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Ilja Huang

Ilja is born on Curaçao. She starts playing the piano at the age of 7. She graduated as a soloist at the conservatory in Enschede. She played until 2005 in Holland and Germany in a piano duo. Back in Curacao she had a warm wellcome by the local musicians. She organized concerts for chamber music and concerts for children, and music theatre  a.o. Peter and the Wolf, Le Carnaval des Animaux  en de Nutcracker. In april she organized with tenor Thijs Haalstra for the first time on Curacao a  ‘Opera-per-Tutti’ with  three concerts. 

Thijs Haalstra

Thijs graduated at the Schumann Akademie in Zwolle in classical solo singing. He performed a.o.with de Nederlandse Bach Akademie and het Nederlands Concertkoor. In 2014 he performed in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 2017 Thijs represented the Netherlands in the  internationale muziekfestival FEMUSC in Brazil. Thijs plays as violinist in the Projectorchestra Curacao.

Judy Sprock

Judy originates from a musical Curaçao family. At a very young age she started recorder lessons with a non. Later on she played the guitar during her art education in the Netherlands. In Curacao she started playing the flute, and she followed lessons from professionals  in the Netherlands.  In 1986 she returned permanently to Curaçao. There she started playing hobo. She performed in the Bach Accompaniment Orchestra. Judy also begun playing the kwarta, and performed original Curacao music. But her main instrument today is the flute.

Hein van Maarschalkerwaart
Hein van Maarschalkerwaart  (artist name: Art Marshall) plays on a professional basis the clarinet and he is arranger. Hein studied English and worked from 1965 on St. Maarten.There he met Benny Goodman, who had a summer house over there. In Amsterdam he studied professional clarinet and basclarinet.  He played in many orhestras a.o.the Metropole Orchestra, and in manyensembles for chamber music. He wrote an improvisation method for clarinet and saxophone “Art Marshall: Take up Jazz”, published also in England FGermany and France. The book was dedicated to Benny Goodman. His musical arrangements got internationally well known, as is to see at YouTube.

Enid Lucasius

Enid Lucasius played from childhood on the recorder. At the age of 15 she starts playing the fagot. In spite of her talented play, she choose for studying engeneering at the Technical University of Delft. But she continued playing the fagot and followed  masterclasses and

Caroline de Jong has been teaching the saxofoon since arriving on Bonaire in 2014. She missed playing in a group from her time in the Netherlands and because there was no suitable musical group for her to join she started offering saxophone lessons. A kind sponsor purchased the first saxophones which could be rented to students. The first ever two students then aged 11 and 12 are still playing and are now part of the group of saxophonists called “Saxomania”. Many students of various ages followed and due to their enthousiasm they started to play together.

It all started very small and it was never thought that it would expand to what it is today.

Saxomania has been a Foundation with a committee  since september 2017 offering lessons and performing. There are now 19 students as well as 8 players in the group one of which plays the baritone! Saxomania is very proud of it’s achievements all which would not have been possible without the chairman’s enthusiasm and drive along with the support and help from others. Harbour Village sponsor the group by allowing them to rehearse in one of their rooms ensuring a comfortable environment in which to weekly rehearse and teach as well as providing room for expansion. Drummer Gabi Mercera enthusiastically joins the group on performance nights and the Dutch Government gave a grant in order to purchase 12 saxophones. 

The saxophone is an expensive instrument and a limited fund is available to allow people to rent a saxophone and have lessons. 

The group is looking forward to the upcoming visit of Henk van Twillert and his Vento do Norto. Saxomania will  receive private tuition, master classes as well as being able to play and perform with the professionals. What a great opportunity and a wonderful CMBB initiative for which we are very grateful as the one and only saxophone group on Bonaire.

More than 45 years ago King Scherptong I Egilio Goeloe came up with the idea to start a steelband. Since then they started with 5 members and over the years they have changed members multiple times and today they have 12 members forming the steelband Silver Bullet.

The band has traveled to play internationally at different lands and countries like , Chile , Trinidad , Mexico , Aruba , Curacao and a lot more

Name   : Egilio Goeloe

Age       : 63

Years playing in steel band : 47

Year started   : 1966

Instrument : Soprano

How I started : I really liked the music and used to listen to it on the radio and since I was little I used to like working with tools and so I like making notes in a and Ipan from scratch  liked it more than any other instrument so I decided to play it.

