Paul Steegmans was born on July 3, 1957, in Hasselt, Belgium, where he still lives to this day. In 1980 he was awarded diploma ‘Laureate in piano and music education’ and in 1985 he received the coveted first fugue prize. He acquired a famous and respectful admiration and reputation as a accompanist of singers and choirs. Although he is a pianist he also plays and improvises on the organ. You regularly can hear that on CD’s, and in radio and national Belgian TV programs.
Paul Steegmans’ piano, organ and choir works and also his chamber music have been commended in the highest orders of merit. He became a laureate of the composition contest ‘Baron Flor Peeters’, Cantabile (twice), and received the ‘Albert de Vleeschouwer’ prize. He finished his composition studies under W. Kersters with a first prize composition. In 1998 the CD ‘a portrait of Paul Steegmans’ came on the market. This CD is performed by Limburgian musician-friends together with Paul Steegmans. It is a collection of earlier composed works influenced by jazz, soundtracks and folklore.
By order of ‘the International Choir Contest of Flanders-Maasmechelen’’ he composed the compulsory works for the 1999 contest. He also composed, by order of the EPTA, the compulsory works for the ‘piano-four hands’ contest. In October 2001, the choir ‘Dodecachordon’ conducted by Marcel Lambrichts, gave several concerts in the various Belgian provinces with Paul Steegmans’ choir music.
His Oratorio "Stad van Vrede" was commissioned by the ‘Comité Zevenjaarlijkse Virga Jessefeesten’ and was the apotheosis of the "Virga-Jessefeesten 2003." It was first performed on 5 September 2003 in Hasselt, on 6 September was the second performance in Maastricht. The Belgian composer Frits Celis wrote about the score "I find your composition magnificent! This oratorio shows real inventive talent as well as enviable capacity." Paul Steegmans’ compositions were performed in Japan, Taiwan, Finland, Lithuania, Costa Rica and even in Cuba. In this country he gave a concert and he performed his own works together with the national choir.
Since 1989 Paul Steegmans is member of the committee of the ‘Virga Jessefeesten Hasselt‘ and since 2003 member of the artistic commission of the "International Choir Contest of Flanders" In 2017 Paul Steegmans was very busy. As member of the ‘Comité Zevenjaarlijkse Virga Jessefeesten’ he arranged many songs of Paul Schollaert for the CD "7 maal 7 zingen voor de Virga Jesse".
The second version of his Oratorio 'Stad van Vrede" was performed by himself and the Cathedral Choir of Hasselt conducted by Ludo Claesen. In October the choir "Pro Cantione" performed, conducted by Jan Peeters, his cantata "Bijbelse Vrouwen".
Since 1980 Paul Steegmans has been passing on his skills teaching piano and accompaniment at the school of music in Genk, and he was guest teacher of ‘practical harmony’ for 25 years at the "Lemmensinstituut" in Louvain.