On Saturday, March 7, 2026, we are organizing a workshop for horn players in collaboration with the Dutch Horn Society (NHG).
If you play the French horn, alto horn, or cor horn, you are very welcome to participate.
Riane van Kooten and Gerben de Boer have agreed to lead these workshops.
Both musicians play in the orchestra of the Royal Military Band “Johan Willem Friso” from Assen.

Thanks to the partnership with the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG), members of the society can participate in the workshop at the NHG’s expense. Not yet a member?
Don’t panic. Register with the NHG quickly before registering
for the workshop to be eligible for free participation.
Click here or scan the QR code alongside to register with the Dutch Horn Society.

Not a member of the NHG and don’t want to join?
The participation fee is only €25 per person, and this should be transferred simultaneously with your registration to account number:
IBAN: NL52 RABO 0163 6211 44, payable to Stichting Activiteiten Muziekbond (Foundation Activities Music Union)
, with the reference “horn workshop 2026” and the participant’s name

. Register using the form at the bottom of this page.

Location:
MFA Het Schakelveld,
Witterhoofdweg 1a,
9405 HX ASSEN

The following topics will be discussed during this day:

• Deepening breathing, embouchure and sound production
• Improving technique and musicality
• Discovering the entire range of the horn: from low to high
• Playing and listening together in a horn ensemble

During the workshop we want to learn from each other and connect with young and old.
All topics will be applied – possibly with a more in-depth explanation – in
the repertoire.


Program
09.15 am – Reception of participants with coffee and/or tea
09.45 am – Welcome speech by the organization
09.50 am – Announcement and content of the workshops
10.00 am – Joint warm-up
10.30 am – Start of workshop 1
12.15 pm – Lunch
1.00 pm – Joint horn ensemble
2.00 pm – Start of workshop 2
3.45 pm – Short break
4.00 pm – Presentation and concert by the horn ensemble

For more information, please contact one of the people below from the MGD:
Vincent Weehuizen weehuizen@mgdonline.nl – Tel. 06-18428321
Cor Blankenstijn: blankenstijn@mgdonline.nl – Tel. 06-53973570

Biography Riane van Kooten

Riane van Kooten began playing the alto horn at the age of seven in the local brass band. At 15, she switched to the French horn.
She studied horn at the Utrecht Conservatory, earning her teaching diploma in 1996 and her performing diploma in 1998.
During her studies, she played in the National Youth Orchestra and the Netherlands Student Orchestra.
From 1999 to 2002, she studied wind and brass band conducting at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg.
Riane played as a substitute with various Dutch symphony orchestras and musical orchestras.
Since 1997, she has worked as a horn player in the Royal Netherlands Army, first with the Royal Netherlands Army Fanfare Corps and, from 2005, with the Royal Military Band Johan Willem Friso.
As a horn teacher and conductor, she has been and continues to be active in various music associations and provides private lessons. She also leads workshops and group horn rehearsals.

Biography Gerben de Boer

Gerben de Boer grew up in Varsseveld in the Achterhoek region, where his interest in music was sparked by the brass band music of the local Jubal group. It was primarily due to the lack of horn players that the horn became the instrument on which he took his first musical steps. He quickly became fascinated by the instrument’s rich history and the many facets of horn playing in ensembles and orchestras. After playing for several years in the National Youth Fanfare Orchestra, the conservatory was the next step.
At the Twente Conservatory in Enschede, he obtained his teaching diploma under Miroslav Ricanek and regularly attended masterclasses with Hermann Baumann, among others, and summer courses in Brno, Czech Republic. Gerben then pursued the performing musician program at the Maastricht Conservatory, graduating in 1995 with Prof. Erich Penzel.
Since 1996, Gerben has been employed as a horn player at the Ministry of Defence, initially with the JWF band and currently with the KMKJWF. In addition to his work at the band, Gerben has also been busy giving horn lessons during those years, including at the Center for the Arts in Emmen/Coevorden, and further developing his horn playing on the alphorn and Viennese horn.