Bastiaan considers it important to pass on his knowledge and experience. As a young singer he ended up at James McCray's International Studio of Vocal arts. What appealed to him was that this very experienced opera singer guided him as a mentor in the old Italian opera tradition, also known as Bel Canto. This put him in the same line with the same singing techniques like Mario del Monaco, Piero Cappuccilli and George London. James McCray made it clear to him once again how important it is to be accompanied by someone with experience on stage. He knows what it takes to keep you going in the complex world of opera. Someone who knows how to deal with the voice in a healthy way. Bastiaan is still grateful to James McCray for his intensive and long-term guidance in all these areas.
Bastiaan started long ago as a teacher at the Youth Theater School in Enschede and for the education department at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. He has always found it interesting to develop and implement programs for this purpose. He also worked as an external assessor for the Dutch National Opera Academy. Nowadays he himself accompanies young singers with their voice development and the first steps in their opera career.
