Knowledge centre
Leo Smit Foundation is a knowledge centre open to anyone who wants to know more about composers who were persecuted in the Second World War. Because of their situation their work has sunk into oblivion, yet in many cases they were the musical leaders of their time. Leo Smit Foundation is dedicated to the discovery and research of these composers and to the publication of their works, in collaboration with editors and other partners. Our aim is to make the lives, work and context of these composers accessible to all. Leo Smit Foundation, with its international contacts, also acts as a knowledge broker for persons and organisations working on the same material.
Music needs to be heard
Music is intended to be heard. At Leo Smit Foundation we encourage the performance of works by persecuted composers and we very actively spread the repertoire. We have a group of musicians who have become very knowledgeable in this area and specialised in the repertoire. Under the title of the Leo Smit Ensemble they regularly give concerts at top venues in the Netherlands and other countries.
Small organisation
Leo Smit Foundation is a small organisation with a virtual office and no permanent employees. There is a Board which decides the policy and actions of the Foundation. Day-to-day tasks are delegated to the artistic and business directors. The Board Members are: Roger van Boxtel (Chair), Philomeen Lelieveldt (Vice-chair), Vivian (Secretary), Wim Ruijgrok (Treasurer), Vivian Colland and Anne Houk (adviser exhibitions). Board members are volunteers and receive no remuneration or expenses.
Eleonore Pameijer (Artistic Director) is responsible for programming the Uilenburg Concerts and the Leo Smit Ensemble. She studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where she obtained the grade cum laude (Distinction) in her final solo exams. She then went on to study in the United States and in Italy. In 1984 she won First Prize in the Frank Martin Competition and made her debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. In 1985 she issued her first CD, of Bach sonatas, which still enjoys enormous popularity. From 1985 to 2000 she was first flute in the Asko Ensemble and then in the Schoenberg Ensemble. As a soloist she has performed with many orchestras and ensembles all over the world. Eleonore has appeared in several radio and television programmes and has a great many CDs to her name. In 1996 she set up the Leo Smit Foundation together with the pianist Frans van Ruth. In 2005, she registered the CD label FutureClassics, with recordings of music by composers such as Rosy Wertheim and Dick Kattenburg. www.eleonorepameijer.com
Charley Harsema is in charge of the website and social media. She also publishes videos and recordings on the youtube channel of the Leo Smit Foundation.
Madelon de Keizer is the general office manager.
Silhouetten
Leo Smit’s biography Silhouetten was published in 2001 (in Dutch).
Suppressed composers in the Netherlands
Vervolgde componisten in Nederland was published in 2015 by Amsterdam University Press. Twenty one authors contributed to this collection of biographies of 35 composers who were forbidden in the Netherlands during the Second World War. The book will be published in German and English in 2020.
Let forbidden music sound again
In the Second World War, many composers were silenced because of their Jewish descent or their resistance. Their music was forbidden. The Leo Smit Stichting carries out research, tells composers' stories, makes sheet music available and performs forgotten music. Together with musicians, programmers, researchers and listeners we give composers their rightful place in music history.
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