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Biography
Abraham Jan Lodewijk (Harm Jan) Schenkel (1980) started as an oboe and organ player, and studied Industrial Design Engineering at the Delft University of Technology. After graduating as an engineer, he went to the conservatory of Rotterdam and studied with Paul M. van Brugge and Klaas de Vries. He graduated in 2011.
Currently he is a pianist, band leader and conductor of multiple choirs. He is also a teacher of oboe, piano, synthesizer and composition. Harm Jan works with Jan Vayne, Ralph van Manen, Martin Mans, Lucas Kramer and André Pouwer in various concerts and projects. Besides that, he writes and arranges music for choir, organ, piano and all kinds of instrumentations in jazz, pop and classical music. As a composer he is always searching for the tension between these three worlds. |
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Vision
Harm Jan’s music is often described as happy and cheerful. He explains why. “There already is so much misery in this world. I want my audience to forget and to let them experience a little piece of heaven. I believe heaven is a happy place.” This does not mean that his music is always joyful. “To experience happiness, you have to know intense sorrow. A high mountain implicates a steep valley. So consequently, those valleys are also an important part of my music.”
According to Harm Jan some kind of abstraction is crucial in writing brand new music. “As a composer you need to create. You cannot paint a Rembrandt and be original at the same time.” Just like the art of painting, music gradually became more abstract. In the quest for the essence of what one wants to express. Therefore old traditions become questionable. “This does not mean that the treasure of the musical legacy is set aside. Melody, harmony and rhythm do not disappear. They get a different function.”
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Improvisation is a very important factor in his compositions. “It makes the music dependent of the musicians again. In the time of Mozart and before, this was very common. However, in the last ages it gradually disappeared. Through jazz it is recovered. The beauty of improvisation is that every performance of the
same piece becomes different each time and the personality of the musician becomes an essential part of
the composition.”
The music of Harm Jan often has a religious character. Nevertheless, he does not see himself as a church musician. “Of course, many of my orders come from the church or church related organizations. But I also write music that has nothing to do with it.” According to Harm Jan, his faith is not blocking him; moreover it creates an endless source of inspiration. “It is obvious that my inspiration touches, or even overlaps my view of life.
I am not ashamed of that. However, the craftsmanship of a composer should exceed this simple division. My faith does not express itself in a style of composing, but in authenticity.” |
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