Eric Bettens

Eric BETTENS, musician and composer. A subtle blend of electronic and acoustic sounds sometimes embellished by sounds captured in Nature, the works he composes not only bring the admiration of the public and professionals alike, but have also won numerous awards. In 2001, the musical career of Eric BETTENS really began when Luc BAIWIR, the famous composer from Liège, convinced him to present NYDHIS - a composition in three parts - at the World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes France. The jury awarded him the François de Roubaix prize, the highest award of the festival. Eric's style both asserted itself and seduced listeners. From 2002, orders for his work flowed in, constantly. In just a few years, he composed the music for over thirty films and documentaries, including notably, those of Danny VAN BELLE and Mickaël AW; he also took part in the evaluation of several music notation software programmes. On three occasions, Eric BETTENS was invited by Michael AW to be a jury member at the Celebrate the Sea festival in Singapore, where he gave also two concerts at Suntec City, and in Manila in the Philippines, where several works of his were performed in the closing concert in the presence of former President Gloria Arroyo; there he received the Best Original Music Award for the soundtrack of Danny VAN BELLE's LE MONDE DES CRUSTACÉS. Besides music dedicated to the underwater world, Eric performed more personal songs, included on two CDs: DISCOVERY (2006) and ENTRE TERRE ET MER (2009). During the 2010 season, he composed YVAIN, LE CHEVALIER LION, operatorio for choir, orchestra, three soloists and narrator with libretto by Marc RONVAUX, adapted from the novel by Chrétien de Troyes. He gave several concerts in Singapore and in Belgium - including a "sound and light" show where he was accompanied by a symphony orchestra - as well as in Lyon, France along with Luc BAIWIR. Eric BETTENS participated in a cinematographic, scientific and historic expedition lasting four weeks in Antarctica. During this fabulous trip, he wrote the music for the film made there, drawing inspiration from the sumptuous landscapes of ice and sensations he had never before experienced. In 2011, Eric wrote the music for Jean Jacques ROUSSEAU's last film, DOSSIER RÉINCARNATION as well as the music for the films: LA LOI DE LA FAIM of Danny VAN BELLE, which won the Palme d'or and the award of the President of the Republic at the World Festival of Underwater Pictures in Antibes; MIXED WATERS of Els and Bruno VAN SAEN, Best musical adaptation in Marseille, and UNDERAWATER BALLET of Stuart IRELAND Australia, Best Original Music Award at the Celebrate the Sea Festival in Singapore. He spent part of this last year writing EMPREINTE, his third album. He has, also, been nominated for Hollywood Media Awards. France 5 and other TV channels in Spain, Germany and Poland continue to repeatedly broadcast the film LEMBEH, LA SPLENDEUR DE L'ÉTRANGE, for which he composed the music in 2008. In May, together with Luc BAIWIR he was on stage, before thousands of spectators for the mega concert celebrating the 25 years of the centre Nausicaa in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Despite his success, Eric decided to take further courses at the Conservatoire Royal of Liege in order to study the composition in a more academic fashion and so that he might compare his work with, not only, his teachers, but other students. In 2012, besides the release of his third album scheduled for the beginning of the year, Eric already has several commissions and projects. Eric BETTENS was born in 1973 and has always lived in his home region, Hainaut, in Belgium. At the age of 6 years, he started studying at the Academie de Courcelles: from music theory, trumpet, percussion, chamber music to orchestra, he dedicated much of his youth to his passion. He continued his training by himself, in parallel with a classical academic training which allowed him to undertake university studies. But music won…