Oene van Geel

Composer / viola / quintone player Oene van Geel (1973) is a musical adventurer. Influenced by jazz, Indian music, chamber music and free improvisation, he uses his virtuoso improvisa- tion skills and his composition talent for a wide range of musi- cal activities.He toured Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Canada.As a player he is currently active with the following ensembles / bands:Es- tafest, The Nordanians, Haanst- ra & van Geel, duo with pianist Philipp Rüttgers and a duo with dancer Miri Lee. In addition to playing with these formations, he is regularly invited as an im- provising guest soloist. In 2015 Oene made his first solo album: ‚Sudoku‘ (release 26 May 2016). He received the VPRO Boy Edgar Prize (2013), the Sena Per- formers Toonzetters Prize (2012, with Zapp4), the Kersjes Prize (2005, with Zapp4), the Deloitte Jazz Award (2002), Dutch Jazz Competition (2001) and the Jur Naessens Music Prize (2000).As a composer he is mostly active in chamber music and music theatre. He composed for: The National Opera, Liza Ferschtman + Calefax, Frederieke Saeijs, The David Kweksilber Big Band, the Osiris Trio, Emlyn Stam + New European Ensemble, Black Pencil Ensemble, Amstel Quartet, Frederieke Saeijs, Nizar Rohana, Remy van Kesteren and Eric Vloeimans, Erik Bosgraaf, Steven Kamperman Quintet, Youth Orchestra The Netherlands, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Matangi Quartet, Calefax, Tetzepi bigtet, the Ricciotti Ensemble, Nicolay Shugaev, David Braid and many others.Oene also re- gularly composes for festivals such as: The Amsterdam Viola Festival (2017) The Dutch Violin Competition (edition 2016), Cello Biennale Amsterdam (edition 2008 and 2016), Anniversary Osiris Trio (2014), the Storioni Festival (2013), Orlando Festival (2012), the North Sea Jazz Festival (2005), SJU Jazz Festival (2002), Marathon festival Oosterpoort (2002).The combination of different disciplines is a fascinating working area for Oene.As a composer and musician, he was involved in productions of: The National Opera (‚Bewogen Bewegen‘ in 2016 and ‚Hondenhartje‘ in 2017), Silbersee, Boukje Schweigman, Theun Mosk, Eric Vaarzon Morel, Saartje van Camp, Herman van Baar, Marcel Sijm, The World Band, Holland Opera (already two productions and a new opera in December 2017) and Theater Sonnevanck.Cooperati- on with dance also has Oene‘s special interest. He regularly collaborates with dancer / choreographer Kenzo Kusuda, and dancer / choreographer Heather Ware. In 2019 he will start a new production with choreographer Kalpana Raghuraman.Oene has been a member of the New Society for Dutch Composers (Nieuw Geneco) since December 2016.

photo: from booklet JL011