Crossover-55-2 » musician

Richter, Christiaan

Jessica — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:20:23 +0000

Christiaan Richter (Utrecht, 26 March 1990) is a Dutch composer and pianist.

After having shown talent for music at a young age, Christiaan started to play the piano at the age of 7 and soon after that, he started to compose. In 2001 he participated in the Nieuwjaarsconcert with his composition Tree’s, with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, which was broadcasted live on television. Two times he won the 1st prize at the Prinses Christina Compositie Concours, in 2003 and 2007; with his composition iMageshe won the commission for the International Masterclass Apeldoorn at the Young Composers Meeting 2010 in Apeldoorn, and he won the Tera de Marez Oyens Prize 2011. Also, he wrote the compulsory piece for the Iordens Violin Days 2010 (category IIB).

Christiaan studies composition at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague with Martijn Padding and Diderik Wagenaar (and Calliope Tsoupaki 2008-2010), with a minor in music theory with Diderik Wagenaar, Paul Scheepers and Bert Mooiman, and piano lessons from Gerard Bouwhuis. He also took composition masterclasses from Richard Ayres, Jan van de Putte, Michael Smetanin and Helena Tulve.

Previously, Christiaan studied composition with Henk Alkema at the young talent class of the Utrecht Conservatory (2004-2008), and took piano lessons from a.o. Marcel Baudet, Ton Hartsuiker, Leon Bak, Henk Ekkel and Ko Zwanenburg.

Boerman, Wim

Svenja — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:56:43 +0000

Wim Boerman (1951) studied flute at the conservatory of Arnheim – Rien de Reede and Frans van der Wiel. With fellow musicians he formed orkest de ereprijs in 1979, in their early days a collective of musicians without a conductor. Their main goal was to perform new, especially for the ensemble written pieces for traditional concert halls and extraordinary venues (for instance outdoors, markets, museums). In time the complexity of the pieces made it necessary to involve conducting and after several years of combining both performing and conducting Wim Boerman has been the artistic director and conductor of the ensemble for a good many years. In 2005 Wim Boerman received an achievement award by the Polish Ministry of Culture. During all these years he has found it essential to remain teaching in Arnheim.

Scheuer, Benjamin

Svenja — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 07:15:31 +0000

Benjamin Scheuer (*1987) studied composition at the HfMT Hamburg with Fredrik Schwenk from 2006 – 2011. At present he is enrolled in post graduate studies with Wolfgang Rihm at the HfM Karlsruhe. Additionally he had lessons at the HfM Lübeck with Dieter Mack (2004-2006) and at the CNSMD de Lyon with Robert Pascal (2009-2010). His works cover all different kinds of formations including vocal music, chamber music and orchestra pieces. He had his first portrait concert at the age of 16 at the Youth Music School of Hamburg. His creative activity is focused on innovative but clearly recognisable form concepts and on the humoristic and theatrical elements of musicianship. Therefore he wrote many music theatre pieces, for instance “Figlioli Corsi” which was premiered in 2005 and the scenic cantata “Autobus S” which was first be performed on stage in April 2011. In his instrumental works he also implements scenic elements or a close relationship to literature, as in his staged concert “Theater der Affekte” (2011). For the years 2010 and 2011 he holds a scholarship of the “Jerwood Opera Writing Programme” (Aldeburgh, UK).

His compositions were performed at various festivals, like “Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker” where he was composer in residence in 2009, “Heidelberger Frühling” (2010), the “Young Composers Meetings Apeldoorn” (2007, 2011), on a china tour of the “Ensemble 21 der HfMT Hamburg” (2009), the ISCM World New Music Days (Sydney, 2010) and at “It’s oh so choir” of the AGEC (Brussels, 2010). At a workshop of the “June in Buffalo” (USA, Arditti quartet) and at the International Composers Meeting of Mazsalaca (Latvia, ReDo-quartet) he worked at pieces for string quartet. He got several commissions as from the “Niedersächsische Musiktage”, the Swabian Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Vocal (Hamburg). His orchestra piece “Montagen” was first performed by the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Saarland (SR) conducted by Johannes Kalitzke in May 2011.

With his woodwind quintet “Nachklänge” he won the composition competition of the National German Music Council (DMW, 2011). Additionally he received the 1^st price at the international composition competition “Alphorn in Concert” (Switzerland, 2006), the “Andreas-Werckmeister”-price of the city of Halberstadt (2008), the promotion price of the 8^th “Carl-von-Ossietzky”-composition competition (Oldenburg, 2009) and the 3^rd international price “Premio Atahualpa Yupanqui” (Argentina, 2009). Since 2009 he has a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. He is founding member of “Musicians without borders”: In august 2008, 2009 and 2011 he travelled to Guayaquil, Ecuador, where he lived in a slum and volunteered as music teacher and composer.