Gerben Mourik
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Gerben is a passionate organist and improviser who studied at the Brabants Conservatory in Tilburg. There he obtained both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Performance, with organ and improvisation as his main subjects. His teachers included Bram Beekman and Henco de Berg, and he also took private lessons with renowned musicians such as Ansgar Wallenhorst, Naji Hakim, and Ben van Oosten. In addition, he participated in improvisation courses with Thierry Escaich and Loïc Maillé.
Since 2006, Gerben has been the church organist of the Grote or St. Michael’s Church in Oudewater. Over the years, he has taken part in several improvisation competitions with great success, winning first prizes in Zwolle (2003), St. Albans (2005), and Haarlem (2008).
In 2013, he was appointed City Organist of Oudewater. Continuing his development, he graduated in 2015 as Kerkmusicus I (Church Musician Level I) from the Utrecht Conservatory, and in 2023 as a certified secondary school music teacher (Schoolmusicus 1st degree / CKV) from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
Gerben is also an editorial board member of Vieren, a magazine dedicated to church music. He is currently expanding his project Audite Nova, which will ultimately consist of five already released CDs and a book with two additional CDs, plus many (historical) recordings—accessible via QR codes—of organs that have since disappeared from the Netherlands.
Since 2017, he has been the resident organist of “de Stad Klundert,” where he promotes two remarkable organs by Marcussen and Vermeulen through concerts, workshops, and other musical activities. In addition to these engagements, he enjoys teaching music part-time at the Driestar College in Lekkerkerk.
Want to know more? Visit www.gerbenmourik.nl
or his YouTube channel.
Gerben performs regularly, with a focus on Dutch music and improvisation. The latter also plays a major role in his teaching practice in Gouda, Oudewater, and Klundert. He is frequently invited to serve as a jury member at competitions, including those in Haarlem and Dordrecht.
