Micha Hamel

He has composed music for the Netherlands’ national ballet, national theatre and the Orkater theatre group. He has also published six books of poetry to date, the fourth of which was awarded the Jan Campertprijs for poetry. He works with animation artist Demian Albers (of Studio Apvis) to create poetic experiences for virtual reality, garnering several international awards.  

In 2008, his tragic operetta Snow White (Nederlandse Reisopera) toured the country with great success. In 2012, he was the 'Composer in focus' at the Holland Festival and composed two full-length works for the occasion: Requiem voor ons beschavingsideaal, and a multidisciplinary performance inspired by George Hendrik Breitner's painting The Red Kimono. Following his full-length melodrama Een pure formaliteit (Orkater, 2014), he achieved another milestone with his contemporary bel canto opera Caruso a Cuba (Nationale Opera, 2019). He also developed a series of performances about the climate catastrophe, the first part of which, Het Zwarte Raam (produced by Orkater), debuted in 2021. 

As a lecturer in Performance Practice at Codarts University in Rotterdam (2011-2021), Micha Hamel researched scenarios for the classical music sector, wrote a book, Speelruimte voor klassieke muziek in de 21ste eeuw, about the topic and headed a research project on gamification as a means to engage with audiences. He recently launched his project Schrijflab.nl at Utrecht University, aimed at content enrichment in Dutch language learning.