Mario Veltman

From a young age it was soon clear that Mario would have a musical future. In elementary school, he accompanied the class on the organ during singing afternoons, at the other moment he sang the stars from the sky during celebrations at school and retirement homes. As a 15 year old boy he auditioned brutally for a rock & roll band The Glue where he took his first steps on the Dutch stages.

Two years later he started his professional musical career as a guitarist, only to exchange his guitar for a leading role as a singer in 1990, inspired by the three tenors and in particular Jos Carreras. In that year he also started his study of classical singing with Helena Hoogendorp, who shaped him for 12 years into a singer of unprecedented quality. His greatest experience in pop music is without a doubt the 2500 concerts in 15 years that he gave with the top band You & Me, with which he won the prize of Best Dutch cover band in 1995, chosen by colleagues and customers.

Mario Veltman books

In 2001 he was a special guest at 7 sold-out AHOY shows by Frans Bauer. Together with Emiel Hartkamp he sang the duet Hakuna Matata from the film the LION KING. Although he sang pop music week after week with great success, the singing of light classical repertoire started to itch more and more. In 1999, he therefore participated in the TROS TV program Una Voce Particolare with Ernst Daniel Smid, with the beautiful aria Lamento di Federico from l’Arlesiana by Cilïa. That was his debut as a classical singer, and beginning Cat to get it in too and with great success, as Mario was unanimously chosen by the jury as the winner to rave reviews. beautiful sound, strikingly musical, a voice that speaks to the heart. The prize won, he never received a theater tour due to circumstances, but he was invited to a number of beautiful concerts with the Dutch Promenade Orchestra, and sang the world-famous duet from the Pearl Fishers with Ernst Daniel Smid during a benefit gala.