Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century Appoints New General Director

The Amsterdam-based Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has a new General Director, having previously operated under its original leadership for four decades. British trombonist and record executive Kate Rockett is to take over the role from Sieuwert Verster, who will step down in September 2022 to focus on his record label Attacca.

Rockett has a strong early music background: she trained initially as a trombonist at the Royal Academy of Music and then furthered her period-instrument expertise at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. After working in some of the world's top period ensembles, such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Gabrieli Consort, B’Rock Orchestra, and Concerto Köln, she moved into arts management. For the past six years, she has been the Artist & Repertoire Manager and Executive Producer at the label Pentatone.

The Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, which was founded in 1981 by Frans Brüggen and Lucy van Dael, performs works from an era that begins with Purcell and ends with Chopin. The group tours approximately six times each year, and all the musicians play either on period instruments or on contemporary copies.

"Since its founding over forty years ago by Frans Brüggen, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century has been a highly-respected key player in the historically-informed performance movement and has inspired many other ensembles, both in the Netherlands and worldwide," Rockett said.

"Sieuwert Verster has been at the helm for all this time: a quite exceptional track record and a difficult act to follow. The orchestra is a remarkable international collective of passionate and committed musicians; I am delighted to have the opportunity to shape the next chapter of the organisation’s history,” she added.