Biography

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FRANS-AERT BURGHGRAEF

CONDUCTOR

"He is talented, knows what he wants, and is very capable of conveying this to the orchestra." 

Edo de Waart about Frans-Aert Burghgraef
 

Education and Masterclasses
Frans-Aert Burghgraef studied orchestral conducting at the conservatories of Groningen and Utrecht. From an international selection of two hundred conductors, he was invited to participate in a masterclass with Bernard Haitink as part of the renowned Lucerne Festival. Edo de Waart selected him to lead a concert with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. In September 2018, Frans-Aert Burghgraef was admitted to a highly coveted masterclass with Dima Slobodeniouk and his Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia in A Coruña.

Engagements
Since the beginning of his conducting career in 2014, Frans-Aert Burghgraef has conducted nearly all Dutch symphony orchestras, including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Noord Nederlands Orkest, Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, Philharmonie Zuid, Residentie Orkest, and Phion.

His international engagements include the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Luzern Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and assisting James Gaffigan in La Fanciulla del West at the Bayerische Staatsoper.

From 2015 to 2018, Frans-Aert Burghgraef worked as assistant conductor at the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest. In that capacity, he assisted chief conductor Markus Stenz, as well as guest conductors including David Zinman, Edo de Waart, James Gaffigan, Vasily Petrenko, Kevin John Edusei, Dima Slobodeniouk, Sir Mark Elder, Martyn Brabbins, Edward Gardner, and Bernard Haitink. Burghgraef conducted the orchestra in 2019 in the premiere recording of Hans Kox's Symphony No. 6. In 2021, he conducted the Dutch Student Orchestra in a series of concerts around Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, and in January 2022, he made his debut in the Zaterdagmatinee series, conducting the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in a Dutch premiere of Hans Abrahamsen's Horn Concerto. Furthermore, he was invited back to the Dutch Student Orchestra in 2024, this time for a series of twelve concerts in the Netherlands and Germany. In it, he conducted Mahler 5 and a world premiere of Silvia Lanao with soprano Lilian Farahani as soloist.

Chief conductor 
In October 2023, Frans-Aert Burghgraef was appointed chief conductor of the Royal Military Band 'Johan Willem Friso'.

Awards and Scholarships
Maestro Burghgraef received the first prize in the prestigious Taipei International Conducting Competition in January 2015. The chairman of the jury was the illustrious Finnish conductor, coach, and talent scout Jorma Panula. After the competition, Frans-Aert Burghgraef was invited to conduct the Taipei Chinese Orchestra in May 2017. In December 2015, Frans-Aert received the prestigious Kersjes Directie Prijs at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. This important three-year scholarship, worth €15,000 for talent development, is named after the illustrious Dutch conductor and supporter of young talent Anton Kersjes.