Hedda Maria Oosterhoff is an interior acoustic designer working in theatre, opera, schools and commercial settings; she was born in Holland and lives and works in New Zealand.

Biography

Oosterhoff was born in Holland. Her family moved to New Zealand when she was nine years old, settling in Wellington. She started learning the violin at the age of 5, and played in chamber orchestras, bands, orchestras for operas and musicals, and co-founded a string group called Rosa Musica. She studied at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, graduating in 2004 with a Bachelor of Music in Performance Violin and in 2008 with a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours). While working for T&R Interior Systems, Oosterhoff led a team working on interior surfaces for

Tūranga Tūranga is the main public library in Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Location and prior buildings Tūr ...

in Christchurch. She has also worked with New Zealand Opera on set design. Oosterhoff is credited with initiating and leading the development of a new building product, Vertibrace, which separates a partition wall from the main wall of a structure, allowing movement in high winds or earthquakes.

Awards and recognition

In 2009, she received the Peter Lees-Jeffries Memorial Scholarship from the

Dame Malvina Major Foundation The Dame Malvina Major Foundation, named after New Zealand soprano Malvina Major was established in 1991. The foundation fundraises as a charitable trust and offers a range of support and scholarships and prizes to emerging New Zealanders in perfo ...

. In 2010, she received the Pettman Dare International Performance Scholarship to work at Opera North and receive mentoring in opera design and management at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

. In 2019, she won the Outstanding Achievement in Design Award at the

National Association of Women in Construction (New Zealand) Excellence Awards The National Association of Women in Construction (New Zealand) Excellence Awards is an annual set of awards which recognise the achievements of women working in construction and affiliated industries in New Zealand, as well as recognising organisat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oosterhoff, Hedda Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Dutch emigrants to New Zealand Victoria University of Wellington alumni