Maarten ter
Horst
I work in the office at the Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation two days a week. I prepare invoices for musicians, process invoices from instrument makers, and answer questions from musicians about the financial aspects of the loan. I collaborate with all my colleagues, from collection management to marketing, on the financial aspects of all our activities.
‘In music, I tell storiesbuilt on contrasting emotions’
The rest of the week I work as a composer. My great passion is chamber music. My first and second string quartets were released on an album, which you can listen to on Spotify and other platforms. I also write vocal music. In music, I tell stories built on contrasting emotions. I find collaborating with good musicians on a composition very inspiring, as I recently did with the Zenith Trio, consisting of two saxophones and a piano.
When, after several detours, I finally started working full-time as a composer, I realized that was what I was meant to do in this life. I did miss collaborating with colleagues, though. That's why it feels valuable to work within the warm and friendly team of the foundation, in a modest role, using the experience I gained in music, mathematics, computer science, and entrepreneurship for musicians who need a good instrument.