Maestro Honoris Causa
Music Theory
Paul Scheepers is inseparably connected with the Royal Conservatoire. First as a student and later as a teacher of Music Theory. Since almost all music theorists working in the Netherlands have either studied analysis, counterpoint or harmony with him, or worked alongside him for many years in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht, we can truly speak of a distinctive ‘school’.
Paul Scheepers played an important role in the realisation of the two-volume music-theoretical source publication Van Aristoxenos tot Stockhausen. For many, Paul is also a source of profound knowledge in the field of theories ranging from Rameau to Schenker and later William Caplin. The chamber music programme for bachelor’s students was Paul’s way of bringing theory and practice together in an artistic manner. Analysis & Performance became an established element within the curriculum of the Music Theory programme.
Coaching in master’s studies and doctoral trajectories remains a passion. Colleagues continue to seek Paul out for this because of his broad interests and his exceptional knowledge of a highly varied repertoire. At every encounter, Paul demonstrates that music theory can remain a lifelong passion. Many former students now work as theory teachers and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad. All of them have experienced something of that same passion.
