Wim Mertens

Born on May 14, 1953, Wim Mertens was born in Belgian. He is a composer, countertenor, vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist. Mertens studied political and social science at the University of Leuven. He graduated in 1975. He then attended Ghent University (musicology), along with Ghent Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (music theory and piano). In 1978, he worked at BRT (Belgian Radio and Television) as a producer. He produced concerts by Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, and Urban Sax, along with others. Since 1980, Mertens is best known as a composer. His piece “Maximizing the Audience” was composed for the play The Power of Theatrical Madness, and premiered in Italy in 1984. According to Wikipedia, “One can follow three separate threads of musical styles throughout his (Merten’s) work: A) Compositions for ensemble, perhaps his most accessible and "commercial" material; B) Solo piano and voice compositions, which features haunting keyboard melodies accompanied by Mertens' unique high-pitched tenor voice singing in an invented, personal language; and C) Experimental minimalist "cycles" for single, dual, and sometimes more instruments.” The majority of Merten’s albums (50 as of January 2013) were released between 1980 and 2004. His music has been used in at least four films and documentaries. Wim Mertens is an author; he wrote American Minimal Music, which examines the school of American repetitive music, along with the work of LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.