Janneke Brits
Originally from South Africa, Janneke Brits is a sought-after teacher and performer, currently living in London with her pianist-husband, James Kreiling and their young son. As concerto soloist she has performed with the Academy Beckett Ensemble - a result of winning the Early Music Prize at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama - with the Guildhall Early Music ensemble and with the Blackburn Symphony Orchestra. In 2011 she was granted special permission from the Cobbe Collection in Surrey to perform a recital on a fortepiano of 1785. She gained her BMus with distinction from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and her MMus, also with distinction, from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
She was subsequently made a Fellow of the Music department. Janneke was the piano teaching assistant at the Yehudi Menuhin School 2010-11.
As chamber pianist she has taken part in concert series and festivals in the US and throughout Europe, highlights being the International Master Classes at Prussia Cove, the Lagrasse Piano Festival in France, the Blair Atholl Showcase in Scotland. She has premiered for BBC Radio 3 works by Hans Werner Henze, Tristan Murail, and Peter Eotvos, broadcast from the Barbican Hall, London, and LSO St Luke's. She performs regularly in a two-piano duo with James Kreiling.
She currently teaches students of all abilities and ages privately, and is Head of Piano at Eltham College, London.