Sonja Beets

Sonja Beets completed her education for organ and piano at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. After her studies she specialized in chamber music - especially the art of song - with George van Renesse, Nelly Wagenaar and by participating in masterclasses, including with Györgi Sebök. In addition, she has followed courses in non-Western philosophy, culture and music. In this context she has learned to play an Indian bowed instrument - the Sarangil - in the dhrupad style (oldest devout style).

In addition to making music, she is actively involved in composing, painting and poetry. A collection of her poems has been self-published and she has several exhibitions to her name. She started composing in 1989. She was stimulated in this by Györgi Sebök, Martijn van den Hoek, Herman Ulhorn, Bernard Kruysen. She likes to compose personally for the musicians who are part of her ensemble “Purusha”. This creates all kinds of different ensemble variations, both instrumental and vocal.

After years of teaching, performing and exhibiting, Sonja Beets is currently integrating these different disciplines within herself and with others. This development resulted in 1997 in the establishment of the “Muzenstede” foundation, of which she is the initiator and co-founder. The aim of this foundation is to promote integration and symbiosis between people and art and between the various art disciplines themselves.

In 2000 she took the initiative to develop the “Musical City Walk” in Wijk bij Duurstede, for which she selected nine poems by the poet Willem de Mérode from as many characteristic locations in this town. She has set these poems to music for various instrumentations and the recordings of these are offered in the form of a walk with explanations via the local tourist office. This project has received national fame; the song cycle was covered as a weekly theme in the radio program A4 and received a lot of attention on TV-Utrecht. She made her official debut as a composer with great success when she presented this song cycle.

In 2003 she completed a chamber opera to a libretto by Tom Sol after a story by Voltaire: “De Argeloze”. In 2005 she presented a special project on the Flemish cultural heritage in Belgium, in which she integrated various art forms. Her composition for carillon “Had we the Wings …” was chosen as compulsory work for the public exams 2009 for the highest degree of the ROYAL CARILLON SCHOOL “Jef Denyn” in Mechelen (B).
She currently lives in France, where she collaborates and performs concerts with other artists, for whom she also writes new compositions. Here she also set up a foundation: “La Grange des Arts” with the aim of promoting cultural awareness. As part of this foundation she conducts a vocal ensemble "Chant'en scene".