Anton Mecht Spronk was born in 1994, and began cello lessons with his father, Frank Spronk, at the age of just four. At the age of twelve he moved on to receive tuition from Monique Bartels at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, and later at the Amsterdam Conservatoire. Since 2012 he has been studying for his bachelor’s degree with Thomas Grossenbacher at the Zurich University of the Arts. Anton Spronk also receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein, where he regularly participates in the intensive music weeks and other activities of the academy. He has participated in masterclasses with several renowned musicians, including Colin Carr, Valter Dešpalj, Anner Bylsma, Jens Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Troels Svane and László Fenyö.
In 2003 and 2009 Anton Mecht Spronk won 1st prizes at the national competition for talented young musicians. In 2010 he won a 1st prize at the finals of the “Prinses Christina Concours” in The Hague, which led to a solo performance with the Residentie Orchestra from The Hague and a concert tour as a soloist with the Brabants Orchestra. In May 2014 he won the 1st prize at the Kiwanis music competition in Zurich with his clarinet trio. In the same year he won the 1st prize and the audience prize at the “Cello Biënnale Amsterdam” national cello competition. In 2015, he was awarded an “Honorable Mention” at the “X. Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition”. In 2017, he won the 2nd prize at the competition hosted by the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation.
Anton Mecht Spronk performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. In 2008 he was invited to perform in concert with a piano trio at the Carnegie Hall in New York. He was also a member of Coosje Wijzenbeek’s “Fancy Fiddlers” string ensemble until 2009. This provided him with valuable and extensive experience of performing on all of the main Dutch stages and also in many international concert halls. In 2016, together with the violinist Larissa Cidlinsky, he founded the “Eggenfelden klassisch” festival in Germany. He also participated in the FESTIVAL NEXT GENERATION in Bad Ragaz (Switzerland).
The young cellist has enjoyed the benefits of scholarships from the “Migros Kulturproduzent” (student awards in 2014 and 2015, including concert engagements and prizes), the Friedl Wald foundation and the “Rahn Kulturfonds”. He currently plays a Vuillaume cello from 1865, on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
February 2018