January 2018: Article in “Mijn Den Haag” (My The Hague). Donij van Doorn travels the world with André Rieu. Click on the picture to read the article in the Harmony Parlor. So nice to read that Donij lives in our city: The Hague (Den Haag). She loves the seaside as much as we do!

June 2018. A nice article about Donij appeared in the local paper “Tubantia”, titled: Donij’s eternal love for her father. Click on the picture to read the translated article in the Harmony Parlor.

During the André Rieu concerts 2018 in July in Maastricht, Donij van Doorn will give two Meet and Greets for the fans, at the shop “Jouw Marktkraam”, Jodenstraat 32, Maastricht. The first one will take place on Sunday July 8th at 3 PM. The second on Friday July 13th, also at 3 PM. Donij announced a musical surprise, together with Anna Majchrzak and the two Chinese sopranos Jing Li and Shao Lin. What a joy that will be for the fans!! For a photo impression of the meet and greet, click HERE.

Donij on Facebook: June 2018. I proudly invite you to our charity concert on June 8th, Music4Life for the benefit of the Dutch Cancer Society! The concert will take place at 8 PM in the Arke Hall of the Wilminktheater and Music Center Enschede. The most beautiful opera and musical melodies are interspersed with virtuoso piano works! With the support of tenor Erik Slik and pianists Wouter Munsterman and Brandon van Doorn. The entire proceeds go to the charity!!

First of all, I would like to thank my dear mother for organizing and promoting this event so courageously. Mom, I think it's great that you have done so much effort to raise money for the Dutch Cancer Society!

For the first time Donij performed on stage together with her two brothers: Rowan was the presenter of the evening and Brandon is a talented piano player.

Dear Agnes Fizzano Walter came all the way over to Enschede to see the concert and the styling was completely in her hands: the great hairdo, the beautiful vine and that stunning red dress! Thank you for being such a great friend!

In 2017 Donij van Doorn joined a few fan events in Maastricht. She organized a Meet and Greet at the shop “Jouw Marktkraam” (Your Market Booth), Jodenstraat 32, Maastricht (next to the Tourist Office), and she loved to talk to her fans. Click HERE to read a review, by Ruud and Ineke.

Photo credits: Marcel van Hoorn.

During the series of 12 André Rieu concerts in a row in July 2019 in Maastricht, Donij held again a Meet and Greet at Jouw Marktkraam, Jodenstraat 32, Maastricht. She introduced her boyfriend Fabian Egli, who joined the male choir during the concert series. She told us that they have been together now for 8 years. Fabian hails from Switzerland. She posted this backstage picture on Facebook.

To get an impression of the meet and greet, check this website under Previous items and Maastricht 2019, or Click HERE.

This is what André Rieu wrote on his website, to introduce Donij. Donij van Doorn During our DVD recordings in the Efteling fairy tale and amusement park (2006), one of my choir sopranos suddenly became ill. Fortunately, Donij (who at the time was studying at the Maastricht Academy of Music) was able to fill in at the last moment. This beauty from Twente (arear in the province of Overijssel) immediately enchanted me, with her crystal clear voice. For Donij, it was a fairy tale that came true. She told me later that as a girl, she wanted most of all to become a princess! Donij loves opera; she now has numerous roles on her name as an opera singer. She even got to know her boyfriend during an opera production. I am very glad that Donij travels around the world with us. When she sings her arias, it simply makes me cry, it is so beautiful.

The brass band “Eensgezindheid” from Maasbracht-Beek (Limburg, the Netherlands) is celebrating its 135th anniversary this year. At the end of this jubilee year a gala concert takes place on Saturday evening, November 9, 2019, in conference center “the Spil” in Maasbracht. The main guest on this evening is the soprano Donij van Doorn. After her conservatory studies in Maastricht, Donij gained fame in various Dutch operetta houses. Since 2015, the Dutch soprano has been traveling the world as a permanent soloist with André Rieu and his Johann Strauss orchestra.

April 2020. What are Donij and Fabian doing during the Corona crisis without André Rieu concerts? Giving Mini-Concerts to support vulnerable people. “I really miss touring and making music with my Rieu family, but I try to make the best of it. I do chores which normally remain: polish furniture, baking, gardening. And the best part: giving mini concerts with my friend and singer Fabian Egli. At nursing homes, where we try to support vulnerable, isolated people. We already have about thirty concerts behind us. A smile, a tear, moving feet and hands, words being sung along, that's what we do it for. I am also a bit afraid that people do not follow the rules and companies go under; and am concerned about people with occupations which are now so heavily taxed; and people who cannot say goodbye to their loved ones. But I also see so many beautiful things happening. People who support each other creatively. Heartwarming!"

