Fie Schouten, born in Amsterdam and still living there, performs in various formations at many different podia and festivals. She has performed all over the world and is playing on all the clarinets with a warm preferation for the low ones.
She studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she received her Bachelor Diplomas in clarinet and bassclarinet and a Masters Degree in bassclarinet with Harry Sparnaay, Tom Sieuwerts, and Herman Braune. She has participated in masterclasses in Austria (Impuls), Germany (Darmstadt) and France (Pablo Casals Festival), where she had lessons with clarinettists Ernesto Molinari, Michel Lethiec.
Chambermusic and solo
As a specialist in performing new music, she can be heard extensively as a soloist and in chambermusicformations, with her trio To be Sung, her new trio Sonic Hedgehog with Shanna Guitierrez flute, Wiek Hijmans guitar and in other formations.
Many new pieces are written for and premiered by her groups by composers with very diverse styles and of very different backgrounds and nationalities. Free improvisation appears in many of the pieces.
Fie Schouten initiated and leads together with Tobias Klein the Basklarinet Festijn, first edition: 2014. End 2014 she visited Helmut Lachenmann with her collegues Eva van de Poll and Keiko Shichijo to work on one of his most important pieces: the trio Allegro Sostenuto.
awards and cds
In 2014 her solo cd is released at Attacca Records.Her other cd’s ‘Of Villages and Spaces’ (KAIDA 2005), ‘Amsterdam, de wereld’ (To be Sung 2007) and ‘Spielzeug’ (bklar,acc,trb 2009) came out at Karnatic Lab Records. Schouten’s duo Kaida received the Tera de Marez Oyens Prijs in 2002 (NL). It won prize for best impro at the International Gaudeamus Competition (NL’03), best windensemble at 13th International Chambermusic Competition Illzach (F’03).
stockhausen
In 2008 Fie played her first piece by Stockhausen, now she is a specialist.
Fie played the solistic part as one of the ‘Clownesque Swallows’ in MICHAELS REISE um die Erde many times – mostly with the German Ensemble musikFabrik and in regie of La Fura dels Baus, but also with the Dutch ASKO-Schonberg ensemble and the French Ensemble Le Balcon.
She performed LICHT-BILDER (SONNTAG aus LICHT) in the production of musikFabrik/Oper Köln in 2011; MICHAELION (MITTWOCH aus LICHT) at the London 2012 Festival with the Birmingham Opera Company; HARMONONIEN (KLANG) oa at the MusikTriennale Köln; BASSETSU TRIO (MITTWOCH aus LICHT) and ROTARY quintet at the Festival d’Automne Paris 2013/2014; BASSETSU solo and TIERKREIS.
teaching
Fie is bass clarinetteacher at the Prince Claus Conservatory Groningen and guest-professor basscl at Codarts Rotterdam.Also she is teaching privately, mostly students and adults
clarinets
Fie is the owner of clarinets (Schwenk und Seggelke), bass clarinet (Buffet), bassethorn (Buffet) and contrabass clarinet (Leblcanc)Fie Schouten is Buffet Crampon Artist.
