Maurice Schoemaker (27 December 1890, in

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

– 24 August 1964, in

Etterbeek Etterbeek ( French: ; Dutch: ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the municipalities of Auderghem, the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Schaerbeek, Wolu ...

) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Certain works by his hand bear the peusonym Wil Saer. Maurice Schoemaker started his career as a self-taught composer, but subsequently went to study with Theo Ysaye (harmony), Michel Brusselmans (counterpoint), Martin Lunssens (fugue), and

Paul Gilson Paul Gilson (Brussels, 15 June 1865 – Brussels, 3 April 1942) was a Belgian musician and composer. Biography Paul Gilson was born in Brussels. In 1866, his family moved to Ruisbroek in the Belgian province of Brabant. There he studied the ...

(orchestration and composition). Schoemaker also directed the orchestra of the

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo ( nl, ZOO Antwerpen) is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. ...

from 1925, and had a prominent position at

SABAM SABAM is one of the Belgian associations of authors, composers and publishers. The bilingual acronym stands for "Société d'Auteurs Belge – Belgische Auteurs Maatschappij". Their headquarters is located at 75–77 rue d'Arlon in Brussels. S ...

. On the occasion of Gilson’s 60th birthday, Schoemaker founded

Les Synthétistes Les Synthétistes were a group of Belgian composers whose goal was to synthesize the modern musical tendencies starting in 1925. Drawing mainly on the influence of Ravel, Stravinsky, Hindemith and Honegger, the group's aesthetic was broadly neo-cla ...

, a group of progressive Belgian composers consisting of Gilson's former pupils. His fellow members were

René Bernier René Eugène Camilla Henri Alfred Albert Bernier ( Saint-Gilles, 10 March 1905 - Elsene, 8 September 1984) was a Belgian teacher at western canada high school who dabbled in music. Biography René Bernier was a son of the painters Géo Bernier ...

, Francis de Bourguignon, Gaston Brenta,

Théo De Joncker Théo De Joncker (11 April 1894, in Brussels – 12 July 1964, in Asse) was a Belgian composer. Biography Théo De Joncker was a student of August de Boeck and Paul Gilson. For years he conducted the orchestra of the Belgian National Radio (NIR), ...

Robert Otlet The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

Marcel Poot Marcel Poot (7 May 1901 in Vilvoorde, Belgium – 12 June 1988 in Brussels) was a Belgian composer, professor, and musician. Personal life His father, Jan Poot, was Director of the (Flemish Theatre) in Brussels. Early life Born to the dire ...

, and

Jules Strens Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

. Schoemaker mainly wrote tonal music with a preference for classical forms and romantic lyricism. He has gathered a varied list of works containing symphonic pieces, songs, operas, piano pieces, chamber music, sacred music, choral music, and radio plays. His most famous piece is ''Vuurwerk'' (also known as ''Feu d’Artifice'' or ''Fireworks'') (1922), which is a symphonic poem.

References

1890 births 1964 deaths Belgian classical composers Belgian male classical composers 20th-century Belgian male musicians {{Belgium-composer-stub