In December 2020, Jean Beers relocated to Vienna (Austria) to take up a full professorship in Artistic Research at the Music and Art University of the City of Vienna (MUK) combined with leading the MUK's highly diversified and exciting department for keyboard, composition and conducting.
The concert pianist and composer Jean Beers has been involved in a wide range of exciting and experimental interdisciplinary projects in support of newly written contemporary music. Excursions into the creative use of digital media have seen JB collaborating with electroacoustic composers and Techno DJs in joint ambient tracks. Her love of dance and outer musical artistic expression has led to numerous projects with choreographers and dancers in Germany and Austria. Upon invitation, JB presented some of her artistic research case studies with dance and improvisation at a symposium at exploratorium berlin.
A podcast of the lecture and subsequent performance is available here at 1:13:02:
Beers's genre- and style-transgressing recital programmes as well as her works have led her across Europe and Russia to venues including Beethoven Haus (Bonn 2018), Konzerthaus Berlin, (Young Euro Classic 2012), Great Hall Mozarteum (Salzburger Festspiele 2009), Philharmonie de Luxembourg, Palau de la Musica Barcelona, Philharmonic Hall Kiev, Cité Université Paris and Southbank Centre London (State of the Nation Festival 2002).
Amongst international prizes for her piano performances and her compositions are the Mozarteum Preis (City of Salzburg Prize, 2009), the contemporary music prize Extra Klasse (Salzburg, 2011), the Alan Bush Prize for her composition "Piano Trio 2001", the Tim Stevenson Prize, Purcell Orchestral Composition prize (2002), as well as Finalist at the National German Music competition DMW (Bonn, 2018).
Her debut with orchestra aged 13 in Munich was followed by the performance of her first symphonic composition at the Royal College of Music in London four years later. Many fruitful collaborations followed with soloists and members of acclaimed orchestras (Philharmonia Orchestra London, Konzerthaus Orchester, Radio Symphonie Orchester Berlin) and ensembles (London Sinfonietta, Lontano Ensemble, Quatuor D’Arco), as well as with conductors such as Vernon Handley, Elias Grandy and Jack Rozman. Jean's eclectic range of traditional classical and contemporary repertoire includes her own two piano concertos as well as Prokofiev's grandiose 2nd Piano Concerto and concerti by Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Beethoven.
Studies for piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Conservatoire de Luxembourg, Musikhochschule Cologne and Hanover culminated in a PhD at the Russell Group university King’s College London. Her monograph, including the creative research output (original compositions) with music theoretical, semiotic commentary, has been published in Germany with wvberlin under the title "Creating Ambiguity in Music". (available on Amazon.de under "Beers Ambiguity in Music" and open access on ethos.bl.uk under "Jean Beers").
After spending an inspiring year at Eton College as 'Composer in Residence', Jean was invited back several times to perform and adjudicate. Subsequent teaching positions included lecturing at King's College London, Farnborough College, guest lectures and workshops at a range music universities in Austria, Netherlands and the UK.
Jean Beers gratefully acknoweldges the guidance of prominent concert pianists and composers including Yefim Bronfman, Vladimir Krainev, Einar Steen-Nökleberg, Natalia Troull, Alexander Müllenbach, Dimitry Smirnov, Silvina Milstein.
Die Pianistin und Komponistin Jean Beers durchbricht in ihrer künstlerischen, pädagogischen und forschenden Tätigkeit Grenzen und interpretiert traditionelle Strukturen und Ausdrucksformen neu und entwickelt sie weiter. In Wien, Berlin, Hannover und London hat sie Konzert- und Vortragsreihen geleitet und kuratiert und ihre Werke sowie ihre pianistischen Auftritte konnten in Sälen wie Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Royal Festival Hall Purcell Room, großer Saal Mozarteum, u.a. in Festivals wie State of the Nation (UK), Young Euro Classic (DE) und Salzburger Festspiele (AT) erlebt werden. Sowohl solistisch als auch als Komponistin führten Jean Beers künstlerische Kollaborationen mit Orchestern wie Salzburg Soloists, Latvian Chamber Symphony Orchestra, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, KCL Symphony und Philharmonia Orchestra London und Ensembles wie London Sinfonietta, Lontano Ensemble, Quatour D’Arco und rege Kammermusik- und Solotätigkeiten in Europa und darüber hinaus.
Seit Dezember 2020 ist Beers Professorin sowie Studiengangsleiterin an der Universität für Musik und Kunst der Stadt Wien (MUK). Sie bekleidet diese Position mit großer Freude und Energie, immer mit dem Motto, eine interdisziplinäre Reise durch die Künste leidenschaftlich und innovativ zu verfechten und durch Neugier und Einfühlungsvermögen Grenzen zwischen Disziplinen und Menschen zu überwinden zu helfen.