Sergio Hammersmith

Sergio Hamerslag, born in 1983, received his first clarinet lessons at age 11 from Gerrit de Weerd.

Four years later, he was accepted into the Young Talent class at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he studied with Herman Braune. After successfully receiving the Bachelors Degree in 2004, he continued his studies with Harmen de Boer and received the Masters Degree cum laude in 2006.
He attended master classes and courses with Karl Leister, Paul Meyer, Ralph Manno and Sabine Meyer, among others. He was also invited by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 2002 for a master class with the American clarinetist Richard Stolzman.

Sergio won a 1st prize at the national competition of the Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland (SJMN) in 1999 and then made his solo debut with the then Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jan Stulen with Introduzione, tema e variazioni for clarinet and orchestra by Gioacchino Rossini. He played this same work in several venues in the Netherlands, including the main hall of the Concertgebouw.

He played first clarinet in the Jeugdorkest Nederland, then in the Nationaal Jeugd Orkest and remplaçed in the classical broadcast orchestras, Holland Symfonia, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, Orkest van het Oosten, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, Doelen Ensemble, Asko ensemble, Residentie Orkest and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
He has worked with famous conductors such as Daniele Gatti, Iván Fischer, Valery Gergiev, Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink, Jaap van Zweden, Mark Wigglesworth, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sir Colin Davis, Oliver Knussen, Alexander Lazarev and Reinbert de Leeuw.
In chamber music repertoire, he has collaborated with Reinbert de Leeuw, Vera Beths, Igor Roma, Gustavo Nuñez, Bart Schneemann, the Brodsky Quartet, Mauricio Kagel, Werner Herbers and William Purvis.

Sergio joined the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep in September 2009. He is a (bass) clarinetist in the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. He also held this position with the Radio Chamber Philharmonic until August 2013.