Welcome to my page. Here you can find a list of my works,
my bio and links to relevant pages.
You can see and hear a bit about most of my pieces, along
with background info and performance details.
With a few exceptions, my music is self-published.
Musicians, ensembles and orchestras who are interested in
performing my music can contact me through this site for
performance materials and recordings of my work.
Quick links for download:
CV Official (pdf)
List of Works (pdf including links to
videos, audio etc)
BIOGRAPHY:
I was born in Munich, Germany, in 1973. After some basic
training in classical and electric guitar and music theory,
I moved to the Netherlands in 1994 to study flamenco guitar
with Paco Peńa and classical composition with Klaas de
Vries at the conservatory of Rotterdam. I graduated cum
laude in composition in 2001. For more than a decade, I
have been composing, performing and producing my own music
continuously. I have been fortunate to work with leading
musicians, ensembles and orchestras from the Netherlands
and other countries, and my music has appeared in
prestigious halls and on important festivals around the
globe.
CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
Growing up without a classical music background in a family
of non-musicians, ending up as a classical composer came as
somewhat of a surprise to me, initially. I had been
composing a lot for my band since my early teens, however,
even if it took till I was at the conservatory until I
started writing scores. I owe the biggest credit to my
mentor Klaas de Vries, who encouraged and supported my
composing since day one. Without him, I would be nowhere
today.
Besides Klaas and my other Rotterdam teachers Peter-Jan
Wagemans and René Uylenhoet, I followed courses and
masterclasses with a.o. George Crumb, Magnus Lindberg,
Michael Gandolfi, Bright Sheng, Osvaldo Golijov, Steven
Mackey, Tran-Quang Hai and Kaja Saariaho (composition) and
Manolo Sanlucar, Manolo Franco, Paco Serrano, Michael
Tröster and Dieter Kreidler (guitar).
I received two fellowships from the Tanglewood Music
Center, the elite summer school of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, in 2001 and 2002, as well as scholarships from
Gaudeamus (1997) and the Wilhelm Bitter- and
Schuurman-Schimmel van Outeren foundations.
Since early on in my studies, I have been writing for
distinguished musicians in the contemporary classical
world. My music was written for and performed by the Radio
Filharmonisch Orkest, Radio Kamer Filharmonisch Orkest,
Metropole Orkest, Nederlands Balletorkest, Rotterdam
Philharmonic Strings, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Rotterdam
Ensemble, Ricciotti Ensemble, Nederlands Studenten Orkest,
Nederlands Studenten Kamerorkest, Utrechtsch Studenten
Concert, Lundi Bleu, Neon Ensemble (NL)
Orchester des 13.Tons (Bavarian Chamber Orchestra, D) US
Army Orchestra (USA), Asko Ensemble, Doelen Ensemble, Nieuw
Ensemble, Domestica Rotterdam, New Trombone Collective,
Lunapark, Rotterdam Philharmonic Brass, Nederlands Vocaal
Laboratorium, Valerius Ensemble, Percussive Rotterdam,
Mondriaan Quartet, Orkest De Volharding, Ensemble Royal Den
Haag, Cappella Amsterdam, Calefax Rietkwintet, Nederlands
Studenten Kamerkoor, Zapp4, Chamber Choir PA'dam, David
Kweksilber Big Band, StrAcc, Slagwerk Den Haag, Black
Pencil, Ragazze Kwartet, Cobra Ensemble, Bermuda,
Insomniac's Lullaby, Tetzepi, De Watertoren, Aarre
Ensemble, Another Roadside Attraction, Quasar Quartet,
Pianoduo Post / Mulder (NL), Ralph van Raat, Laurens de
Boer, René Eckhardt, Arnold Marinissen, Jörgen van Rijen,
André Heuvelman, Maria Dingjan, Julija Hartig, Jan Rokyta,
Diangelo Cicilia, Henk Neven, Aart Strootman, Oscar Alblas,
Anne Faulborn, René Groothof, Oscar Siegelaar (NL),
Bl!ndman Saxophone Quartet, Walpurgis (BE) T'ang Quartet,
Tanglewood Contemporary Music Ensemble, Tanglewood Festival
Chorus, Ensemble Melomania, Bonnie Hampton (USA) and the
Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble (RUS).
