Bio

About

Christel

Christel Veraart is an Award winning Composer/Singer/Author & Filmmaker – She Creates Music and Visual Art that Transcend Genres & Blends Global Influences.

Originating from the Netherlands, Christel’s foundation in classical piano and voice was honed through extensive studies in Maastricht, London, Paris, and Buenos Aires, paving the way for an expansive and diverse musical career.

After relocating to the United States, she refined her artistry through orchestration studies at Berklee College of Music.

Embracing electronic music, sound design, and expanding into graphic design, writing and most recently film making, she continually reshapes her creative identity beyond traditional confines.

To date, Christel has released over ten albums and numerous singles across various genres. Her compositions have been featured in performances, films, theatre and dance productions worldwide, seamlessly weaving diverse musical traditions and languages into works that resonate universally. Her world travels and cultural encounters enrich her music, highlighting the profound connection between sound and emotion.

Christel’s work has been recognized with numerous awards and industry accolades. Notably, her album Pleiades received the prestigious “Best Ambient Album of the Year” award in 2020, and her collaboration with Google further underscores the impactful and versatile nature of her work.

In 2021, Christel co-founded the Reflections Festival alongside Sedona Ballet’s Winifred Muench, celebrating excellence in the performing, literary, visual arts and culinary arts. Christel scored and co-produced The festival’s inaugural project, Merope.

For her contributions to this film as a composer/vocalist/narrator, she received accolades such as “Best Sound & Music” at Toronto’s 2024 Experimental/Dance/Music Festival, “Best Film Soundtrack” at Los Angeles’ 2023 10th Music Film Festival, and “Best Composer of the Future” at Cannes’ 2024 World Film Festival. Prior to Merope, Christel composed, narrated and co-produced the music for two other films—The Return of the Salmon and Dreaming of Whales.

In 2024 Christel made her directorial debut with “Santa Fe & Esmeralda – Crossroads,” the first vignette in a series of shorts which already won Best Story at Toronto’s LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Best Music at London Women Film Festival, Best LGBT in Austin, and Winner of Best Shorts in San Diego.

“Santa Fe & Esmeralda – Crossroads,” reflects on her time in Argentina, a place she once called home and is based on the first chapter of her (also) debut book “Santa Fe & Esmeralda,” which Christel narrates, and features music from her upcoming album “Nostalgia”.

Through her music and visual content, Christel continues to explore and express the profound emotions that unite humanity. Join her on a transformative artistic journey and discover how emotion-driven creativity can inspire change and connect the world.

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% 100%
Singer 100% 100%
Lyricist 100% 100%
Narrator 95% 95%
Languages 95% 95%
Sound & Video Producer 90% 90%
Graphic Designer 80% 80%
Author/Blogger 70% 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

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Sedona

Santa Fe & Esmeralda Book – to be released
Nostalgia – Album – to be released
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

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Australia

Release Discover Breathing (Guided Breathing Exercises)
Breathing Session – Broome
Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger

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Indonesia

Album Release – Lotus Dreams
Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger
Single Release – Balonku Ada Lima

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On the Road

Singles Release: Blessings, Branches

Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger

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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

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Hawaii

Album Inner Landscapes – Final Stages
Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger

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US

Recitals
First Drafts – Inner Landscapes
Piano & Voice Coach – La Jolla
Album Release – Musica Sacra
Sound & Video Producer, Graphic Designer, Blogger

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Mexico

Writing Grant – Turn left at the third Cactus – Dutch government
Recording & Concert – Musica Sacra at Mission San Borja – Bahia de los Angeles

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Brazil

Classical Singer and Voice Coach, Angra dos Reis
Multiple Concerts
Vocal Coach of Masterclasses in São Paulo and Belo Horizonte

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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)

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Argentina

Classical Piano Studies – Conservatorio Nacional López Buchardo in Buenos Aires

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The Netherlands

Classical Piano Studies – Maastricht Conservatory

Albums

Singles

Lyrics

Videos

Recognition

Awards

Musicians Foundation Grant

2020

Best Ambient Album