Sonja Oosterman

Sonja Oosterman (born on May 5, 1921 in Amsterdam, Netherlands., died in June 2008) learned to play the violin at age 8, she already made compositions for that instrument. Her father wanted her to become a teacher of ancient languages, she even attended grammar schools in Amsterdam and Hilversum. But Sonja was captivated by the music. At the beginning of the war she played violin in an orchestra and sometimes stood in as a singer. Shortly after the Liberation she performed for Canadian soldiers and met Dolf van der Linden (Metropole Orkest), who asked her to come and audition. The singer went to the KRO, where she made her radio debut on June 4, 1946. Bart Ekkers' Fluit en Swing was the first on the program. She became a much sought-after singer, who not only performed often for the radio, but also all over the country. In 1953 she was named the best singer of the Netherlands. In the 50's she was part of numerous ensembles and singing groups, such as "The Swinging Nightingales" and "De Marketensters", and worked with all broadcasting orchestras. Sonja turned out to be a multi-talent. She was also able to translate texts, compose and act and participated in numerous TV programs. Her career went up and down, the work became too much for her - as a single mother - a few times and then she stopped temporarily to pick it up again later. In 1966 after a serious breakdown in Hilversum, she left the career and worked as chief operator at the Parkhotel in Bremen, performing occasionally for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg. She married twice times, with the artist Jan Oosterman Jr., with whom she had a son, Eric Marco, and Epko Anspach, director of the Palact-Hotel in Paramaribo, Suriname.