Paulus, Handel’s Messiah, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, and various cantatas by J.S. Bach. In addition to conducting, he has sung with the Irish ensemble ANÚNA since 2024 and occasionally appears as a choral singer and baritone soloist in various projects. He is also a lecturer at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede and Zwolle (NL).
The first time I heard ANÚNA was, strangely enough, not through the many CDs and videos available (online), but during a spontaneous concert visit in December 2017 in Enschede (NL), where I was living at the time and frequently attended performances at the theatre. At that time, I was studying choral conducting, and the way the music was performed fascinated me greatly, as it differed from my previous perception of choral music.
Something happened in that hall that stayed with me long afterward. Whenever I engaged with music again, I was reminded of how the singers drew us into their world of storytelling, sound, and the breath that binds it all together. In 2020, I had the opportunity to participate in the Anúna Winter School in Rotterdam and was fortunate to meet Michael, Lucy, and other members of the ensemble. The way the group makes music filled an artistic void that I initially did not know how to define.
This experience has profoundly influenced how I now work as a conductor: not as an autocratic leader, but as someone who seeks to inspire and guide individuals to actively contribute to the collective whole. I am very honoured and grateful to be part of this group and to continue learning from my amazing colleagues!