Theo Verbey

Theo Verbey taught at both the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, as well as having been on the composition jury for the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels in 1992 and 1997.

Later commissions included Traurig wie der Tod, a work for orchestra and chorus premiered by the Netherlands Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and the Netherlands Radio Choir, conducted by James Gaffigan, as well as Lumen ad Finem Cuniculi, written for philharmonie zuidnederland and conducted by Dmitri Liss.

The Brodsky Quartet commissioned Verbey to provide a segment for their celebrated song cycle, Trees, Walls, Cities.

Verbey composed 4 Preludes to Infinity for The Stolz Quartet, a work which is included on their CD, Dutch Masters and Their Inspiration.

More recently, the duo Andrea Vasi & Sebastiaan Kemner performed Ballade, a work for trombone and piano written especially for them.

Verbey also collaborated with Klangforum Wien on their Free Radicals program, providing a score for Man Ray's 1923 film, Retour à la Raison.

In 2006 Theo Verbey was asked by Amsterdam Sinfonietta to arrange the three remaining movements of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite for string orchestra.

Mr. Verbey was granted permission by the heirs of Igor Stravinsky to complete the orchestration of the unfinished 1919 version of Les noces for voices, pianola, 2 cimbaloms, harmonium and percussion.

[1] As a teacher, Verbey was known for his extensive knowledge of the history and development of the art of instrumentation, as well as his precise arrangements and orchestrations.

Theo Verbey was held in high esteem by his colleagues, and there was no dispute about his authority as a theorist and orchestrator.

The foundation collects, organizes, preserves, makes accessible and helps publish Theo’s teaching materials, scores, and performance recordings, and has also consulted with specialized institutions in the Netherlands and abroad to professionalize its activities in areas such as archiving, preservation, management and providing access.