Robert de Bree
Robert de Bree is a recorder player, historical oboist, improviser, teacher and researcher. For them research is inextricably connected with each performance. Their research focuses on historically inspired improvisation for melodic instruments. With The Scroll Ensemble they have brought improvisation concerts for more than 20 years and teach historical improvisation at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.
In 2021 Robert received a scholarship from the Festival de Musique Improvisée de Lausanne to research partimento for melodic instrumentalists, and in 2024 from the Gemeente Den Haag. This was further presented widely at e.g. Koninklijk Vereniging voor Muziekgeschiedenis (2022), Early Music America (2023) and the Partimento Conference at the MDW (2024).
In 2025 two peer-reviewed articles will be published. One article investigates 19th-century oboe methods and etudes for hints of improvisation pedagogies and will be published in The Historical Oboe – Current state of the research, contemporary practice, and perspectives beside articles by some of the foremost researchers in this field. The other article will be published in the Chigiana Journal of Musicological Studies, synthesising repertoire, improvisation pedagogy for piano, research into over 200 methods for melodic instruments and contemporary theory into an investigation into how to improvise mono-thematic fantasias on wind instruments. These publications are also a result of Robert’s current work at the Lectorate (2025-2026) of the Royal Conservatory, where the specific focus is on the 19th-century Potpourri.
They also have a YouTube channel to share their research with the rest of the world (www.youtube.com/thescrollensemble).
Robert is recorder professor at the Utrecht Conservatory and taught workshops all over the world; recently at Conservatories in Riga, Katowice, Vienna, Brussels, Tel Aviv and Frankfurt and at the MentiParti Summer Course in Basel. Robert also performs with leading ensembles and orchestras in their field, such as the English Baroque Soloists, Academy of Ancient Music and Ensemble Pygmalion.
