Photo by Marco Borggreve

Michel van der Aa

Composer
Director

Van der Aa (born 1970) is an internationally renowned composer acclaimed for his contemporary classical compositions. His work is theatrical at times and he experiments extensively with other disciplines.

After his 2006 multimedia opera After Life, he came to be regarded as the composer who will bring opera into the 21st century.

Van der Aa has created a whole new genre by giving images a very important role in his compositions (he is also a film director). His work provokes much debate: his 3D opera Sunken Garden was both reviled and praised after its London premiere. His somewhat earlier Up Close, a combination of cello concerto and film, was performed in the United States and Europe.

Van der Aa speaks the language of our times in his work, which connects with a wide audience. In 2013, Van der Aa received two major international awards in quick succession: the Grawemeyer Award and the Mauricio Kagel Musikpreis.

View Michel his website here.