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Sit back in your comfy chair, relax, have a good cup of coffee and soak op the knowledge and stories your favourite music heroes and heroines have to tell. In The Lick, Florian talks at length with both well-established and fresh young music talents, looking for lessons to learn and fun to share.

Maartje Meijer (1985) was brought up with classical piano and started her musical career at the Conservatory of Utrecht in 2004. In Utrecht Maartje studied with jazz vocalist Lydia van Dam. In 2005 she was invited by pianist Bert van den Brink to join the jazz piano department at the Utrecht Conservatory. In 2006 Maartje switched to the conservatory of Amsterdam (to continue both majors) and got lessons from a.o. Karel Boehlee, Rob van Bavel, Hans Vroomans and Deborah Brown. She graduated Cum Laude in jazz vocals in may 2009 and finished her piano studies in 2011.

In her master program Maartje went to study counterpoint at the classical department and studied in Berlin at the JIB (Jazz Institut Berlin). Most of the time in Germany she studied arranging with the experienced arranger Jörg Achim Keller (chief conductor of the NDR bigband). This lead to arranging work in Germany for the LandesJugendOrchester (Lajjazzo) with conductor Jiggs Whigham and in Holland for "Stichting Swing", the Jazzorchestra of the Concertgebouw and many choirs.

Maartje performs in different groups. Vaarzon Morel, van Ruller & Meijer is a flamenco-jazz band that performed at different great venues in Holland (a.o. the Concertgebouw and Vredenburg). Maartje has her own piano/vocal trio with Tobias Nijboer and Kaspars Kurdeko and they will record their debut CD in spring. Her third big project at the moment are the New Amsterdam Voices; an a cappella vocal group of conservatory students. Maartje is their musical director, coach and writer.

As a teacher she works as an ensemble coach of the New Amsterdam Voices at the conservatory of Amsterdam and subbed for different teachers (pop keys, solfege, and main subject vocals). She conducts and writes for different choirs and has her private students.

All music and video in this production was shot and used with express permission by Maartje Meijer and the Bimhouse Jazzclub.