Museum choir

Founded in 2013 by Willy de Rooij, one of the museum’s dedicated advocates and supporters, the choir is made up of amateur singers, with the conductor as the only professional musician. Like many amateur choirs, it has its own board, members contribute through annual fees, and the conductor is employed by the choir. The museum supports and facilitates the choir’s activities.

Choir members are connected to the Van Abbemuseum in different ways — as volunteers, employees, or Friends of the museum.

Repertoire

The choir’s repertoire reflects the spirit and values of the Van Abbemuseum. A special place within the repertoire is reserved for songs commissioned by the museum and written especially for the choir by contemporary artists, including Laure Prouvost, Patricia Kaersenhout, and Chto Delat.

Performances

The choir mainly performs within the museum. It regularly appears at exhibition openings, presents Musical Tours several times a year, and has for many years organized collaborative concerts with other choirs and musicians under the title The Van Abbemuseum Choir Invites…

The choir also represents the museum beyond its walls and occasionally performs simply for the joy of singing together. Under the Archives section below, you can discover some of the choir’s most memorable performances.

Musical Tour

During a Musical Tour, the choir performs in dialogue with selected artworks from the museum collection. Before each performance, an expert guide introduces the artwork, shares insights into the artist’s intentions, and explains the choir’s connection to the piece.

As the choir sings, a temporary space of sound forms around the artwork, drawing visitors, singers, and guide into a shared experience. The result is a new and immersive way of encountering art.

A Musical Tour lasts approximately one hour and accommodates around fifteen visitors. Information about upcoming tours and registration can be found below under Upcoming Events.

Research

In 2019, Rachel Katherina Surijata completed her BA in Anthropology and Media Studies at the University of Londonwith a thesis focused on the Van Abbemuseum Choir.

After hearing the choir perform during a visit to the museum, she became interested in how a group of amateur singers could actively shape artistic experience within a professional art institution. In her thesis, Sound in Museums as Curatorial Practice: Learning about the Use of Sound in Museums from the Van Abbemuseum Choir, she explored how music and sound within a museum context can challenge traditional artistic hierarchies and create space for multiple voices and forms of participation. The thesis can be consulted in the museum library and is also available online here.