Bernard van Beurden

Biography Bernard van Beurden

Bernard van Beurden was born in 1933 in Amsterdam. Musical education At the age of eight, he began his violin studies. At age eleven he wrote his first composition for violin and cello. Following his high school education he studied violin and viola at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, continuing his studies ...
Full biography

---

Biography Bernard van Beurden

1933

Bernard van Beurden was born in 1933 in Amsterdam.

Musical education
At the age of eight, he began his violin studies. At age eleven he wrote his first composition for violin and cello. Following his high school education he studied violin and viola at the Amsterdam Conservatory of Music, continuing his studies in composition with Rudolf Escher and Ton de Leeuw.

Activities

Van Beurden worked for seven years in radio as a producer as well as a composer. As a music teacher, he was affiliated with the Music School of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Theater School and the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music. As a composer/teacher, he was involved with the world of amateur music. He conducted numerous workshops in the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Poland, France and Portugal and composed frequently for amateurs.

Compositions

Bernard van Beurden works in commission and receives a grant from the Dutch government (Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst). His compositions are wide and varied:
chamber music for various instruments and ensembleschoral music, a cappella with/without instrumental accompanimentfanfare orchestra, wind orchestra and wind ensemble, specifically solo concerts, not only with wind players but string players, vocalists and combinations thereofmandoline orchestra, in combination with accordion and bassoon and sopranomusic for symphony orchestra, ballet music and music for the theater. In particular, this last category plays an important role in van Beurden’s oeuvre. He composed music for twenty-one dramas, seven musical theater productions including four works for young people and two operas. His music is not only performed regularly in the Netherlands but also in other European countries and the U.S.A. His works are published in the Netherlands and in France, Germany and the U.S.A. A number of these works are available on compact disc.

Publications

In 1974, Bernard van Beurden wrote a Workbook for music of the present (Werkboek voor Muziek van Nu), a book assisting in the practical performance of contemporary music in schools and in other group situations.

Awards

In 1978, Bernard van Beurden was awarded the RAI Prize from the Prix Italia for his radio oratorio Bajesmaf. On December 7, 2003, he received a royal honour: Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau for his versatile accomplishments as a composer.

B. van Beurden
2004

---

Discography Bernard van Beurden

In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.

---

Photos Bernard van Beurden

---

No audio- or video material is yet available.
Add audio or video