Bianca Bongers

Bianca Bongers (1987, NL) is a Dutch composer and cellist. After finishing her Master cello in 2014 with Monique Heidema at the Fontys Conservatory of Tilburg, she studied composition with Wim Henderickx and Luc van Hove at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. In 2017 she graduated the master composition with the ‘highest distinction’. As part of her studies, Bianca was having lessons with Dmitri Ferschtman and Monique Bartels and Daan Manneke. Masterclasses she took with Wolfgang Rihm, Brian Ferneyhough, Rebecca Saunders, Willem Jeths and Michel van der Aa.

As a composer Bianca worked with several ensembles and musicians. After playing her own piece ‘Three movements and a closing’ for cello solo at Incubate 2013, collaborations came to existence. Starting with writing ‘When do we start to dance again?’ for alto saxophone solo, that got several performances in Italy and the US. In 2014 her piece ‘I hear you, I feel you’ for symphony orchestra was premiered by the Royal Flemish Philharmonic. Later she wrote ‘Om twee te zijn’ for saxophone and clarinet, ‘Stars’ for marimba solo and ‘Collage van een Achtvlak’ for string orchestra, respectively premiered at November Music 2015 and Composers’ Festival 2016 of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. Her piece ‘Aardverschuivingen’ for accordion solo was selected by accordionist Vincent van Amsterdam (Dutch Classical Talent Award ’16) in his ‘Call for Scores’ in collaboration with Grachtenfestival and Gaudeamus Muziekweek. 

In 2017 Bianca got selected to participate in a two week Composer Seminar with Wolfgang Rihm, as part of the Lucerne Festival Academy (CH). At this festival, her piece ‘Duo/Om twee te zijn’ was premiered in version for trumpet and trombone by the Lucerne Festival Alumni.