Aart Bergwerff

Aart Bergwerff is a passionate and versatile musician. Characteristic is his clear, transparent way of playing. "Playing the organ is like talking, you have to do it clearly" - Aart Bergwerff. 

Aart Bergwerff has been the organist of the Grote of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Kerk in Breda since 2012. He is therefore the regular player of the Hillen organ, a monumental instrument, built in 1969 by the Flentrop company.

As a concert organist, Aart frequently performs at concerts and festivals in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2012, he made his debut at the most prestigious organ festival in the world: Toulouse-Les-Orgues in Toulouse, France. In September 2015, he performed as a soloist at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in the most famous concert series in the Netherlands: the ZaterdagMatinee. He also performed at the famous Mariinsky Concert Hall in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Aart Bergwerff is a teacher of organ and teacher of arranging since 1994 at Codarts, University of the Arts Rotterdam.

Aart Bergwerff studied organ, choir conducting and church music at the Rotterdam Conservatory. He studied improvisation with Bert Matter at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He continued his organ studies in Paris with Marie-Claire Alain and in Northern Germany with Harald Vogel. He concluded his studies in Paris by obtaining the Prix de Virtuosité.

Aart won prizes at international organ competitions in Bruges, Lausanne and Groningen.

In 2003 he was awarded the silver medal of the Société Académique ‘Arts, Sciences et Lettres’ for his services to French organ culture. As an organist he is a regular guest at the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonie Zuid-Nederland.