Kurt Bertels

Dr. Kurt Bertels (°1989) is a senior researcher and professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, and assistant professor (artistic research in music) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. His particular field of research is historically-informed performance, patronage, nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century (saxophone) performance practice, gender and race in music. In his PhD, he conducted research on the history of the first Brussels saxophone class at the Royal Conservatory Brussels (1867-1904). Currently, his research concentrates on the performance and (self)presentations of the first-generation of women saxophonists in the United States between 1870 and 1940.

As a soloist and chamber musician of the Kugoni Trio and Anemos Saxophone Quartet, Bertels obtained numerous national and international prizes and was awarded the Fuga Trophee of the Union of the Belgian Composers for promoting Belgian music. He has given lectures and masterclasses in Belgium and abroad. He released various CDs with nineteenth-century Belgian saxophone music including The Saxophone in 19th-Century Brussels and Works for Saxophone and Orchestra by Paul Gilson (Etcetera 2020). His Een ongehoord geluid, a monograph on the saxophone in 19th-century Brussels, was published in 2020. In 2022, he became member of the editorial board of the scientific journal The Saxophone Symposium (US). As editor-in-chief, he led the publication of the first scholarly volumes on Belgian composer Paul Gilson (ASP Editions 2023) and on Elise Hall, one of the first saxophone soloists(Leuven University Press 2024).

Kurt Bertels is an elected member of the Young Academy of Belgium (Flanders). He is a member of the editorial board of The Saxophone Symposium. In 2023 the Flemish Royal Academy of Belgium has awarded Kurt Bertels as "Laureate 2023" of the Class of Arts. In 2024, Kurt Bertels was awarded with a Fulbright Grant (Postdoctoral Research) for archival research at the New England Conservatory (Boston, MA) and with a Veni Grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).