Dirk de Klerk

Dirk de Klerk was born in Pretoria, South Africa and grew up near Witbank in a rural, Afrikaans community. After leaving school Dirk studied music, first in Pretoria, where he studied composition with Stefans Grové. He then continued his studies with Peter Klatzow in Cape Town. Dirk also studied with Kevin Volans and attended various masterclasses with the famous American composer Morton Feldman, who Dirk regards as his greatest influence as a composer.

After Dirk’s studies in Cape Town, he was awarded the prestigious SAMRO prize for composition, which enabled him to study composition with Mauricio Kagel in Cologne, Germany, during which time he also studied with Frederic Rzewski in Liège, Belgium.

Dirk had encountered Buddhist meditation in Cape Town, and knew that this would become of great priority to him. After his studies in Germany, Dirk decided to do the four-year meditation retreat at Samye Ling in Scotland. After his retreat, he studied for a PGCE in London. Dirk has been working as a school teacher ever since, working with pupils with special needs. He also started running meditation groups in London at the time. Around 1999 he met Ringu Tulku, a pivotal experience in his life.

Dirk continues to compose and in April 2006 qualified with a D.Mus in composition from the University of Pretoria, having studied with Prof. Stefans Grové.