Kate Rockett becomes the new general director of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. Last Saturday she was introduced to the orchestra by the current director Sieuwert Verster.
Kate Rockett studied trombone at the Royal Academy of Music, London, followed by a specialization in historical performance practice at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, and then a research master's degree in musicology at the Open University. She has performed around the world with orchestras and ensembles, including Freiburger Barockorchester, The Gabrieli Consort, B'Rock Orchestra, and Concerto Köln. Ten years ago she made the transition to arts management. Over the past six years she worked at the classical record label Pentatone as Artist & Repertoire Manager and Executive Producer. Due in part to her freelance and advisory work for other organizations, including LUDWIG and the Fonds Podiumkunsten, Kate has a broad perspective on the cultural sector.
Effective September 1, 2022, the current director Sieuwert Verster will retire after 40 years and dedicate himself to his record label Attacca for contemporary Dutch music and documentary filmmaking.
Kate Rockett: "Since its founding more than forty years ago by Frans Brüggen, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has been a highly respected pioneer in historical performance practice and has inspired many other ensembles, both in the Netherlands and beyond. Sieuwert Verster has been at the helm all that time; an exceptional track record and a challenge for me to follow in his footsteps. The orchestra is a very special international collective of passionate and dedicated musicians. I am very pleased to have the opportunity to shape the next chapter in the orchestra's history."