Curriculum

Joris Verdin has a great preference for the revival of forgotten music from all style periods, in addition to creations of contemporary works. He is emeritus professor at the University of Leuven and was an organ teacher at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp for more than forty years. Joris Verdin has an international reputation as a specialist of the nineteenth-century organ repertoire.  For more than twenty years, Joris Verdin has been active in the field of expanding organ sounds via MIDI, the “Hyper Organ” or “Augmented Organ”. This sound world is anchored in the irreplaceable sound of analog electronics from the seventies.

Joris Verdin is also active as a composer and some of his works have been recorded, also by other performers. His composition “Fantasia un poco como una batalla” was selected by Doblinger - Wien in the “Nuovi Fiori Musicali 2010”, a collection of new music with compositions from European countries, he also participates in the Orgelbüchlein Project, the completion of Bach's work with contemporary compositions. The Spanish city of Torre de Juan Abad (Ciudad Real) appointed Joris Verdin in 2003 as honorary organist of the historic organ of Gaspar de la Redonda from 1763. In addition, the harmonium has grown into more than a hobby. The "American Record Guide" of November 2011 puts it this way: "Verdin, the apparent Dean of harmonium players, certainly knows how to get the most from the harmonium". In 2013 he formed a piano-harmonium duo with Marie-Noëlle Bette-Leroy, also with literary and visual productions. Since 2016, the PipesandSpeakers project, the acoustic organ expanded with digital sound processing, and compositions for videos have taken an increasingly important place.

His discography includes about fifty CDs with music from the 16th to the 21st century. Those recordings were rewarded with the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik", "Diapason d'Or", "Choc de la Musique", Klara Prize and Cecilia Prize. In 2007, the Fondation Royaumont (France) approached him for a permanent project of professional training among the name “Voix Célestes”, a research program into the performance of 19th century French music. Since 1996, Joris Verdin has been associated with GoArt, the organ center of Gothenburg University. In 2015 he was artistic director of the Gothenburg International Organ Academy. He has been invited by die Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien to artistically supervise the restoration of Franz Liszt's “harmonium grand piano” and to reintroduce the instrument to the public.

Master classes, musical editions and articles are an important part of his activities. Amongst them, the first complete edition of César Franck harmonium works and the first handbook of harmonium technique, available in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish.

The Spanish town Torre de Juan Abad (Ciudad Real) appointed Joris Verdin as honorary organist of the historical organ built by Gaspar de la Redonda in 1763. Obtained Diapason d’Or (and “Event of the month”) (France) and Cecilia-award (Belgian Press) in 2001 for his Franck organ works recording. A compilation of his organ works was recorded in 1998 (RIC 233442) and reissued in 2014. Musician of the year of the Flanders Festival 2002. Artistic adviser and inauguration of the Liszt “orgue-piano” in Vienna, 2005. Obtained “Le meilleur Widor” by ClassiqueInfo for his recording of Widor’s symphonies I-IV. The November 2011 issue of the "American Record Guide" van november 2011 puts it this way: "Verdin, the apparent Dean of harmonium players, certainly knows how to get the most from the harmonium". In March 2012, his recording of Lefébure-Wely's Suites pour Harmonicorde was honoured with the "Diapason d'Or" (French musical press). In September 2012 his recording of organ music by Willaert, in collaboration with the Capilla Flamenca, received "Choc de la Musique", "Diapason d'Or", “Klara Prize” (Flemish Radio) and Cecilia-award. 2014: "Diapason d'Or" for the "Guide des Instruments de Musique" in collaboration with musicians from the Ricercar Label. 2015: “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik” for his collaboration in the DVD César Franck, Father of the Organ Symphony, with a substantial contribution by Joris Verdin on performance practice. In 2023, Gothenburg University published a substantial e-book on tempo and metronome in the nineteenth century, with special attention to the works of César Franck.