Michel van der Aa is a multidisciplinary composer who began his career as a recording engineer at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague. He studied classical guitar under Antonio Pereira Arias and composition with Diderik Wagenaar, Gilius van Bergeijk, and Louis Andriessen.

In 2002, having already written some twenty pieces, he journeyed to New York to study film directing at the New York Film Academy, continuing his work in the performing arts with a course in stage direction with the Lincoln Center Theater Director’s Lab. Enriched by this training, he began creating musical theater pieces for which he acted as composer, video producer, and director. This is the case with The Book of Disquiet (2008) but also with the operatic triptych composed of After Life (2006), Sunken Garden (2013) and Upload (2020, best digital opera at the International Opera Awards), where the film occupies a primary place. The latter explores the science-fiction theme of mind uploading, invested as early as 1956 by Arthur C. Clarke. Michel van der Aa has also written music for dance performances (Solitaire, Faust, Staring at the Space) and makes extensive use of electronics.

In 2010, he launched the label Disquiet Media, and two years later founded Disquiet TV, an online virtual auditorium to showcase contemporary music.

His compositions have been performed by ensembles, orchestras, and soloists around the world, including the International Contemporary Ensemble, Musikfabrik, Tokyo Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Modern, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Chamber Players, the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra, the ASKO|Schoenberg ensemble, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, cellist Sol Gabetta, soprano Barbara Hannigan, violinist Janine Jansen, mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn, baritone Roderick Williams, and, on a different note, the Portuguese Fado singer Ana Moura.

His work has been featured at the Berliner Festpiele, the Venice Biennale, the Donaueschinger Musiktage, Gaudeamus Music Week, the Opéra de Lyon, the Huddersfield Festival, Warsaw Autumn, the Festival d’Automne in Paris, the LA Philharmonic New Music Series, the Lucerne Festival, the Tokyo Suntory Summer Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Moscow Music Week, and the Oslo Ultima Festival.

His works are published by Boosey & Hawkes.

Awards, Grants, and Prizes

• 1994: Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten grant
• 1999: International Gaudeamus Prize
• 2004: Matthijs Vermeulen Prize for One
• 2005: Ernst von Siemens Composers’ Prize (Förderpreis)
• 2005: Charlotte Köhler Prize (theater)
• 2006: Hindemith Prize
• 2013: Mauricio Kagel Prize
• 2013: Grawemeyer Prize for Up-close ;
• 2015: Johannes Vermeer Award.