Christel Veraart

Christel Veraart trained classically in Europe, South America and the US, is the recipient of multiple grants and fellowships and her music has featured and broadcast internationally. Seamlessly alternating between cinematic, classical and new age styles, Veraart's music transports you to far away places that range from solo and small ensemble to large orchestra. Her influences are eclectic, drawing on a wide variety of musical and cultural influences. She writes for film, dance, theater, and most recently for Google. She wrote the music and is the singer and narrator in the short films "The Return of the Salmon", "Dreaming of Whales" and most recently "Merope".

Touted as "musical glossolalia that reminds some of the secret-language vocalizations of Lisa Gerrard", her 10th and most recent album Pleiades was awarded the 2020 "Best Album of the Year" by ZMR. Recent reviews stated: "in our oh-so-troubled times, her music will help you focus on the positive and rise above the fray", and: "If you ever wanted to verify the power of sound in its tonality and vibration, this is where you can feel it-like a scoop of an earth-moving crane, Christel's vocals carry you and transport to the starry worlds, where mysteries become mystical and unknown becomes the most cherished companion..."

In an interview with New Music Alert, Christel talks about her fascination with this star cluster: "... My eternal search for universality formed the main inspiration for Pleiades. Space, the stars, the seven sisters, - it is hard to imagine anyone not being inspired by them. They live in a place (space), void of time and idiom, and as such provided me with the perfect backdrop for my album. A backdrop where my voice could take center stage and neither language nor meter would interfere. As you so aptly captured in your review: "Vocal music is often limited in its reach due to the language cognizance of the audience" and I am humbled you feel that my music, "defies all such boundaries..."