Walter Hekster
Encyclopedia
Walter Hekster is a Dutch
composer
, clarinetist and conductor of classical music
, specializing in contemporary classical music
.
Studying composition
with Ton de Leeuw
and clarinet
with Bram de Wilde, he graduated from the Amsterdam Academy of Music
in 1961. Upon his graduation he studied clarinet with Keith Wilson
and composition with Mel Powell
at Yale University
, where he received a Master of Music
in 1963. In 1966 he studied with Roger Sessions
in Tanglewood
.
In the meantime he performed as a clarinetist in the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.
In 1965 he accepted an appointment for professor of clarinet and composition at Brandon University
in Manitoba
, which he held until 1971. There he started conducting the Brandon Chamber Orchestra.
In 1971 he studied sonology at the University of Utrecht. He then taught at the music conservatories of Enschede
, Arnhem
, and Groningen until 1990. With the Rosetti Woodwind Quintet, Quartetto di Fiati, Ensemble '80, and the Circle Ensemble, he performed throughout Europe and the United States.
Walter Hekster is an extremely productive composer, creating music for a wide range of orchestra and chamber music settings. The Dutch not-for-profit publishing house Donemus
published 134 of his works.
Hekster has been married since 1962 to the US-born and Yale
-educated bassoon player Alice Hekster-van Leuvan. The couple has two children, Ben Hekster and Suzy van der Meer.
Hekster and other composers
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, clarinetist and conductor of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, specializing in contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
.
Studying composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
with Ton de Leeuw
Ton De Leeuw
Antonius Wilhelmus Adrianus de Leeuw was a Dutch composer. He was known for his experiments with microtonality....
and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
with Bram de Wilde, he graduated from the Amsterdam Academy of Music
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam is a Dutch academy of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, the city's vocational university of arts...
in 1961. Upon his graduation he studied clarinet with Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (musician)
Keith L. Wilson is an American classical musician. He is a clarinetist, teacher, and conductor.-Teaching and conducting career:Wilson was appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1946....
and composition with Mel Powell
Mel Powell
Mel Powell was a jazz pianist and composer of classical music.Mel Epstein was born to Russian Jewish parents, Milton Epstein and Mildred Mark Epstein, and began playing piano as a child. He performed jazz professionally in New York City as a teenager...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he received a Master of Music
Master of Music
The Master of Music is the first graduate degree in Music awarded by universities and music conservatories. The M.Mus. combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization with graduate-level academic study in subjects such as music history, music theory, or music pedagogy...
in 1963. In 1966 he studied with Roger Sessions
Roger Sessions
Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
in Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
.
In the meantime he performed as a clarinetist in the Netherlands Wind Ensemble and the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.
In 1965 he accepted an appointment for professor of clarinet and composition at Brandon University
Brandon University
Brandon University is a Canadian university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, with an enrolment of 3383 full-time and part-time students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon College as a Baptist institution. It was chartered as a university by then President Dr....
in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, which he held until 1971. There he started conducting the Brandon Chamber Orchestra.
In 1971 he studied sonology at the University of Utrecht. He then taught at the music conservatories of Enschede
Enschede
Enschede , also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region...
, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, and Groningen until 1990. With the Rosetti Woodwind Quintet, Quartetto di Fiati, Ensemble '80, and the Circle Ensemble, he performed throughout Europe and the United States.
Walter Hekster is an extremely productive composer, creating music for a wide range of orchestra and chamber music settings. The Dutch not-for-profit publishing house Donemus
Donemus
Donemus is the Dutch institute dealing with the documentation of contemporary music composed in the Netherlands....
published 134 of his works.
Hekster has been married since 1962 to the US-born and Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
-educated bassoon player Alice Hekster-van Leuvan. The couple has two children, Ben Hekster and Suzy van der Meer.
Selected works
- The Fog, chamber opera in one act (1987; librettoLibrettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Lewis TurcoLewis TurcoLewis P. Turco , is an American poet, teacher, and writer of fiction and non-fiction. Turco is an advocate for Formalist poetry in the United States.-Life and work:...
). - Derivations for piano (1972)
- Diverties for flute, clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano (1970)
- Occurrence for viola solo (1969)
- Parts of a World for viola and orchestra (1976)
- Pentagram for Woodwind Quintet (1971)
- Piano Sonata (1966)
- Studies in Spatial Notation (1972)
- Towards Dawn for viola and piano (2001)
- Trio for clarinet, viola and piano (1990)
- Windows for double-bass solo (1971)
Discography
Works by Hekster- Summer's End (Emergo)
Hekster and other composers
- Eclipse on Ereprijs Ensemble (Klimop)
- Harmonologue on Dirk Luijmes (BV Haast)
- Songs of the Japanese on Conservatory of TwenteTwenteTwente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...
- Piano Sonata on Bart BermanBart BermanBart Berman is a Dutch-Israeli pianist and composer, best known as an interpreter of Franz Schubert and 20th century music....
, piano (GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, 1978)