AWARDS
- Paul Jacobs Memorial Award (Tanglewood, 2002)
- Matthijs Vermeulen Aanmoedigingsprijs (Amsterdams Fonds
voor de Kunsten, 2002)
- Composition Prize of the Rotterdam Conservatory (2001)
Nominations:
- Unesco International Rostrum of Composers 2010
(recommended work)
- Gaudeamus Prize (2000, 2001)
- Prize for Electronic Music (Musica Nova, Czech Republic,
2001)
- Matthijs Vermeulen Aanmoedigingsprijs (2001)
- NOG Jonge Componistenprijs (Nederlands Balletorkest,
2000)
FESTIVALS (selection)
Gaudeamus Festival (NL, 1997, 2000, 2001,
2003, 2007, 2012), Dutch Music Days (NL, 2008 & 2009),
Tanglewood (USA, 2001, 2002, 2003), November Music (NL /
BE, 2003, 2004, 2013), Gergiev Festival (NL, 2009), Dutch
Flamenco Biennial (2011& 2013), Rotterdam 2001 –
Cultural Capital of Europe, International Film Festival
Rotterdam (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009), Cannes Film
Festival (FR, 2004), Moscow Autumn (RUS, 2003), Slide
Factory (NL, 2007, 2011, 2013) Dag in de Branding (NL,
2007), Roadburn (NL, 2010), Summer Breeze Open Air (D,
2009), Winter Assault (CZ / SVK, 2009), Metalcamp (SLO,
2008), Ragnarök (D, 2009 & 2012) Party.San (D, 2012)
I continue writing for contemporary music ensembles and
orchestras with pleasure. However, my focus has shifted
more towards writing for my own ensembles on one hand and
large ensemble and symphonic orchestras on the other hand.
Future collaborations will include the Ricciotti Ensemble,
the Radio Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rotterdam
Young Ensemble.
As a player, I have performed as a soloist with the
Metropole Orkest, Orchester des 13. Tons, Utrechtsch
Studenten Concert, Asko Ensemble, Doelen ensemble,
Rotterdam Ensemble, Ensemble Royal, Orkest De Volharding,
Nieuw Ensemble, Bl!ndman Saxophone Quartet and the
Mondriaan Quartet.
After playing flamenco for 12 years, mainly as a dance
accompanist, I had to drop that due to a problem with my
right thumb (I was diagnosed with hypermobility in all my
joints, forcing me to stop fingerpicking). Now I play with
pick only, mainly 7- and 8-string electric guitars, but
also acoustic steel string and bass guitars, occasionally.
HYBRID MUSIC
(The Hungry Gods 2003)
Due to the fact that I've always been active in more than
one genre of music, my efforts to find a common essence in
the styles that interest me has intensified considerably in
the last couple of years, resulting in the founding of
international virtuoso crossover ensemble
The Hungry Gods and the
interdisciplinary artist collective
Quantum Ether.
I believe that the path to new kinds of music lies for a
great part in the integral combination between genres
deemed hitherto incompatible. For me, these are
contemporary music, extreme metal, flamenco, tango and
balkan music, as well as baroque polyphony and electronic
madness.
Among the most exciting things I did were the projects with
newly built sculpture instruments by my friend Ralf Fischer
for
Quantum Ether,
Durya,
The Hungry Gods and
Noneuclid. These productions
are always extremely challenging, since it involves
dealing with instruments no-one has heard or played on,
and (due to this kind of work being condemned to the
underground) usually a very tight time frame and budget.
Nevertheless, I remain curious about any developments in
that area.
(The "Subkontra")
I also collaborate with film makers, choreographers and
theater makers. The results are very diverse and depend
very much on the personality of who I work with. A project
interests me if there is some common ground between all
people involved, and if I get the feeling my own voice is
welcome, rather than being an executive "technician"
working out someone else's ideas. A few years back, I had a
lot of fun working with a couple of crazy composer friends
as
The Warlips, accompanying
surrealist movies with equally surrealistic live music.
METAL
Musically, metal has ever been my home, and despite all the
things I did and do, I never managed to get rid of it. On
the contrary, in most of my classical work there is some
metal element present in subtle or obvious proportion, and
the last years have seen blooming activities with my bands
Noneuclid (where I write most of the music
and play guitar) and
Dark Fortress (vocals and
lyrics). Please refer to these bands' websites for more.
Photos: Markus Wolf (1), Sanja Hasagic (2) Susanne Maier
(3), Ralf Fischer (4,5)