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Peter Van Woerden
Peter Van Woerden (January 7, 1924 - September 6, 1990), also known as Pierre Van Woerden and “Onkel Peter,” was a Christian musician, author and composer. He is the author of the ...view morePeter Van Woerden (January 7, 1924 - September 6, 1990), also known as Pierre Van Woerden and “Onkel Peter,” was a Christian musician, author and composer. He is the author of the first German Christian children’s audio series, Onkel Peters Kinderstunde (Uncle Peter’s Children’s Hour).
Born the fourth of six children into an evangelical teacher family, he grew up in Haarlem, Netherlands. At the age of 17, he became an organist in an evangelical church in Velsen; however, during the occupation of the Netherlands by German troops, his career came to an abrupt end in May 1942 when he had played the forbidden national anthem, Wilhelmus, during a worship.
During his subsequent imprisonment, he converted to Christianity and decided to devote his life to his new faith. After the war, he began theological studies at the Swiss Bible School in Beatenberg, from where he was then sent to France and Belgium and later also travelled to the USA and Canada.
In Germany, Van Woerden became a well-known music producer for the Christian music record label “Frohe Botschaft im Lied,” in particular as “Onkel Peter” in his audio series, Onkel Peters Kinderstunde (Uncle Peter’s Children’s Hour). Together with Margret Birkenfeld and her Wetzlar Children’s Choir he presented biblical stories and performed Christian songs. As the first child-friendly show with varied dialogues, songs and stories, the series soon developed into a children’s classic within the German Christian scene. He appeared as an arranger and session musician on numerous productions of a variety of artists of the Christian music scene throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. He also published some solo albums playing the Hammond organ.
Van Woerden died in 1990 at the age of 66.view less