Marijke encourages her students to look at themselves and the world frankly and with wonder. Playful exercises and experiments in an informal setting help to bring down barriers and inhibitions in order to gradually evolve towards better control. In this way, Marijke helps to clear the path for the player’s inner wellspring, so that confidence, feeling and music can flow freely.

First and foremost, Marijke teaches her pupils to listen, to sounds and music, to themselves and others. She instils in them the urge to direct their attention to what is essential and teaches them to find, keep and deepen their focus.

Balance is vital in every aspect of our lives, not least when playing the piano. The balance between trust and control, confidence and humility, passion and cool-headedness is essential for every musician. Marijke helps her students to achieve that balance and maintain it. And that includes balancing their sound and learning how to wield it in the space they are playing in. In everything she does, Marijke sees to it that all elements are given the attention and importance they deserve.

By giving trust, Marijke helps her students build confidence. She teaches them to hold their own, stay positive, change things round when experiencing difficulty and score triumph after triumph by learning to deal with failure. She convinces her pupils to pursue their goals with conviction, to embrace challenge and – most of all – to never give up.