Gijs van der Heijden’s music channels extremes, transforming shortcomings and abstract, deeply personal emotions into works that balance tension, loudness, calmness, silence, the profound, and the tongue-in-cheek—treating each and every subject with the seriousness it deserves.

Rejecting reliance on digital tools in a hyper-digital world, Gijs explores the expressive potential of traditional instruments, frequently experimenting with multiple tunings. Often strongly melodic, rhythmic and dynamic, his work also ventures into timeless, meditative violence, weaving disparate influences into a singular, personal sound. Drawing inspiration from experimental rock, film and game soundtracks, and the contemporary-classical canon, Gijs creates music that attempts to walk a thin line between decent craftsmanship and irreverence.

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Accolades

• Nominee for Tera de Marez Oyens Award 2024, Utrecht (NL)

• Selected for Composer’s Kitchen 2023 residency with Quatuor Bozzini, Montreal (CA), and Gaudeamus, Utrecht (NL)

• Nominee for Gaudeamus Award 2013, Utrecht (NL)

• Selected for International Young Composers Academy 2013, Moscow and Chaykovsky (RU)

• First Prize for Young Composers Meeting 2012, Apeldoorn (NL)

• Audience Award for Young Masters XXI 2010 composition contest, ICMF The Hague (NL)

Education

• Royal Conservatoire The Hague 2021–’23, MMus Composition
  Principal teachers: Mayke Nas and Jan van de Putte.

• Royal Conservatoire The Hague 2011–’13, MMus Composition
  Principal teachers: Yannis Kyriakides and Diderik Wagenaar.

• Royal Conservatoire The Hague 2007–’11, BMus Composition
  Principal teachers: Martijn Padding and Gilius van Bergeijk.

• Utrecht School of the Arts 2001–’07, BMus Music Production & Performance.

• Occasional private lessons with Jimmie LeBlanc, Richard Ayres, Christopher Butterfield, Joe Cutler, Adam Gorb, Seung-Won Oh, Antoine Beuger, Jean-Luc Hervé, Ed Bennett, Barbara Woof, and Carlos Azevedo.