Arnoud Noordegraaf (NL, 1974) is a composer who doesn't shy away from a strong narrative and an occasional healthy dose of humour in his work. His productions form a class apart within Dutch contemporary music, combining interdisciplinary media in compositions and theatrical forms, resulting in 'a remarkable unity in style and atmosphere' (NRC Handelsblad).
Noordegraaf studied theatre at the Maastricht Theatre School and composition at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, with Gilius van Bergeijk, Martijn Padding and Louis Andriessen. His musical style focuses on a strong interaction between live instruments and their electronic counterparts; a very surrealistic musical vocabulary, in which instruments or voices produce sounds beyond their natural capacities. The musician's struggle with an invisible counterpart complements the theatrical struggle of accepting the world as it is, a recurring theme in Noordegraaf's work.
Apart from writing an autonomous oeuvre of compositions and music theatre, Noordegraaf's production company Inexcelsisvideo produces film images for various operas and musical events. He has collaborated with composers and artists such as Michel van der Aa, Louis Andriessen, Hal Hartley and Gary Hill, as well as companies including De Nederlandse Opera, Holland Festival and Asko|Schonberg ensemble.
Noordegraaf has taught and lectured at Aldeburgh (UK), Beijing and Xiamen (Cn), and in the Netherlands. He was a guest teacher at the Rietveld Art Academy in Amsterdam and will be returning to China for more master classes at the Guangzhou conservatoire in 2011.
In june 2011 his Murakami-inspired Tokyo-film-opera “A.M.” premiered at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam. It has been performed ad hoc ever since throughout Europe. Noordegraaf’s next big music theatre work UrWald premiered in october 2013 in Amsterdam. Both A.M. and UrWald got 4-star reviews in the press, marking the relevance of Noordegraaf’s work in contemporary music.
Currently Arnoud is teaming up with writer Adrian Hornsby again, on a large opera work, collaborating with the renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
composer | director
photo © Ai WeiWei 2013