Bert Elbertsen
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Bert Elbertsen was born in 1967 in Lunteren (Municipality of Ede).
Early on, it became evident that he possessed musical talents. He received his first organ lessons in 1978 from Mr. N.L. Poorter through the Streekmuziekschool in Harderwijk. By 1982, he had already given his first organ concert in the Oude Kerk of Ede.
Education
In 1987, Bert began his studies at the Utrecht Conservatory with organ as his major and piano as his minor. There, he studied successively under Theo Teunissen, Kees van Houten, and Jan Raas. He graduated under the guidance of the latter in 1994.
Regarding Bert's improvisational style and skills, he owes much to his (unfortunately deceased) friend and colleague Jan Hessels-Mulder, who facilitated Bert's development in improvisation.
Church Organist
In 1987, Bert was appointed as the permanent organist at the Nieuwe Kerk in Ermelo, where he had a beautiful romantic Pels organ from 1939 at his disposal. On December 7, 2014, he played his last service as the organist of the Nieuwe Kerk.
Since 2010, he has also been an organist in Bennekom. There, he plays the organs of the Oude Kerk (Leichel, 1878, and the Onderhorst Kabinet organ, 1762) and the Ichtuskerk (De Koff, 1967).
Choirs
Bert is also associated as the (permanent) organist with various choirs, including the Verenigde Veluwse Koren, the Christian Men's Choir Fontanus in Putten, and the Ermelo's Men's Choir.
Concert Tours & Organ Performances
With the Verenigde Veluwse Koren, Bert had a highly successful concert tour to Canada (Ontario) in 1991.
In 1997, he returned to Canada (Ontario), this time with a large combined choir. He performed on the grand organ of the ‘Cathedral of Kingston’.
In 2000, he had a very successful trip to Hungary and Romania with the travel choir Besorah, where he could play on various organs.
And in 2001, he made another successful concert tour to Canada with the Ermelo's Men's Choir.
In September 2003, he again traveled with the Verenigde Veluwse Koren, this time to Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic, where he played on several organs/pianos.
With the Verenigde Veluwse Koren, he made another choir trip in September 2007, this time to Germany. They gave concerts in the following churches: Stadtkirche in Wittenberg (Sauer organ from 1983), Hofkirche in Dresden (Silbermann organ from 1755), and Andreaskirche in Hildesheim (Von Beckerath organ from 1965).
In 2011, Bert traveled again with the Verenigde Veluwse Koren, this time to Bayeux and its surroundings (performed in the Bayeux Cathedral on the large Cavaillé-Coll organ).
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Ermelo's Men's Choir, Bert traveled with them in September 2013 to Germany (performed on the Stumm organ in St. Castor in Treis-Karden).
Apart from these trips, he has also played on various organs in France, England, America, and of course Germany, including the Trost organ in Waltershausen and the Sauer organ in Bad Homburg.
Concert Organist, Choir Accompanist, Organ and Piano Teacher, and Voicer
As a concert organist, he is in high demand, both for solo concerts and choir accompaniment. In this capacity, he has also contributed to several CD recordings of various choirs.
Besides the choir CDs, Bert Elbertsen has made eight solo organ CDs, namely in Hasselt, Doesburg, Maassluis, Nijmegen, Dordrecht, Bolsward, Ermelo, and Rhede.
Presenter
Every other week, Bert hosts the organ program “Preludium” on Veluwe FM. This program focuses on organ music both in and outside the Netherlands. Not only the music but also the organists, composers, and organ builders are featured.
In addition to all these activities, he also runs a successful practice for organ and piano lessons in Ede. Since February 2013, Bert has worked as a voicer at Content Orgels in Ermelo.
Since 2019, he has been working (as a freelancer) as a Quality Assurance at Johannus Orgelbouw.
