Our colleague Theo Verbey has passed away on October 13th 2019. Theo worked at the Royal Conservatoire since 1984 as a teacher of Music Theory. We will remember him as an intelligent and dedicated teacher. His presence will be missed. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.
Theo Verbey was a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music whose style has been described as 'energetic and appealing'. He first achieved recognition with his orchestral arrangement of Alban Berg's Piano Sonata op.1, a piece he orchestrated in 1984 while he was studying at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. That work is still widely performed and has been recorded twice, appearing on both the Chandos and Decca labels.
Educational activities:
Theo Verbey had a strong commitment to the education of young musicians. He has taught at his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Music in The Hague, since 1984. In 1995, he also joined the faculty of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam/Amsterdam University of the Arts.
Verbey is a passionate follower of current events and is a member of a reading club devoted to keeping abreast of modern thought. Verbey was born on July 5, 1959 in Delft. His earliest musical memories involve singing nursery songs with one of his six aunts. Later on, he started playing the recorder, and singing in the boys’ choir of his grammar school. He began composing at the age of seven, when he wrote small pieces for his school orchestra. During his high school years, he also wrote some pop songs as well as music for a jazz/rock band. Until recently Verbey lived in Amsterdam, married to the Dutch/American translator and violinist Eileen Stevens.
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Read here an article with Verbey in the NRC.
Foto: Roger Cremers for NRC