Bio
About
Christel
Christel Veraart is an award-winning composer, singer, author, and filmmaker whose music and visual art transcend genres and cultures. Her work has earned her international recognition.
Originally from the Netherlands and now based in Sedona, Arizona, she draws inspiration from the land’s ancient stones and star-filled skies, while her global travels—from Argentina to Indonesia, Hawaii to Alaska—infuse her work with a sense of place, mystery, and emotion.
Christel composes music for film, dance, and stage, and has released over ten albums and numerous singles. Her acclaimed projects include the films Dreaming of Whales, Merope, and the series of film vignettes based on her book Santa Fe & Esmeralda, as well as albums such as Polar Suite, Lotus Dreams, Pleiades, Nostalgia, and Sacred Arias and more.
Most recently, she collaborated with Ballet Arizona’s choreographer Nayon Iovino, premiering the music of her album Nostalgia in a new ballet during the inaugural Sedona Choreography Retreat, where she serves as creative partner and composer in residence for Sedona Ballet.
Through music, film, and words, Christel invites audiences on transformative journeys that connect, inspire, and move the heart.
Education
Orchestration
- Berklee School of Music, Boston, USA
2013
Classical Voice
- Academy for the Arts, Gemma Visser – Eysden, Netherlands
- Trinity College London, Wendy Eathorne – London, UK
- Argentine Song Interpretation, Ada Matus – Paris, France
1992 – 2000
Classical Piano
- Conservatory Maastricht, Jo Dusseldorp – Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Conservatorio Nacional Carlos Lopez Buchardo, Manuel Massone – Buenos Aires, Argentina
1983 – 1990
Skills
- Composer 100%
- Singer 100%
- Lyricist 100%
- Narrator 95%
- Languages 95%
- Sound & Video Producer 90%
- Graphic Designer 80%
- Author/Blogger 70%
Accomplishments
Around the Globe
Below, you will catch a glimpse of how Christel’s music has been profoundly influenced by the diverse places she has lived around the world.
“Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will – whatever we may think. They flower spontaneously out of the demands of our natures – and the best of them lead us not only outwards in space, but inwards as well. Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection….”
— Lawrence Durrell
Sedona
- Sacred Arias – Album
- Santa Fe & Esmeralda – Ballet & Music
- Crossroads – Film/Music/Narration
- Oblivion – Film/Music/Narration
- The Little Prince – Film/Music/Narration
- Alazan – Film/Music/Narration
- Nostalgia – Film/Music/Narration
- Santa Fe & Esmeralda Book – to be released
- Nostalgia – Album
- Once More – Single
- Single Release – Fac me vere Tecum Flere
- Single Release – Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring
- Co-Producer Merope, Art film
- Soundtrack & Narration – Merope
- Graphic design website, story boards and all other associated materials for Reflections Festival and Sedona Ballet
- Foundation Reflections Festival with Sedona Ballet
- Google – Music for Google Doodle
- Soundtrack Dreaming of Whales – Collaboration with Sebastian Jobst
- Album Release Pleiades
- Pleiades – Best Ambient Album of the Year 2020
- Google Doodle – Music & Sound Design
- Singles Release: A Thin Place, Om Mani Padme Hum, Bacon Tree Ballad, Images Mixed, Branches, Ave Maria, Panis Angelicus, Litany for the Feast of All Souls, My Wolf and I, Mirror of Love
- Album Release Anthology
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Australia
- Release Discover Breathing (Guided Breathing Exercises)
- Breathing Session – Broome
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Indonesia
- Album Release – Lotus Dreams
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
- Single Release – Balonku Ada Lima
On the Road
Singles Release: Blessings, Branches
Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Alaska
- Connie Boocheever Fellowship
- Single Release – Cosmic Tales
- Sound design & Title Song – Theater production – The Child Behind the Eyes
- Ice (Polar Suite) – Anchorage Museum – Momentum Dance Collective
- Rasmuson Foundation – Individual Artist Award
- Album Release – Polar Suite
- Album Release – Arctic Aquarelles
- Album Release – A World of Christmas
- Soundtrack – Nature documentary – The Return of the Salmon
- Music for Dance Production – Frágil (Des)Conforto
- Multimedia Album Release Inner Landscapes at the Anchorage Museum
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Hawaii
- Album Inner Landscapes – Final Stages
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
US
- Recitals
- First Drafts – Inner Landscapes
- Piano & Voice Coach – La Jolla
- Album Release – Musica Sacra
- Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Mexico
- Writing Grant – Turn left at the third Cactus – Dutch government
- Recording & Concert – Musica Sacra at Mission San Borja – Bahia de los Angeles
Brazil
- Classical Singer and Voice Coach, Angra dos Reis
- Multiple Concerts
- Vocal Coach of Masterclasses in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte
Europe
- Assistant – Toon Hermans
- Poetry – Terra Incognita
- Story – Santa Fe y Esmeralda (Dutch Version)
- Album Release – Terra Incognita
- Classical Recitals – Germany & The Netherlands
- Soloist – Mozart Coronation Mass with LSO at OLV Basilique – Maastricht
- Soloist Bach Cantata – Limburgs Baroque Ensemble – Maastricht
- Classical Voice Studies – Eysden (Netherlands), Heresford and London (UK)
- Trio Alazán – Concerts, Original Compositions, Recordings
- Launch Jazz trio Alazán
- Vocal Studies in Argentine Song – Paris (France)
- Pianist in Theater Prodcution “De Vijfde doet het Licht Uit”, Lumière Theatre, Maastricht
- Piano and Voice Coach, Stolberg (Germany)
Argentina
- Classical Piano Studies – Conservatorio Nacional López Buchardo in Buenos Aires
The Netherlands
- Classical Piano Studies – Maastricht Conservatory
Albums
Singles
Lyrics
Videos
Recognition
Awards
Musicians Foundation Grant
2020
Best Ambient Album
2020
Individual Artist Award
2014
Career Opportunity Grant
2016
Connie Boocheever Fellowship
2017
Contact Christel
Get In Touch
Christel would love to hear from you!
If you have any questions, please send her a little note and she will get back to you as soon as she can.