Willem Wander Van Nieuwkerk Email & Phone Number

I compose for musicians dedicated to new music in the Classical-romantic tradition. Although a performer and improviser by temperament, I believe in the score as the basis for a creative collaboration between musicians and composers. Within the framework of 18th and 19th century styles, forms and ideas, I freely use the traditions I grew up with: jazz, soul, pop songs, Latin or funky dance musics, the French chanson, Protestant church music, African and South East Asian percussion music. Much of my work is published by Ascolta Music Publishing (Houten, The Netherlands) and Edition Tre Fontane (Münster, Germany). Recordings are available on albums published by Hänssler Classics, Aeolus and Globe (notably the album 'Kadanza', exclusively devoted to my music for recorders).

Thomas Beijer, the acclaimed young master pianist, premiered my 'A Pilgrim's Progress' in March 2023.My 'Songs of War&Peace' was premiered in The Netherlands and Germany in 2020-2022 by the Ruysdael Quartet and recorder soloist Peter Holtslag to great acclaim. With filmmaker Ellen Blom and the Dutch Chamber Choir and Ensemble Insomnio I collaborated in the Utrecht Requiem 2017, based on experiences with life and death of Utrecht citizens of diverse cultural backgrounds. My 'I look o'er yander' for two recorder quintets and soloist (premiered in the UK in 2017) will be published by Tre Fontane (Münster) in 2018. The clarinet quintet Super Suite (on historical religious melodies) that I wrote for the masterly Bennewitz Quartet and clarinettist Harry-Imre Dijkstra was premiered at the Wonderfeel Festival and toured the Netherlands in venues like the Zeister Muziekdagen. The famous S̆kampa Quartet played my First String Quartet 'Moravian Souls'​ in their tour in the Netherlands in March 2015. Award winning singer Karin Strobos together with Sax&Stix performed my 'Danse Macabre'​ at numerous Dutch venues in 2014-2015. In recent seasons my music was included in programmes in the Purcell Room (Guitar Quintet), the Dutch Chamber Music Festival (Dance Capriccio's), Zeister Muziekdagen (Clarinet-violin Trio) and Gjøvik Chamber Music Festival (piano trio) and Kamerklanken Den Bosch (Scherzo from violin sonata), Stichting Kamermuziek Baarn, Stichting Slotconcerten Zeist (commissioned the violin sonata), the Concentus Moraviae Festival, the Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Much of the music for recorder(s) that I wrote since 1985 has recently been issued on the cd 'Kadanza' by the Globe records Label, in performances by major ensembles from the Low Countries such as Brisk Recorder Quartet Amsterdam, The Flanders Recorder Quartet and Amsterdam Loeki Stardust. It received the highest recommendation in Dutch CD-glossy 'Luister'.

A cd devoted exclusively to much of the music for recorder(s) that I wrote since 1985 has recently been issued under the title 'Kadanza' by the Globe records Label. The performances are by major ensembles from the Low Countries such as Brisk Recorder Quartet Amsterdam, The Flanders Recorder Quartet and Amsterdam Loeki Stardust, with contributions of soloist Saskia Coolen in collaboration with recorder player Marjan Banis and pianist Yuri van Nieuwkerk.

Amsterdam

Production house of cross-over music and music theatre rum by Thomas Myrmel, Anat Spiegel and Wilbert Bulsink, including their aliases Monotak (http://www.monotak.nl/) and Controllar (http://www.controllar.org/)

Zeist

This is a local music school with a 75-year history that was recently involved in a merger with the local institution for Education and Outreach in the Arts (Kunstenhuis De Bilt-Zeist) to create a more diverse and market-efficient institution.

Teaching music theory (practical harmony, solfege) to Young Talent and HaFaBra-students

Utrecht

Instrumental/vocal Theatre, Live Electronics

Utrecht, Amsterdam

Music & Dance Productions, Cross-over Theatre, Childrens Theatre

With the late Jos Kunst (Dutch composer and music theorist) I did research in cognitive musicology, devising empirical methods to test his theory about 'Making Sense in Music'.

Musicology, With Additional Subjects Philosophy And Cognitive Psychology

Gymnasium A, Eindexamen

Activities and Societies: Board Member of the Student's Society (quaestor) Editorial board of Animo, student's magazine