benjamin van esser

User Bio

Benjamin Van Esser (°1979, Maaseik) pursued his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In addition to studying piano with Jan Michiels, Benjamin took courses in composition, contemporary music, audio technology and chamber music. In 2004 he studied the piano literature of Messiaen with Håkon Austbø at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Benjamin works as an accompanist and researcher at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and teaches music technology and accompaniment at the Academy of Zaventem.

As a composer Benjamin is active in a variety of styles. As a classical composer he realized commissions for a.o. Ensemble Nadar, Festival Voorwaarts Maart, Transit Festival, LunaPark, etc. Most of his works for piano are edited by Metropolis Publishers en HRDSCR Editions. Benjamin also writes for NorthFace+, a Finnish-Belgian Nu-Jazz collective which combines soundscapes with spheric, dreamy visuals. As EsR He works in a more experimental setting, looking for interesting ways to combine classical music with electronical music. Molcos is a solo-metal project in which Benjamin is pushing the limits of the dent sub-genre.

Notwithstanding this large array of styles there's a clear 'leitmotiv' present throughout Benjamin's work : metrical ambiguity. In his compositions he investigates ways to realize a 'trompe l'oreille' effect, involving the parameter 'time'. This often results in complex rhythmical structures.