Tubantia (local paper), July 5, 2020, by Rob Wissink. Translation by Ineke, assisted by John. For soprano Donij van Doorn the exit “Oldenzaal-South” feels like a home coming. Once a “Tukker”, always a “Tukker” (nickname for the people from the Twente area in the Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel). Donij van Doorn (35) travels the world as a soprano-soloist in André Rieu’s orchestra. She lives together with her Swiss partner Fabian Egli in Nieuwegein, in the Province of Utrecht, in the Netherlands. Last week she returned to her "stomping grounds"... Exit 33, Oldenzaal-South, then I know I am almost home soon. Did you have a nice childhood? “Yes, enormous. I was born in Oldenzaal as the oldest in a family with two brothers. We soon moved to Enschede, to a lovely house in the rural area between Stokhorst and Lonneker. I was an outdoor child. Had three dogs with which I romped around with in the woods. My father became disabled and could no longer work, my mother took to studying nursing at a later age and became the breadwinner. She is quite a go-getter and ensured that we lacked nothing during our youth. My father passed away 10 years ago. My mother still resides in the old nest.” As a child did you already sing in front of the mirror? “Ha, for sure! The teacher of group 4 of the Pope Johannes school discovered my musicality. I received piano lessons and became a member of the Lucy Oude Elferink's “Multiple Voices” Youth Choir. I sang for the fun of it, more as a hobby. The piano study I took more seriously. Studied before and after school every day. At the age of seventeen I was already allowed to experience the conservatory. Yet I radically quit the piano, the fun was gone. I became afraid to play, although I was always very free.” How did you end up with André Rieu? My first performance with André Rieu was during my singing studies with Mya Besselink at the conservatory in Maastricht. A concert in the Efteling. I sang in the choir high up behind the orchestra and was overwhelmed. A magical experience. I clicked immediately with André. I was allowed to come to America as a soloist. But I did not feel ready for that large audience and I first wanted to delve into the profession. I subsequently played many roles with the "Opera Studio Nederland". Five years ago André called me. If I wanted to fill in for a soloist. I acquired a permanent contract, which is special in my profession. I now travel the world with the orchestra. All of Europe, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, Australia. Can that be combined with a private life? “I live together with my friend Fabian Egli. We have no children. He also sings. We met at the Reis Opera (Travel Opera). In the first four years of our relationship, it was a time of commuting between Amsterdam and Leipzig. Sometimes we didn't see each other for three months, because we were working on different productions. Fortunately, that is no longer the case.” A concert for 10,000 people is currently not possible? “No, the quarantine is tough. Fortunately my salary is continued to be paid, I am very grateful for that, but Fabian's has largely disappeared. We are not sitting still. Fabian and I provided outdoor concerts for nursing homes. Also at my grandmother in Losser. I miss the contact and making music together with my colleagues. We are one big family and it makes video calling a big deal.” Once a Tukker, always a Tukker? (Nickname for people from the Twente area). “At home we never spoke the dialect. Yes, we speak with a Twents accent. When I get tired, it rears its head. Last Sunday I was at my brother's graduation party in Enschede. At the exit “Oldenzaal-Zuid” it starts to tingle. I associate Twente with peace, space, nature and family. That feeling is deep. Also the level of sobriety in Twente. I am also very fond of “just do it…” Modest. As a soloist I don't feel myself to be above others. After my career I would like to go to Twente again, preferably to my mother's house. But Fabian is equally devoted to Switzerland, so that could be a problem... ”

Donij van Doorn and Fabian Egli. From local newspaper “Tubantia”. It was not the least of artists who put a smile on the faces of the residents of two residential care centers on Saturday April 12, 2020 in Losser and Oldenzaal, NL. Donij van Doorn, soprano soloist in the orchestra of André Rieu, and her partner Fabian Egli surprised the residents with a half-hour performance. Behind glass. "I was told on Friday that they would come," says Erwin van der Woning, volunteer coordinator at Sint Maarten Care Group in Losser. "They performed in two different places on the courtyard with us. The approximately eighty residents sat on the balcony or behind the glass. "They loved it. It is also very special to receive such a celebrity. Losser is not unknown territory for Van Doorn. She was born and raised in this region. Her grandmother lives in Losser. After she performed with us, she also treated her grandmother to a private concert," says Van der Woning. According to Van der Woning, the soprano often sings disinterestedly for residents of nursing homes. This group is now extra vulnerable because they are not allowed to receive visitors during this Corona crisis. They can therefore use such a musical boost.

photo credits: Erwin van der Woning.

Click HERE to go to Donij van Doorn, page 2.

Click HERE to go to Donij van Doorn, page 2.