Composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven is active in writing new music for orchestras, choirs and chamber music groups all over the world, but is most known by the remarkable projects he creates with his non profit organization La Vie sur Terre.

Twaalfhovens intention is to bridge worlds of contrast, and to mix unusual elements to a new unity. Classic and modern, western and oriental, groovy and subtle music is combined into a lively metaphor for nowadays world. Doing so, Twaalfhoven connects styles, cultures but first of all people. In Holland he brings together for example mainstream Dutch art with immigrant culture in community art projects. As another example, he took “bridging the gap” literal and positioned 400 musicians on rooftops on both the Greek and Turkish side of the buffer zone in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus.

Merlijn’s compositions find inspiration in archaic and non-Western music, and in which a balance between the vital sounds of nature and refined melodies offer a multi-faceted sound palette.

As a professor in “PopKunst” at ArtEZ academy of arts, he researched how artists can reach a new and diverse public without compromise on their artistic vision and ideas.