معرفی
Dr. Kurt Bertels is a Professor at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and Assistant Professor (Artistic Research in Music) at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His expertise lies in historically-informed performance practices, particularly focusing on saxophone history, gender and race in music, and 19th/early 20th century musical patronage. He holds a PhD from the Royal Conservatory Brussels (2020) examining the institution's saxophone class (1867-1904). His research explores marginalized figures like early women saxophonists and African American pioneers in the field.
He has received prestigious awards including the Veni Grant (NWO 2024), Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship (2024), and Fuga Trophee (2012). Bertels is an editorial board member of The Saxophone Symposium and led publications on Belgian composer Paul Gilson (2023) and saxophonist Elise Hall (2024). He performs with the Kugoni Trio and Anemos Saxophone Quartet, releasing CDs like The Saxophone in 19th-Century Brussels (2020).
Recent research focuses on archival studies in Boston (via Fulbright) and contextualizing early saxophone performance through interdisciplinary approaches combining musicology, gender studies, and cultural history. His work bridges academic research with artistic practice, emphasizing underrepresented musical narratives.
