Ronald Van Deurzen
BIOGRAPHY
Ronald Van Deurzen is a critically acclaimed pianist & composer, diversifying in contemporary instrumental music styles. His melodies on piano are often characterized by their lyrical qualities, complemented by an array of instrumental accompaniments, ranging from orchestral arrangements to global instruments and synthesizers. Ronald's compositions frequently draw inspiration from nature and philosophical questions, as well as genres such classical, jazz and world music. His portfolio encompasses music for visual and interactive media, as well as collaborations with numerous bands and live orchestra. He has independently released two albums in addition to a variety of singles. He was nominated at the Hollywood Music In Media Awards, Hollywood Independent Music Awards and was selected as a winner at the lnterContinental Music Awards. Ronald is currently working on his upcoming album involving a variety of guest-musicians. He is also playing keyboards for Euphoria Station's third folk/progrock album, which will feature guitarvirtuoso Hoyt Binder, harmonicist Tollak Ollestad (ex Seal/Andrea Bocelli) and drummer Toss Panos (Sting) among others.
Recently released pieces: - listen to Hopeful Bliss or Night Walk.
A musical journey...
After studying classical music in his early years, at the age of 15, the Dutch-born pianist embarked on his musical journey by joining a Dutch-Belgian folk band and their dance company. Despite being the youngest member of the band, he faced the daunting task of learning 60 songs in just two weeks. Following this intense preparation, he took to the stage multiple times each week, performing at various venues across the Benelux region, including bars, restaurants, and festivals. These years of live experiences were instrumental in shaping his musical personality and honing his skills on the keys. As a result, Ronald's abilities as a keyboardist earned him spots on numerous CD albums, such as Honor Way Down (released on Progrock Records) & The Reverie Suite (folk/progrock), genres that required him to deliver a solid level of technical proficiency as a player. These albums gained recognition with airplay on numerous online and FM radio stations, along with positive feedback in publications such as Dutch Progressive Rock Page, Profil Prog, Fireworks UK, Rock In Spain, Prog Sphere, Swedenrock, Background Magazine and iOpages in The Netherlands.
"... exceptionally tasteful and technically highstanding..."
iOpages Progressive Rock Magazine
Driven by a desire for a tranquil, inspirational space that allowed him to compose music without artistic constraints, he moved to Sweden. There he found solace in the natural surroundings and established his very own 'Static Noise Studio' within the building of the local art collective. Working from here using synthesizers, VSTs and audio recording, he got involved in composing music for various subsidized film, documentary and contemporary art music projects. He also lectured for university at the age of 21 and produced two New Age albums, Imaginations (2012) and Tale Of Dreams (2013). These albums are infused with the enchanting essence of the Scandinavian landscape, a constant wellspring of inspiration. The music found its way into various shows, such as One World Music Radio, Shades of Classics (CKUW 95.9FM), Audiosyncracy (KTEP 88.5FM), Peaceful Radio/Zandvoort FM, RTV Ridderkerk 105.7FM & RTV Gouwestad's "Folk Roots" in The Netherlands, New Age Stars Radio and Enlightened Piano Radio, just to name a few.
"...it is easy to see why Van Deurzen is considered a musician of note within his field that of piano, orchestra, fusion and prog rock as Imaginations delivers the lot in one incantation or another..."
BlueWolf Reviews
His immersion in New Age & cinematic style music cultivated a profound respect for ethnic instruments. This led Ronald to work for a period in Asia at a Fine Arts Faculty in Thailand where he got involved with Asian instruments and was commissioned to compose various pieces of music for the university. His orchestral arrangements were performed live in concert with guest-musicians of Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. Performances include the piece 'Song of the Violin', a collaboration with Thai violinist/educator and professor Prapad Kwanpradub. The music combines the sound of classical orchestra with a intimate narrative on violin reminiscent of Asian folk music. The two were nominated at the InterContinental Music Awards in 2021 in the classic genre. The duo also received recognition by national media outlets Khaosod (Thailand's third best-selling newspaper) and National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT). 'Song of the Violin' has since then inspired several university instructors in Thailand, who have come up with their own arrangements, bringing new colors to the piece.
"...A dreamy, cinematic, nostalgic, classical, yet folksy collaboration between two great musicians that will linger long in your heart..."
NewAgeCD.com
Ronald has been a member in the boards of multiple art associations and advocates cross-cultural collaborations. Experienced teaching and collaborating with people from a very different culture than his own, he is working on his upcoming book 'Ear Training In Context', a method that concentrates on multi-part solfege of multi-timbral arrangements to prepare students inner hearing for real working-life situations in bands, orchestras and in the recording studio. The method's secondary vision aims to help bridging language and cultural gaps in the setting of musical ear training.
Following Ronald's involvement with sound-technology, he regularly experiments with contemporary art music, sound-art and synthesizers. His contemporary music is inspired by the music of Philip Glass, Natasha Barret and Steve Reich. Check out his electro-acoustic piece 'Tranceptive' commissioned by Media Artes, one of the country's primary concert-organisers for contemporary music/media art, supported by the local municipality and the Swedish Arts Counsil.