About
The Chr. Kamper Mannenkoor Door Eendracht Verbonden was founded on January 2, 1917. In the past 95 years the choir has had only a limited number of conductors, including Jan Belder in the period from 1947 to 1960 and Klaas Jan Mulder from 1960 to 2008. Since 2009 the young talented Gerwin van der Plaats conductor of DEV In all those years, the choir has been able to sing a wide repertoire of varied spiritual and classical music to God's glory.
THE V. has undergone a strong development under Jan Belder. With fewer than 50 singers, the choir regularly took part in singing competitions. Even in the Eredivisie the first place was achieved at many competitions. The overcrowded prize cabinet, which is still hanging in the rehearsal room together with the banner, is a witness to this. Furthermore, great name recognition has been gained in the audience for choir and organ music, thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of Klaas Jan Mulder. Thanks to its many hundreds of male choir arrangements, which are recorded on dozens of single, LP, CD and DVD sound carriers, the choir can call itself the market leader in the men's choir genre.
In the 70s and 80s the choir had to make a member stop. The maximum number of choir members of 160 was used and any new registrations were added to a waiting list. Following this success, various male choirs have been established throughout the country that have used Mulder's musical approach as an example.
The LPs and CDs have been awarded multiple gold and platinum awards. This is unique in the world of male choir music. In total, more than 40 different CDs have been released that have also been exported to Canada, the US and Australia, among others.
On April 30, 1988, D.E.V. together with other Kamper choirs o.l.v. K.J. Mulder a concert for Queen Beatrix and the Royal family in the Bovenkerk, who visited Kampen on Queen's Day.
THE V. gave many concerts in renowned halls and famous cathedral churches at home and abroad, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Doelen and the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam, the Grote Kerk in The Hague, the Dom in Berlin, the church of Zurich, the Methodist church in London, the Cathedral of Canteburry, the Madelaine and Notre Dame in Paris. Concert trips were made to Germany, Switzerland, England and France.
With leading orchestras such as the orchestra of the East, various composed string ensembles and internationally renowned vocalists including Peter Baily, Patricia Madden, Adriaan van Limpt and others and the many nationally known soloists, the choir has given concerts of which various TV and Radio recordings have been made.
In honor of the 95th anniversary, D.E.V. in the fall of 2012 the newest CD was released, "I want to sing from you", among others Gerwin van der Plaats with much sought-after Dutch-language spiritual repertoire. Because of his enthusiasm and musical versatility, the choir is characterized by a renewed musical approach whereby the aim is to preserve the unique, robust choir sound as much as possible.