Vincent van Gelder
Born in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Vincent van Gelder started playing the piano at the age of twelve. It was not until two years later, after hearing the first Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, that he became really interested in music. At first, he studied at a local music school, then was admitted to the Conservatory of Hogeschool Enschede at the age of eighteen. In the summer of 1990, Vincent studied with Czerny-Stefanska during the Chopin masterclasses in Duszniky, Poland. From 1995 till 1997, Mr. van Gelder studied at the Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Latvia. His teachers there were Theofils Bikis and Arnis Zandmanis. Mr. van Gelder holds BM and MM degrees from the Conservatory of Hogeschool Enschede and MM in performance from the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where his teacher was Wilfred Delphin. In 2003, he graduated with a DMA in piano performance from the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he studied with Richard Cass.
Mr. van Gelder has played recitals in The Netherlands, Germany, Latvia, and in many states in the US, including a full Liszt recital on one of Liszt’s own pianos at the Spencer Art Museum in Lawrence, Kansas. He is the Winner of 1999 St. Louis Artist Presentation Society Auditions. The St. Louis Post wrote about his performances of the Chopin Ballades: “He brought out the different layers with the precision of a brain surgeon”. Also in 1999, he was a soloist with the Southern Illinois University Symphony Orchestra, performing Prokofiev’s 2nd Piano Concerto. In January 2000, Vincent van Gelder won the Concerto/Aria Competition and appeared as a soloist with the UMKC Conservatory Orchestra performing Liszt’s Totentanz. In 2000 he was one of 9 pianists world wide to be invited to the Liszt masterclasses in Utrecht, The Netherlands, where he studied with Leslie Howard.
In 2007, Vincent van Gelder was declared a winner in the "Artist International Competition" in New York, and will perform a solos recital in Carnegie Weill recital Hall, on May 11, 2008.
His recordings have been played on radio stations in The Netherlands and the United States.
Awards include: Grant for recording the complete solo piano works of Maurice Ravel , together with his wife, Inara Zandmane, grant from the Tranby Foundation, for the making of a demo CD, McDill Memorial Scholarship, awards from the Rotary Club (The Netherlands), Royal Dutch Association of Musicians, VSB, and Tempus.
Vincent van Gelder currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. He appears regularly as a soloist, and with orchestra. Recently he performed at the “Focus on Piano Literature” conference in Greensboro, and also was the soloist for Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Greensboro Concert Band.
Vincent van Gelder started the VINAR Classics label in 2002.
In January 2005, he founded the “Moore Music Recital Series” in Greensboro, North Carolina.