News
06.04.2007 June, 8 Worchester, Wesley Methodist Church
June, 8 Worchester, Wesley Methodist Church. Announcing the results of the First round in Worcester and recitale "From Russia with love..." Performer – the first prize competition’s winner (1999) Jean-Pierre Steijvers, The Netherlands.
Jean-Pierre Steijvers
specialized in organ, piano and church music at the Maastricht School of Music and the Sweelinck School of Music in Amsterdam. His organ teachers were Jean Wolfs, Kamiel D'Hooghe and Jacques van Ootmerssen. He took a Bachelor's and a Master's degree for both instruments. In addition he obtained the Practical Certificate for Catholic Church Music.
During and after his studies he attended various master-classes and interpretation courses with illustrious organists both at home and abroad. Jean-Pierre Steijvers gives many concerts at home and abroad, always with favourable reviews. In addition, he accompanies various ensembles, choirs and soloists, with whom he regularly makes radio and CD recordings and gives concerts. He also appears as organist with the Limburgs Symfonie Orkest.
On 20 May 2004 he was appointed Titular Organist of St. Christopher's Cathedral at Roermond by Bishop F. Wiertz.
He teaches organ, piano and musical theory at the Centre for the Arts at Roermond and works as church musician for various parishes, e.g. the main city church of St. Martin's at Weert. Furthermore, he is on the committee of the Royal Dutch Society of Organists KNOV, the Catholic Society of Conductors and Organists KDOV and the diocesan St. Gregory Society (NSGV) of the Diocese of Roermond.
A CD with organ works of the Russian composer Mikael Tariverdiev was recorded in St. Bavo's Cathedral Basilica at Haarlem in November 2000. A CD with classical French organ works, recorded in Our Lady's Basilica at Maastricht together with the Schola Maastricht will appear in 2004. Jean-Pierre Steijvers has taken part in several international organ festivals and competitions, not only in the Netherlands at Nijmegen 1994, Haarlem 1995, Maastricht 1996 and Alkmaar 1997, but also in Finland at Lahti 1993 and Denmark at Odense 1994.
He won prizes at various organ competitions:
- In 1992 The 7th Dublin International Organ Festival in Dublin, Ireland: third prize.
- In 1994 The 8th Dublin International Organ Festival in Dublin, Ireland: second prize.
- In 1995 2. Internationaler Orgelwettbewerb J.S. Bach at Lucerne, Switzerland: first prize.
- In 1998 Le XVIe Concours International d'Orgue - Grand Prix de Chartres Interprétation at Chartres, France : laureate.
- In 1999 Mikael Tariverdiev First International Organ Competition at Kaliningrad, Russia : first prize and also winner of the "Moscow Philharmonic Society Special Prize".
Many tours through virtually the whole of Russia followed. Steijvers gave several master-classes, was a member of the jury of organ competitions and gave concerts with orchestras from Moscow, Samara and Kazan, the Tatarstan State Symphonic Orchester, Noscow Youth Orchester Orchestra and the Samara State Academic Symphony Orchestra among them.
In May 2003 in co-operation with the Rotary clubs from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, Steijvers organized a master-class for especially gifted organists from Moscow in Amsterdam and elsewhere.
On 1 October 2003 he was decorated at Kaliningrad for the promotion in Europe of the organ music of the Russian composer Mikael Tariverdiev and the prestigious international organ competition named after him.