“By creating music, I hope to evoke emotions in the listener. My ultimate goal is just that: to make people feel something. If I somehow manage to make the world just a tiny bit more human through my music, one of my greatest dreams will be achieved.” – Catharina
Through her work, Dutch composer Catharina Clement (1998) seeks to express a personal voice and reach a wide audience. Her musical language is inspired by personal stories, fantasy, philosophy, nature and mysticism, and is characterised as lyrical, colourful and imaginative. She composes vocal, chamber and orchestral music, and develops interdisciplinary works for which she often writes her own texts and directs the performances. Alongside composing, she is active as a performer, specialising in classical singing.
Catharina Clement holds a BA in Composition from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, where she studied with Willem Jeths, Richard Ayres and Meriç Artaç, and trained in classical singing with Sasja Hunnego and Pierre Mak. In 2021, she completed an MA in Music Studies at the University of Amsterdam, focusing on forbidden music during World War II. She is currently mentored by singer and conductor Barbara Hannigan.
Her work has been performed by leading ensembles and musicians. In October 2025, her commissioned work ‘Insneeuwing’ for the Netherlands Philharmonic, conducted by Aziz Shokhakimov, premiered at the Concertgebouw. Earlier that year, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Jurjen Hempel workshopped her music. She composed the short opera ‘Een Ragnarok’, which premiered at the Dutch National Opera. Currently, she is writing the compulsory song for the International Student LiedDuo Competition 2026.