Monthly courses
A series of 7 saturdays form November to May
Every year, the Hurdy-Gurdy and Bagpipe Foundation offers a monthly course series. From November through May, players from all over the country then meet in Zeist one Saturday a month. The lessons last a whole afternoon, so the course is actually worth the trip.
There are courses for beginner to advanced hurdy-gurdy and bagpipe players. The lessons will be in groups of 4-10 people. There is also a ensemble playing group where all instruments are welcome and there are two courses for accordion.
A well playable and perfectly tuned instrument is essential for participation. No instrument? No problem! Course participants can rent an instrument. Participants are also required to study/play the music at home to prepare their tunes for the next lesson.
Dates in 2026-2027
- Saturday 14-Nov2026
- Saturday 19-Dec 2026
- Saturday 9-Jan 2027
- Saturday 13-Feb 2027
- Saturday 13-March 2027
- Saturday 10-April 2027
- Saturday 22-May 2027
- Alternative date: Saturday * – 12 June 2027
Course days start at 13:00 and last until 17:00. There will be a short break halfway through. We aim to open the building between 12.30 and 12.45.
The alternate Saturday is in case on of the dates unfortunately has to be cancelled due to, for example, icy conditions, snow or other circumstances beyond our control.
The courses:
These are the courses / teachers of this monthly courses. The link will go to the Dutch page. Normally the courses will be given in Dutch. Check with the teacher to see if lessons can also be held in English.
- Ensemble for all instruments – Wouter Kuyper
- Bagpipes for beginners – Menno Wester (*)
- Bagpipes beginners to half advanced players – Dorine Boudewijn
- Bagpipes half advanced to advanced players – Liesbet Marivoet
- Hurdygurdy for beginners – Petra Leeflang & Rea de Rybel (*)
- Hurdygurdy beginners to half advanced players – Lies Sommer
- Hurdygurdy half advanced to advanced players – Gertjan Jorissen
- Diatonic accordeon (GC) for beginners – Malini Klapper
- Diatonic accordeon (GC) for half advanced players – Sandra de Jong
Location
The Saturday course takes place at “De Griffel, this is a primary school in Zeist (close to the city of Utrecht).
There is free parking in front of the door and its good accesable with public transport. The nearest bus stop is only a 4 minutes walk. A good website to plan your travels with public transport in the Netherlands is 9292.nl
The adress is.
De Clomp 2002/04
3704 KC Zeist
The Netherlands
Costs & Registration
- Course series cost around 265 euros,
- Optional: Instrument rental (hurdy-gurdy or bagpipes): €108 per 3 months plus €108 deposit. This amount should be transferred together with the course fee.
As hurdy-gurdies are less common and it is rare for people to purchase one partway through the course, the hire fee for a hurdy-gurdy is often charged in one lump sum for the entire course period.
Impressions of the lessons
more impressions at our youtube-channel or at the photo-page.