Jong Metropole 

The Keep an Eye Foundation is proud to be in partnership with the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds. As enthusiastic advocates of culture and art they launched their first joint project in 2016: Young Metropole – where jazz meets classical music. An orchestra just as swinging as the famous Metropole Orchestra and on its way to reaching the same iconic status. Together with Young Metropole, The Keep an Eye Foundation and The Cultuurfonds provide very talented young musicians with a stage on which to show their talents to the world, while ensuring people can enjoy great music at special venues throughout the country. On top of this, the Keep an Eye Outstanding Talent Award is given to the most talented individual out of all the already extremely talented individuals, and who additionally has unifying qualities in the orchestra.

The Records

With The Records in Concert, Keep an Eye annually supports three albumproductions by up-and-coming jazz ensembles in the Netherlands. Alumni/bands (conditions below) of all Dutch conservatories can apply. A jury of prestigue jazz-professionals will decide which 7 bands will perform in the finals! The prize of € 10,000,- per band gives them the opportunity to develop and present themselves professionally.

With The Records on Tour, the prize package is extended to include a tour along number of Dutch jazz stages. For The Records on Tour, we are collaborating with the VNJJ (Vereniging Nederlandse Jazzpodia en Jazzfestivals). Known as the driving force behind the former Young Vip Tour. The VNJJ currently consists of forty of the most prominent jazz venues and festivals in the Netherlands. Think of the Bimhuis, LantarenVenster, TivoliVredenburg, Paradox, but also of some smaller venues.

Keep an Eye Summer Jazz Workshops 

Bright and talented jazz musicians attend comprehensive and intensive workshops and master classes with teachers from the Amsterdam Conservatory, notwithstanding international renowned teachers such as Justin DiCioccio from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. The week traditionally concludes with a performance on one of the most famous jazz stages in the Netherlands.

Keep an Eye International Jazz Award 

The Keep an Eye International Jazz Award is a competition for jazz musicians of outstanding ability. Every year students from international conservatories compete for several prices; best band, best soloist and best arrangement. The jury consists of various renowned names in the jazz world. Over the past few years the Keep an Eye Foundation is proud to have assisted many musicians with grants, mentoring and/or career assistance support.

‘Keep an Eye Jazz Concertjes’

Young musicians have a great need for playing experience. Not only the experience they gain during training, rehearsals or when performing for smaller groups of their peers, although it all contributes to them reaching a broader audience. Keep an Eye helps them to reach that audience and at the same time work on their practical experience.
In Singer Laren (Theater and Museum) both jazz and classical concerts are programmed throughout the year. Every first Sunday of the month, Keep an Eye hosts concerts that sell out every single time!
Jazz concerts in the Winter months, and classical concerts in the Summer. These concerts are a joint project of Singer and Keep an Eye. Singer offers the location and further facilities and Keep an Eye takes care of the fees of the musicians. The jazz concerts are programmed by the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
Apart from the concerts at Singer, since 2020 the Keep an Eye Foundation started a second series of concerts at the Studio 150 Bethlehemkerk. This former church in Amsterdam Noord was recently transformed into one of the most breathtaking and renowned studios in the Netherlands, and beyond. These concerts started just after COVID-19 stopped all live performances, and therefore the concerts will be broadcast as a livestream. Programmed by Georges Mutsaerts (director at Festival Wonderfeel), there will be a mix of jazz music, classical music and cabaret!

The Youngsters

What do you get when you bring young talent from different musical genres together… Adventure!
In 2020 we will kick off a new collaboration with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in which the two young talent departments at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam will be working together. The Sweelinck Academy (classical music, between 9-18 years) and the Junior Jazz College (jazz music, between 11-18 years). The first project of these Youngsters will consist of a large one-time orchestra (the CvA Young Talent Orchestra XL) conducted by Martin Fondse.
With his extensive experience, Martin Fondse knows how to work with young talent in a playful and innovative way, with room for improvisation, a good sound, freedom and adventure!
This project and future initiatives for these young musicians focus on community building for young talent and stimulating boundary-blurring cooperation! This will help the very youngest talent working on keeping their ears open and creating a broad network that will be of value for future music careers.

