Daniel Boeke

Daniel Boeke, a clarinetist from Arezzo, graduated from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under the guidance of Pierre Woudenberg. In the Netherlands, he expanded his classical, romantic, and contemporary repertoire, performing both in conservatory settings – including the Goebbels Festival and the productions Surrogate Cities (2008) and MacMillan’s Quickening (2009) – and with external ensembles such as the Nieuw Mannheim Orkest and the Nieuw Haags Ensemble.

During his studies, he attended masterclasses with Karl Leister, Martin Fröst, and Michael Collins, and participated in the Ligeti Academy with the ASKO Schönberg Ensemble, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw and Bas Wiegers, of which he remains a guest member.

He has worked as a musician and actor/performer in Claude Vivier’s Kopernikus, presented by DNO/NJO (De Nederlandse Opera/Nederlands Jeugd Orkest), marking his first encounter with musical theatre, and also participated in Opera Zuid/ICK Amsterdam’s production DeSoprano’s.

In 2010, he made his solo debut in Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera Albert Herring, produced by the Nederlandse Opera Academie (DNOA), while continuing his chamber music activity as part of a quartet with Colette Overdijk, Floor Lecoultre, Frank Zielhorst, and Ephraim van Ijzerlooi.

He is a founding member and musician of Oerknal, a contemporary music ensemble committed to interdisciplinary collaborations, exploring new artistic intersections and ways to renew the concert experience for audiences by performing works by composers such as John Zorn, Morton Feldman, Jason Eckhardt, David Lang, and Lewis Nielson.

Between 2008 and 2013, he was a member of the Ricciotti Ensemble, an orchestra dedicated to presenting a wide range of orchestral music in unconventional contexts and venues. With them, he performed over 500 concerts across the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Russia, and Poland.

He is also a member of the bands Sycamore Age, which explores the possibilities of the (bass) clarinet in popular music, experimenting with new textures, electronics, and sound manipulation, including electronics and sound manipulation with pedals; and Stargaze, which blurs the boundaries between contemporary music and experimental rock/pop, producing innovative projects and collaborating with musicians and performers from across the musical spectrum (David Longstreth, Boards of Canada, Damon Albarn, Lisa Hannigan, Arone Dyer, Morris Kliphuis, etc.).

Additionally, he is part of MiMic (Meaningful Music in Healthcare), a group of musicians performing written and improvised music for patients and healthcare staff in various hospital departments across the Netherlands.

Through improvisation, Daniel Boeke unleashes his creativity and experiments with new expressive possibilities. His ability to adapt to the present moment, listen to other musicians, and respond with spontaneity and intuition gives his performances a distinctive and vibrant character.