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Irene Mennen-Berg was born in Cape Town. She obtained her B.Mus degree (2004) as
well as her B.Mus Hons degree (2005), both cum laude, from Stellenbosch University.
She majored in recorder performance under the guidance of recorder lecturer Karin
Maritz.
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During her study years at Stellenbosch, Irene was a founder member of the recorder
ensemble Hout, an accomplished ensemble which enjoyed wide admiration and favourable
critics from the audiences they drew in many performances. Hout released a CD in
2005 that was met with a very positive response from the public and it is used on
a regular basis by radio broadcasting companies.
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Irene obtained her Unisa Performance Licentiate in 2005 with distinction and was
subsequently invited to take part in the Unisa Overseas Bursary competition in Pretoria.
In 2006, she became a recipient of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst)
bursary as well as a bursary from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst
Frankfurt am Main, resuming her studies there under Prof. Michael Schneider, where
she is currently still studying.
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In Germany, Irene has been actively playing in concerts, participating in ensemble
projects and musicals. She received masterclasses in Europe on baroque practise
and modern recorder technique, from amongst others, Gerd Lüneburger (Germany), the
Flanders Recorder Quartet (Belgium), Markus Zahnhausen (Germany), Stefan Temmingh
(Germany) and Carin van Heerden (Austria).
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