General
Alex Timmerman.
Alex Timmerman (1955) already showed a great interest for the guitar and the mandolin at an early age. He studied the guitar and had conducting lessons at the academies of music in Zwolle and Rotterdam. Among his teachers were Pieter van der Staak and Jorge Oraison. During and after his studies he also had lessons from the British guitar virtuoso John Mills.
He is self-educated as a mandolin player; got his mandolin Tutoring Musician diploma by way of a state exam. As a concert musician, Alex Timmerman gave concerts as a soloist and as a member of different ensembles. He is much in demand as a conductor-teacher for national and international courses and was invited to seat on the board of the Internationale Gitaarweken Zwolle, one of the oldest and most famous guitar festivals of Europe.
He is specially interested in historic instruments with regard to his field. This interest lead to the publication of his book 'De Mandoline en de Gitaar door de Eeuwen heen' 
("The Mandolin and the Guitar through the Centuries"), exhibitions, lectures in The Netherlands as well as other countries, and the appointment as a visiting custodian at the Haags Gemeentemuseum.
Another activity of Alex Timmerman is the guitar and mandolin ensemble Het Consort; he has been its artistic director since it was established in 1990. By searching for interesting and suitable music, making good arrangements, and finding new possibilities for its combination of instruments, Het Consort has grown into one of the leading ensembles in its field.
Since 1979, Alex Timmerman has been a mandolin and guitar teacher at the Centrum voor Kunstzinnige Vorming de Muzerie in Zwolle and at the Streekmuziekschool N.W. Veluwe in Harderwijk. He has been attached to the academy of music in Zwolle as a mandolin teacher since 1997.
Website from Alex Timmerman about the Embergher Mandolin.