Sylvie Klijn is a Dutch singer and composer living in Lausanne, Switzerland. She holds master degrees from the Fontys Conservatory (NL) with a focus on composition, piano and singing and a master degree in Arts and Society at the University of Utrecht (NL). From 2019-2021 she followed the master program jazz voice & composition in Switzerland at the Haute École de Musique Lausanne. For the 2022-2023 academic year, she has been selected to complete a residency at the acclaimed organisation L’Abri Genève. During 2024, she participated in the music talent development program of Noord-Brabant (Netherlands), Music Hub Brabant. In 2025 she wins the prestigious Bourse Culturelle from Fondation Leenaards.
Sylvie started her musical career as a classical pianist and has won prizes at the Selection National Competition and the Princess Christina Competition, after which she was invited by the Dutch embassy in Tunisia to give concerts. From the classical bachelor, Sylvie has made the switch to jazz and pop music. In her compositions these styles are combined, resulting in wordless pieces in which distant worlds resound, or narrative music with minimal influences. With her Dutch band, the Klijn Kwartet, she played at, among others, the Grachtenfestival, radio 4, jazz stage Paradox, TivoliVredenburg and concert hall Willem II. In June 2019 the group released their album entitled Safe Ground.
As a singer and composer, she is part of several projects based in Switzerland. She founded the trio Vagalumes with percussionist Samuel Boutros and guitarist Paul Alberto Gonzalez Ostos, which mainly focuses on Brazilian music. For her compositions, she uses poems by Fernanado Pessoa and Florbela Espanca as song lyrics. The trio won the prize Coup the Coeur during the JazzContreBand competition in October 2021. In February 2024 they released their first CD with ANUK label, followed by a tour in Switzerland, France, Mozambique and the Netherlands.
With bassist Christoph Utzinger, she forms the duo TON SUR TON. In this project, Sylvie not only sings and composes, she also plays keyboards and small percussion instruments, and adds effects pedals. Ton sur ton, “tone on tone” or “color on color” evokes an image of smooth transitions, of nuances that blend into one another without clashing. In their music, the duo seek this same refinement: superimposition and subtlety. In Sylvie’s words: “We feel how much space there is as a duo – to search, grope and reshape our roles each time. There’s a great deal of responsibility for each of us, and at the same time we want to stay in the moment and trust our instincts”.
As a sidewoman or lead singer Sylvie is part of the Bigband Jazzin’ Fribourg , La Fille Dragon and Soulflip Orchestra.
Sylvie was allowed to participate in the Keep an Eye Summer Jazz Workshop at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and took a course at the Complete Vocal Institute in Copenhagen. In Switzerland she has given concerts at the JazzOnze + festival, Cully Jazz Festival, Schaffhauser Jazz Festival, NovaJazz festival and performed her own work on Swiss radio.