Name : Jeffrey Scherptong

Age : 50

Year playing in steel band : 33

Year started : 1980

Instrument : Alt Sopraan

How I started : My brother came to me and asked me if I wanted to start playing with the band and I just said yes.

  

Name : Suleima Thode

Age : 20

Years playing in steel band : 4

Instrument : Alt Sopraan

How I started : The silver bullet members came to give us lessons , than the lessons stopped and I was still interested so I went to them and they trained me till I could play.

Name : Nilda Emerenciana

Age : 54

Years playing in steel band :   7

Year started : 2006

Instrument : Double Tenor

How I started : I thought the instrument was very unique and I was very interested to learn how to play it.

  

Name : Rishinel Anthony

Age : 45

Years playing in steel band : 26

Year started : 1987

Instrument : Cello

How I started : Boeboei came to me due to a player who couldn’t play anymore and ask me to play , so I started training and that’s how I began. 

Name: Felix Mercera

Age: 53

Years playing in steel band : 22

Year started : 1990

Instrument : Bass

How I started : Well their base player went to Aruba and Boeboei asked me If I wanted to join the band and I said yes , so I went and practiced the songs and I’ve been playing ever since.

Name : Marc Mercera

Age : 42

Years playing in steel band : 11

Year started : 2002

Instrument : Percussion

How I started : Well Julius invited me to come and play in the steel band and i stayed till today.

Name : Judell Emerenciana

Age : 39

Years playing in steel band : 15

Years started : 1998

Instrument : Drums

How I started : I was in a different steel band than I went to study at Curacao and when I came back I was approached by Mr. Scherptong and was ask to join Silver Bullet , so I trained with them for 1 year and than I just started playing.

 

Name : Nelson Anthony

Age : 54

Years playing in steel band : 3

Year started : 2010

Instrument : Drums

How I started : I was approached by Jeffrey , Marc and Julius , they convinced me to come play in the steel band and it’s very fun , I’m very proud to be playing with Silver Bullet.

Chaira Borderslee started singing on when she was five. She sang in the Antillean children’s choir Zjozjoli, in which they made albums and children’s films. She studied at the Nel Roos Ballet Academy and then followed the premiere and higher professional education training Showmusical at the Amsterdam Dance Academy Lucia Marthas. She grew up in Heiloo .

During her pre-tertiary education, Borderslee was seen as a singer and dancer in many well-known television programmes such as The Voice of Holland and The Next Pop Talent, by Joop van den Ende and John de Mol, in which she performed with celebrities like Barry White. In addition to her high school education, Borderslee also performed vocal studio work on the R&B duo Unknown. Later she was asked to sing at the Dutch-language R&B project Vogelvrij. With this ensemble they recorded an album, two singles and two video clips.

In her graduation year, she made the transition to musical and played in, among others, West Side Story, Miss Saigon, Fame, Aida, Hair and Tarzan. In Aida and Hair she performed key roles.

Chaira Borderslee begon te zingen op toen ze vijf was.  Zij zong in het Antilliaanse kinderkoor Zjozjoli, waar ze kinderfilms en platen hebben gemaakt. Ze studeerde aan de Nel Roos Ballet Academie. Daarna volgde er een hoger professioneel onderwijs: Showmusical op het Amsterdam Dance Academy Lucia Marthas. Ze groeide op in Heiloo  .

Tijdens haar opleiding, werd Borderslee gezien als zanger en danser in vele bekende televisieprogramma’s zoals de Voice van Holland en de volgende Pop Talent,  door Joop van den Ende en John de Mol,  waarin ze optrad met beroemdheden als Berry White. Naast haar middelbare schoolopleiding zong Borderslee ook vocale studiowerk op de R & B duo Unknown. Later werd ze gevraagd om te zingen op het Nederlandstalige R & B-project Vogelvrij. Met dit ensemble namen ze een album, twee singles en twee videoclips.

In haar eindexamenjaar, ze maakte de overgang naar de musical en speelde in ondermeer, West Side Story,  Miss Saigon,  Fame, Aida,  Haar en Tarzan.  In Aida en hair speelde ze een belangrijke rol.