Annelies Van Parys (born 5 June 1975) is a Belgian classical composer of chamber music, symphonic music, music for theatre productions and opera.

Life

Born in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, Van Parys studied at the

Royal Conservatory of Ghent The Royal Conservatory of Ghent (Dutch: Koninklijk Conservatorium Gent) is a royally chartered musical institution. It is now a part of the University College Ghent. History The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered musical instituti ...

, piano with

Johan Duijck Johan Duijck (born 1954 in Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third ...

and composition with

Luc Brewaeys Luc Brewaeys (25 October 1959 in Mortsel, Belgium – 18 December 2015 in Antwerp, Belgium) was a Belgian composer, conductor, pianist and recording producer at the VRT (Flemish Radio & Television). He studied composition with André Laporte in B ...

. She composed in 2001 ''Phrases V'' for guitar, harp, piano and percussion. The piece of about 9 minutes was written for the

Ictus Ensemble ICTUS is a Belgian orchestra, founded by in 1994, specialising in contemporary classical music. It is based in Brussels where it is involved in frequent collaborations with the contemporary dance choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. The o ...

and premiered in Bruges by the ensemble Contr'Art. It was awarded the prize Vlaanderen/Quebec and was performed in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

on 15 May 2002. In 2005, she wrote ''Méditation'', a piece of about 7 minutes for a double

wind quintet A wind quintet, also known as a woodwind quintet, is a group of five wind players (most commonly flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon). Unlike the string quartet (of 4 string instruments) with its homogeneous blend of sound color, the in ...

. It was premiered by at a festival in Antwerp's centre for the arts

deSingel deSingel is a Belgian arts center. It is located on the Desguinlei in Antwerp. Its various stages, concert halls and exhibition spaces offer a manifold program of music, dance, theater and architecture. It is also home to the Royal Conservatory ...

on 23 October 2005. Her first symphony, written on a commission by

and subtitled "Carillon", was premiered at the

Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels The Centre for Fine Arts (french: Palais des Beaux-Arts, nl, Paleis voor Schone Kunsten) is a multi-purpose cultural venue in Brussels, Belgium. It is often referred to as BOZAR (a homophone of ''Beaux-arts'') in French or PSK in Dutch. The b ...

(BOZAR), on 26 October 2006 by

deFilharmonie The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is the symphony orchestra of Flanders (Belgium), based in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. The orchestra is led by chief conductor Elim Chan and honorary conductor Philippe Herreweghe. The organisation, which is ...

conducted by

Sian Edwards Sian Edwards (born 27 August 1959) is an English conductor, best known as music director of English National Opera in the 1990s. Early life Sian Edwards was born in West Chiltington, West Sussex. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Music ...

. She composed ''Poème'' for solo voice for the

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

Els Mondelaers, who premiered it at the

Academia Belgica The Academia Belgica is an academic organization. The goal of the Academy is to promote the cultural, scientific and artistic cooperation between Italy and Belgium. The organization was founded in 1939 when the Belgian princess Marie-José marri ...

in Rome on 30 March 2006. Van Parys wrote ''Stanza'' for solo harp on a commission of the where it was premiered by

Isabelle Moretti Isabelle Moretti (born 5 May 1964 in Lyon) is a French classical harpist. Biography Moretti studied harp at the Conservatoire de Lyon, then at the Conservatoire de Paris where she is a teacher. In 2006, she premiered the harp concertos by Phil ...

in a concert on 8 March 2007. She composed music for ''Ruhe'', a performance of the

Muziektheater Transparant Muziektheater Transparant is a Flemish theatre company founded in 1994. They produce music theatre and their own versions of opera, operas. The artistic directors are Guy Coolen and Wouter Van Looy. Among the past and current composers in residence ...

which also featured

part song A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a song to a secular or non-liturgical sacred text, written or arranged for several vocal parts. Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all ...

s by Schubert. It was shown, with the

Collegium Vocale Gent Collegium Vocale Gent is a Belgian musical ensemble of vocalists and supporting instrumentalists, founded by Philippe Herreweghe. The group is dedicated to historically informed performance. Founding and program Collegium Vocale Gent was founded ...

conducted by

Christoph Siebert Christoph Siebert is a German choral conductor, coaching and directing ensembles including the Collegium Vocale Gent. He is also an academic teacher in the field. Career Siebert studied church music at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. After his e ...

, from 2007 to 2010 at festivals in Europe and Australia. The second symphony "Les Ponts" was written for the who premiered it, conducted by

Otto Tausk Otto Tausk (born 1970 in Utrecht) is a Dutch conductor. Biography Tausk was a violin student of Viktor Liberman and István Párkányi. He studied conducting with Jurjen Hempel and Kenneth Montgomery. He continued his music studies with Jonas Al ...

at the Brussels Conservatory on 14 March 2008. Van Parys composed ''An Index of Memories'' for five voices and ensemble in 2009 and 2010, for a theatrical performance of the Spectra Ensemble. Directed by Caroline Petrick, it was premiered in a production of Muziektheater Transparant at deSingel in Antwerp on 12 March 2010. The music was performed by Vocaallab Nederland, Spectra Ensemble and Triatu, conducted by

Marit Strindlund Marit Strindlund is a Swedish conductor. Van Parys wrote ''Een Oresteia'' for three women's voices and ensemble on a commission by Eduard van Beinumstichting. Another theatrical work, it was first produced at the

Concertgebouw, Bruges The Concertgebouw (Concert building) is a cultural centre in Bruges, Belgium. Located at , it was completed in 2002 when Bruges was European Capital of Culture, designed by Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem. The building complex houses a large conce ...

, on 18 February 2011, again by Muziektheater Transparant directed by Petrick. The music was performed by the Vocaallab Nederland (Bauwien Vandermeer, Els Mondelaers, Elsbeth Gerritsen) and the ensemble

Asko/Schönberg AskoSchönberg is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specialises in contemporary classical music, especially that of the 21st century. It was formed by a merger of the ''Asko Ensemble'' and the ''Schönberg Ensemble'' in 2009. Asko Ensemble Form ...

conducted by Alejo Pérez. Her first opera, ''Private Views'', on a libretto by Tom Creed, was premiered by Muziektheater Transparant on 13 May 2015. Van Parys has been a teacher of composition and form analysis at the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

, and of piano at the Conservatory of Bruges.

Awards

Van Parys was awarded the Vlaanderen/Quebeq Prize 2001, the prize Jeugd en Muziek in 2004, and the prize of the Brothers Darche in 2009. She was a laureat of the Royal Flemish Academy for Arts and Sciences of Belgium in 2011, and a member of the Academy from 2014.

References

External links

* * *
Annelies Van Parys
MusMa
Componiste Annelies Van Parys: "Johannespassie heeft einde in mineur nodig"
(interview, in Dutch) demorgen.be

(interview, in Dutch) vpro.nl 17 May 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Parys, Annelies Belgian classical composers Musicians from Bruges 1975 births Living people Belgian women composers 21st-century Belgian musicians 21st-century classical composers Women classical composers 21st-century women composers