Astrid Kruisselbrink (born 9 February 1972) is a Dutch composer. While studying at the

Rotterdam Conservatory Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

(1993–99) she won first prize at the European Young Women Composers Contest with the choral work ''Zijn lippen zijn uw lippen'' (His Lips are Your Lips). In 1998, her ''Spin'' for soprano and ensemble was selected for the international Gaudeamus Music Week for young musicians. Just before graduation, her composition ''In'' for orchestra was selected for the Project Jonge Componisten (Project Young Composers) and performed by the Balletorchestra, conducted by

Richard Dufallo Richard John Dufallo (30 January 1933 in Whiting, Indiana – 16 June 2000 in Denton, Texas) was an American clarinetist, author, and conductor with a broad repertory. He is most known for his interpretations of contemporary music. During the ...

. She has since composed for various ensembles and choirs. During and after her studies she studied briefly with

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

Betsy Jolas Elizabeth Jolas (born 5 August 1926) is a Franco-American composer. Biography Jolas was born in Paris in 1926. Her mother, the American translator Maria McDonald, was a singer. Her father, the poet and journalist Eugene Jolas, founded and edited ...

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Although ...

and György Kurtag.

Biography

Born in the Dutch town of

Velsen Velsen () is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located on both sides of the North Sea Canal. On the north side of the North Sea Canal there is a major steel plant, Tata Steel IJmuiden, formerly known a ...

, from the age of nine she received piano lessons, both classical and jazz. In 1993, she entered the Rotterdam Conservatory (

Codarts Codarts University for the Arts ( nl, Codarts hogeschool voor de kunsten) is a Dutch vocational university in Rotterdam that teaches music, dance and circus. It was established in its present location in 2000. History Codarts can trace its origin ...

) where she studied composition under Klaas de Vries, Peter-Jan Wagemans ánd René Uijlenhoet, graduating cum laude in 1999. Notable works include ''String quartet'' (2000) recorded and performed by the Doelenkwartet. ''Pra'' (2003) for orchestra and soprano was performed by Monique Krüs and Het Gelders Orkest conducted by Hans Leenders. ''Strijklicht'' (2007) for stringorchestra, was performed by the Het Rotterdams Kamerorkest conducted by Conrad van Alphen. Her piano composition ''Apen en Beer'' (Ape and Bear) with a piece for each letter in the alphabet was published in 2009. The work was premiered in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in December 2009 when 30 young pianists performed the items on different animals. In 2011, her chamberopera ''The Reclining Woman'', based on sculptures by Henry Moore, was performed by Muziektheater de Helling in cooperation with the ensemble Nieuw Amsterdams Peil. October 2015, the

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 Fo ...

ensemble, conducted by

Reinbert de Leeuw Reinbert de Leeuw (8 September 1938 – 14 February 2020) was a Dutch conductor, pianist and composer. Life Lambertus Reinier de Leeuw's mother and father were both psychiatrists: Cornelis Homme 'Kees' de Leeuw (1905-1953) and Adriana Judina ...

, performed ''Die Klage um Linos'', for ensemble and countertenor. In 2017, together with mezzosoprano Antje Lohse, Stichting Knars and the

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of ...

, she created the theatrical concert ''Menschen-Worte'' with poems of poet and visual artist Hans Arp. Over the years, in addition to work commissioned by orchestra, choir, ensembles and individual musicians, she has composed for the theatre and for children. Her children's opera ''Fietsen'' (Cycling), based on a book by Gregie de Maeyer, was performed at Antwerp's Het Paleis in 1999. In 2009, young actors/singers of the Bürgerhaus Weserterrassen in Bremen, together with the Lithuanian Youthorchestra, performed ''Schwarz wie Tinte'', based on the book Zwart als inkt (1998) by the Dutch writer and visual artist

Wim Hofman Wim Hofman ( Oostkapelle, February 2, 1941) is a Dutch author. After elementary school he joined the seminary in Sterksel, because he wanted to become a missionary. He started writing books early, and published his first novel, "Welwel, de zeer ...

. Astrid Kruisselbrink lives in Gouda with her husband and two sons.

References

Externe link

Official website
1972 births 21st-century classical composers 21st-century pianists Dutch composers Dutch women composers Dutch pianists Dutch women pianists Living people People from Velsen 21st-century women composers 21st-century women pianists {{Netherlands-bio-stub