Kris Defoort (Bruges, 1959) is a composer, pianist and improviser. He developed a highly original musical language that moves at the crossroads of classical music and jazz, between writing and improvisation. After studying early music and jazz, Kris Defoort worked as a jazz pianist in New York for several years. Back in Belgium, he continued his musical path as a composer, improvising pianist and leader of various ensembles. From 1994 to 2021, he was composer in residence at LOD muziektheater Gent.
Since 2001, Defoort has composed very many works, from operas to orchestral works and projects for ensembles. For instance, he composed the orchestral work Conversations with the Past commissioned by Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in 2002, the opera House of the Sleeping Beauties in 2009 and the 'theatrical concert' A Concert called Landscape in 2019. He himself has also performed on stage with 'The Brodsky Concerts' and the Kris Defoort Trio, among others. In 2022, he received the "International Opera Award" for his world creation The Time of Our Singing.
For the next few years, Kris Defoort has several composition projects in the pipeline: a piano concerto, works for piano solo, a new song cycle with Veronika Harcsa (Pieces of Peace), an orchestral work with saxophonist Mark Turner again and tours as pianist with the Kris Defoort Trio and Josse De Pauw. From 1993 to 2020, Kris Defoort taught Jazz Composition/ Arranging and Free Improvisation at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. In 2012, he was honoured with the Sabam Jazz Award and the Jazzmozaïek Award.
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