Mayke Nas (b. 1972) studied piano and composition. She received commissions from, among others, Eighth Blackbird (USA), the Nederlands Studenten Orkest, the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest, the Ragazze Kwartet, Blindman (BE), the Nieuw Ensemble, Hexnut, Calefax, Slagwerk Den Haag, the Neue Vocal Solisten Stuttgart (DE), the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, the Ensemble Continuum (CA) and the Schönberg Ensemble. For her piece “(w)here”, written for the Asko Ensemble and co-commissioned by the Festival November Music & Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst, she was awarded the Matthijs Vermeulen Price of Encouragement in 2003. For “La Chocolatière Brûlée” – written for the Nieuw Ensemble – she received the Anjer Muziekprijs 2005. Theatre, video, text and choreography are often an integrated part of her compositions. In 2005, she adapted “I Delayed People’s Flights By Walking Slowly in Narrow Hallways” for four players, four chairs and four amplified chalkboards with live electronics from Peter Handke’s play “Self-Accusation” for Percussion Group The Hague in collaboration with Wouter Snoei. In 2006, she revived the concept of audience-participation in the fluxus-inspired performance-piece “Anyone can do it” for six completely unprepared players, not necessarily gifted with any musical talent. For the 2011-2012 season, Mayke Nas was awarded an artist-in-residence fellowship in Berlin by the DAAD. In 2016, she was awarded the title of Ambassador for Classical New Music in the Netherlands for two years as Composer of the Nation.