From the moment EDITH LEERKES fell in love with the guitar at the age of eleven, she has done practically nothing else but play one. Edith studied in the Netherlands at the Twente Conservatory with Louis Gall and in Spain with Ernesto Bitetti. In 1981 she began playing with various ensembles before joining The Amsterdam Guitar Trio in 1987. As member of that trio she gave concerts all over the world in such venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles and the Casals Hall in Tokyo. She recorded CDs of the music of Bach, Scarlatti, Albeniz, de Falla, Bizet and Prokofiev. In 1992 Edith appeared with the trio as guest performers in a series of Herman van Veen gala concerts. This was the beginning of a collaboration that led to her changeover in 1998 from The Amsterdam Guitar Trio to the group round Herman van Veen.

With him she wrote and produced the CD, “Du bist die Ruh” and the television program of the same name about Franz Schubert, “Colombine and the Voices Thief”, a musical story for children, “Now and then”, an audiobiography of Herman van Veen, and “Your kisses are sweeter”, an album recorded with the gypsy- jazz Rosenberg Trio. Together with Olga Franssen she recorded “A certain tenderness”, a CD of Herman van Veen songs arranged for two guitars.

It was on the album cover of an Amsterdam Guitar Trio LP that I first saw Edith Leerkes. The trio had become world famous through their guitar adaptations of the great masters., A young woman with dark hair and eyes looked at me so seriously from off that cover. Felt she wanted to say, ‘If you ever again want to be accompanied on guitar, will you ask my advice?’
A few years later I wanted to record a song about a baby and thought, Would be nice with guitar. Remembered that look in Edith Leerkes’ eyes. Called her to ask if she knew a female guitar player who was pregnant.
`I’m seven months along,’ she said. In Hamburg she played ‘Nina Bobo’ with her guitar, like a zither, on her tummy.

What does a baby dream about?
About young, about poor or cold?
About warm, rich or old?
Are your dreams about water?
You, who doesn’t know yet about power and mire,
About thorn and crown, about barbed wire.

Last week Edith gave a master class at the Conservatory in Enschede.
Afterwards a young lady guitarist asked: ‘Isn’t it amazing? Before, you played in a world famous trio and now you are Herman van Veen’s accompanist.’ ‘The beautiful thing,’ Edith said, ‘is that while I am his guitarist, he is also my singer.’