Meet Our Team
Our team exists out of experienced leaders, professional musicians and music teachers, all with a great love for music and the heart in the right place. We are all fully committed to make a succes out of Sounds for freedom. Feel free to contact us with questions for collaboration. We are excited to work with likeminded people!
Evelien Graat
Founder & Director
"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
- Paulo Coelho -
With many years of experience in various cultural organisations it was time to commit to my life mission: music from the heart for vulnerable people, especially children. Since my childhood I've been writing poetry, played the violin since I was 5 years old, studied at the 'Vrije Muziek Akademie' and started with songwriting at the age of 21. As a violin teacher I worked 7 years for the 'Leerorkest' in Amsterdam, which was a wonderful experience. Trained as a classical violinist, songwriter and music teacher and equipped with knowledge of running a non-profit organisation it all comes together in the honorable role of director for Sounds for freedom. More importantly: coming from deep valleys, music has been the greatest inspiration to follow my dreams. Now it's time to give back to society.
Robert-Jan Nieland
Chairman
"When your intentions are pure, so will be your succes."
- Charles F. Glassman MD -
Robert-Jan is an experienced board-member and a socially-minded and innovative entrepreneur. As a motivated 'world improver', he is a member of various (including cultural) ANBI non-profits boards and board-member of the Dutch branch of the worldwide NGO "Green Cross International". He was also founder, director and initiator of various innovative companies and projects, including in the field of care, the environment and energy. “The importance of the other and the world” motivates him, especially when that other person needs help. Assessing the “purity and transparency of everyone's IntentIons” is his yardstick for all the projects he tackles or supports. In addition, he has a great passion for music and produces music and CD's and composes, among other things, classical orchestral works and film music.
Michiel Mulder
Treasurer
Michiel has a passion for music and a heart for social injustice. In the past he has performed with a band and with cabaret songs. He was a member of the Amsterdam city council for eight years. In this capacity, he manages, among other things, the finance portfolio, served on the accounts committee and chaired the audit committee, which is responsible for formulating the assignment to the accountant. Previously he was a board member of a dance company foundation, that made performances about sexual harassment and the necessity of guarding boundaries in human relationships. In addition, he works in spatial planning and in that capacity he is responsible for the smooth running of housing projects.
Mr. Robert Moszkowicz
Secretary
'Si vis pacem, para bellum'
- Plato -
Mr. Robert Moszkowicz was born on May 16, 1953 in Maastricht. After primary school, he attended the gymnasium at the Stedelijk Lyceum in Maastricht in the Alfa direction. He then studied Dutch law at the University of Utrecht, graduating with pleasure in February 1976. He was then 22 years old and was sworn in as a lawyer within two weeks afterwards the Maastricht court, as the youngest lawyer in the Netherlands.
In his spare time Robert Moszkowicz plays as a pianist on his grand piano and does his best to play sounds created by himself. He shares our love for music and is willing to help us with his both musical and legal knowledge within the board of Sounds for freedom.
Amrita Singh
Marketing & Communication
Music is a medicine. It heals the soul and it makes you align with your true self. At the hardest moments in my life, making music on the guitar is what gives me strength. Moving from your home country, leaving everything behind, it is the hardest thing to do. I cannot imagine what these children are going through, but I can empathize and support them by contributing to Sounds for Freedom. Working and supporting such a beautiful organization is all I can ask for.
Sascha Schaufeli
Project leader
Whilst taking myself under construction, Sounds For Freedom crossed my path. Working for a greater purpose and connect more to my mission is what I want to do. A major social problem is that there are children who are victims of abuse and war, children who are not able to enjoy the freedom all the children deserve. I want to help by contributing to the projects of SFF. I have worked as a primary school teacher, writer and video producer and feel motivated to work with a team whose goals are aligned and to interpret the ideas into specific projects. Projects that I love to elaborate and organize.
Jonathan Gesu
Online marketing
At my previous job at the library of Amsterdam, I worked with non-native speakers, including immigrants and expats. When I saw the vacancy for a marketing employee on LinkedIn, I was immediately enthusiastic. I was looking for an internship, because I am retraining through the UWV for Online marketeer.
It's amazing to see that there are institutions like Sounds for Freedom that are committed to helping others. In this case, among other things, children who have fled their country and now live in a country with strange people, a foreign language and a different culture.
What a great initiative to help these children with all kinds of music projects.
I am happy that I can work at Sounds for Freedom as an intern.
Diana Mol
Expert music & language NT2, music therapist, coach
Diana Mol graduated cum laude from KUN with a thesis on the dance therapy of Charlotte Querido. She worked as a music therapist, music teacher at primary and secondary schools secondary education, music on lap- teacher, and as a choral conductor of adult and children's choir. She wrote a musical about the Torteltuin and also gave singing lessons for many years. She then became an NT2 teacher and taught for many years language lessons and integration training for newcomers at the ROC in Delft and The Hague and several years at the COA in Katwijk and Rotterdam. Because she wanted to know how music Dutch language lessons can support she wrote a book about this. She is part of the international Music for Peace choir that regularly plays the Hohe Messe in the world sings (Dachau, Paris, Jerusalem, etc.). She is the conductor herself of the Sufi choir in The Hague and of a world music choir in Delft. She writes poems about the liberation of (inner) war. She wants to share her experience with Sounds for freedom, by content thinking along, writing songs and advice on music and language lesson.
Xizhe Dai
Videographer and editor
I am a volunteer videographer and editor. I shoot concert videos and edit them as well. The reason why I joined SFF is that I hope everyone has the equal right to live and live in a peaceful world.
Maaike Mayer
Teacher, language teacher & language assistant
Musicians
Ernest Dobber
Musician, teacher & songwriter
Orsaya Hertzinger
Music performer & education
Michelle Hartskeerl
Vocalist & Music teacher
Melle Kuiper
Music therapist
Mireille Bittar
Soprano & Singing teacher at Artez
Esther Spee
Vocal trainer
So beautiful how Desmond Tutu as chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996 showed how much power vocals have. When emotions ran too high, he laid conversations quiet and he suggested to sing. He connected people by singing together. (See documentary; Children of the light, 2014). Singing can help people through trauma. In addition to this wonderful fact, you are unconsciously also using (a new) language while singing busy; words, sentences, sounds, rhyme, intonation. Win win. That my intention was to with newcomers to sing, is clear. As a teacher, as a language teacher (Hogeschool Utrecht), as a language support worker, as a thinker about multilingual policy, I give the musicians of Sounds for Freedom lesson on language development and multilingualism. Substantiated knowledge and exchange of practical experiences ensure that the music teachers have the expertise to be able to make a positive contribution to the language development of newcomers.