Grachtenfestival: The Jazz Gems

A new project that is still hard at work. But already in a nutshell: young talents who have ‘been on the road for a while’ will get the chance of their own stage at the famous Grachtenfestival Amsterdam. More information can be found here very soon.

Keep an Eye Production Price at Festival Wonderfeel

Wonderfeel is a three-day outdoor festival for classical music with the casual atmosphere of a pop festival. The seven Wonderfeel stages are situated in the beautiful nature of ‘s-Graveland and offer a great variety of performances: From world-class musicians to the most exciting newcomers. The Keep an Eye will support the young talent at the festival with the so-called Keep an Eye Production Price. This means that a young musician gets to realize a complete production in the following year. The lucky winner is selected by a professional jury during the festival and guided and presented by festival Wonderfeel.

Side by Side

In 2020, Keep an Eye started to collaborate with the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. This collaboration consists of a contribution to the Side by Side Project and an encouragement award for young talent.
During Side by Side, students are given the opportunity to collaborate with the ‘Orchestra of the 18th Century’.

Keep an Eye Talent Award

In 2020, Keep an Eye started to collaborate with the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. This collaboration consists of a contribution to the Side by Side Project and an encouragement award for young talent.
The Keep an Eye Talent Award is a prize worth €10.000,- and can be awarded to a student from either one of the Conservatories’ departments.

‘Keep an Eye Classical Concertjes’

Young musicians have a great need for playing experience. Not only the experience they gain during training, rehearsals or when performing for smaller groups of their peers, altough it all contributes to them reaching a broader audience. Keep an Eye helps them to reach that audience and at the same time work on their practical experience.
In Singer Laren (Theater and Museum) both jazz and classical concerts are programmed throughout the year. Every first Sunday of the month, Keep an Eye hosts concerts that sell out every single time! Jazz concerts in the Winter months, and classical concerts in the Summer. These concerts are a joint project of Singer and Keep an Eye. Singer offers the location and further facilities and Keep an Eye takes care of the fees of the musicians. The classical concerts are programmed by Georges Mutsaerts, who is also the director at Wonderfeel festival.

Notes, Beats and Bars

The project focuses on connecting young people from different backgrounds through art and culture, with a special focus on hip-hop and urban culture. Previous editions of the project have proven to be successful in reaching young people from various districts in The Hague, using music and dance as a means to discover talent and promote social cohesion.
The collaboration between The Hague HipHop Centre and The Residentie Orkest culminates in a major performance, Symphonic Junction Concert, at Het Paard in June 2025. This is a joint performance by the entire Residentie Orkest and rappers and breakdancers from Haags HipHop Centrum. A big name will be recruited for the other half of the programme. Preparation for this concert includes intensive rehearsals in which both classical musicians and hip-hop artists work together to create a unique musical experience. A symbiosis of different musical genres, the concert will be a cultural event that appeals to both traditional music lovers and lovers of modern urban culture.

The Dutch Don’t Dance Division – ballet

Twenty-five years ago, De Dutch Don’t Dance Division (DDDDD) was founded in the living room of Thom Stuart and Rinus Sprong. Since then, a solid community has been built where; young children are introduced to the stage; dancers in training and recent graduates learn to spread their wings; retired and less mobile people keep moving and patients with M.S. or Parkinson’s get a chance to work with their bodies. DDDDD, in its studio, is one of the few places in The Hague, or even in the world, where all these different people meet and share a passion.

From the very beginning, DDDDD had one important goal in mind: to make ballet less elitist. Thom Stuart and Rinus Sprong have always believed that dance should be accessible to everyone and all ages. They took ballet out of the theatre’s ‘black box’ and brought it to all kinds of venues inside and outside The Hague: from nursing homes to primary schools, from the Hofvijver to the City Hall, from performances at Armin van Buuren’s to the Grote Kerk, from living rooms to mass choreographies for 1,000 amateurs and from breakdance to Bollywood.