Aart Bergwerff has played the organ from the age of seven and initially studied organ, choir direction and church Music at the Rotterdam Conservatory. He continued his studies abroad, in North Germany, Italy and Paris, and studied ,among others, with Harald Vogel and Marie-Claire Alain. He concluded his study with Alain in Paris by obtaining the Prix de Virtuosité. At the Royal Conservatory in The Hague he studied improvisation with Bert Matter and he achieved the ‘Aantekening’ for organ improvisation. Aart Bergwerff won prizes at the international organ competitions in Bruges(1985), Lausanne (1987), and Groningen (1989). In 2003 he was awarded the silver medal of merit of the Société Académique ‘Arts, Sciences et Lettres’ for his contribution to the French organ culture. At the Rotterdam Conservatory, part of Codarts, University of Professional Arts Education, he has been a Senior Lecturer in Organ since 1994 and he also lectures in improvisation and Organ Building.
Aart Bergwerff is a consultant on the restoration and building of organs and in that capicity he has been involved in the restoration of many historic organs. As a concert organist he frequently performs at concerts and festivals at home and abroad. At the age of 29 he was appointed organist at the Lutheran Church in The Hague and so became the permanent player of one of the most historic organs in the Netherlands, the Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz organ, built in 1762. With its great manoeuvrability this instrument has had a large influence on Aart Bergwerff’s musical thinking, for the organ is the synthesizer avant-la-lettre.
