Biography
Dirk Vermeulen enjoys an international reputation, especially for his controversial interpretations of the 18th century repertoire and early Romanticism. He is equally familiar with contemporary music and has given composition commissions to numerous composers. After completing his studies in violin and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, a brilliant career as a solo violinist followed.
Frans Brüggen's request to replace him in a number of productions by the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, such as in the Escorial near Madrid and during a tour in Italy, marked the beginning of an international career as a conductor.
In 1991 he founded the chamber orchestra Prima La Musica, which soon became one of the best Belgian ensembles for the press and the public.
Dirk Vermeulen was a guest at the most important European concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, De Doelen Rotterdam, the Wiener Musikverein, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels and Harpa in Reykjavik. In addition to the most important Belgian orchestras, he has conducted orchestras and choirs throughout Europe, Israel and Russia. He has worked with well-known soloists such as Maria João Pires, José van Dam, Barbara Hendricks, Barbara Hannigan, Sabine Meyer, Isabelle Faust, Janine Jansen, Isabelle Van Keulen, Ronald Brautigam, Jaap van Zweden and Pieter Wispelwey, as well as with renowned jazz musicians such as Toots Thielemans, Wayne Shorter and Diane Reeves.
Dirk Vermeulen is also active in the world of opera and is especially interested in the operas of W.A. Mozart. He has conducted Così fan tutte (International Opera productions, Cracow Opera), J. Doves version of Die Zauberflöte (La Monnaie in Brussels), Die Zauberflöte (Oper Hagen, Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz, Concertgebouw Amsterdam), Zaide (Opera Trionfo) and Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Zuid). At the Opéra de Rennes he led Glucks Orphée et Eurydice.
During the 2018 season Dirk Vermeulen conducted, among other things, the final of the National Cello Competition as part of the Cello Biennale Amsterdam (October 2018). In the near future he will again be a guest with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra.
His discography includes more than 30 CD's on the labels EMI, Vanguard Classics, Discover, Eufoda, RGP, Et'cetera, Brilliant Classics. For the Italian label Tactus he recorded work by the Italian contemporary composer Raffaele Bellafronte, performed by the Vienna Concert Verein, the chamber orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Flemish label Phaedra, his latest CD 'In Flanders' Fields vol.97', with songs and opera arias by Lodewijk Mortelmans and August De Boeck was released in December 2017, performed by the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen. The international music press reacted enthusiastically to this recording.
From 2000 to 2017 Dirk Vermeulen taught chamber music at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.
Source : © Dirk Vermeulen
Biography
Herman Engels studied at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and at the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Brussels.
He perfected his skills in choral conducting with Hans Grischkat (Stuttgart) and Wilhelm Ehmann (St. Moritz). He studied conducting with Otmar Suitner (Mozarteum Salzburg) and Pierre Dervaux (Paris).
Herman Engels was second conductor and assistant to Vic Nees at the BRTN Broadcasting Choir in Brussels. In the Netherlands he was conductor and teacher at the Conservatories of Utrecht and The Hague. Herman Engels conducted the Festival of Flanders, Internationales Jugendfestspieltreffen Bayreuth, Prague Easter Festival, Muziek Lente Festival Presov (SK) and was conductor 'in residence' of VKW (Association of Christian Employers and Managers). He was the founder and conductor of get Ensemble Voca Lisa. He was a guest lecturer at the University of the Philippines (Manila) and the Universidad Nacional in San José (Costa Rica).
He was guest conductor with the BRTN (Belgian Radio and Television), the SDR (Süddeutscher Rundfunkchor Stuttgart), the Musici de Praga, the Prager Collegium, the Brabants Kamerorkest, the Frankfurter Vocal Soloists, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunkchor Köln),Radio France (Paris), the Staatsoper Orchester Budapest (Budapest Pilharmonic Orchestra), Statny Komorny Orchester (Slovak Sinfonietta) Zilina, Statni Komorni Filharmonie Ceske Budejovice (Budweis,CZ), the Debrecen Philharmoniker (H), the Elbland Philharmonie (D), the BR (Bayerischer Rundfunkchor München), the NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunkchor Hamburg), the Janacek Philharmonic (Ostrawa, Cz), the Budapest Chambre Orchestra (concert tour Brazil), the Martinu Philharmonic (CZ), the Philharmonic Hradec Kralové (CZ), the Moravska Philharmonic (CZ), the State Choir Latvija, Riga (LT), the Filharmonica de Stat Oradea (RO), the Filarmonica de Stat Sibiu (RO), the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie (B), and the Moscou New Chamber Orchestra, the Capella Cracoviensis (Krakow PL), the Polish Choir (Krakow), Tallinn Philharmonic Orchestra (Estonia).
Herman Engels is a permanent guest conductor of the Filharmonica de Stat Oradea (RO) and the Slovak Sinfonietta (SK).
Herman Engels was awarded the "Médaille de Vermeil" the "Art-Sciences-Lettres"; awarded by the Académie Française, Paris, and the "Medaglia d’Oro" dei Studi Storici B. Pio IX, Roma. He received in Brussels the Fugue Trophy of the Union of Belgian Composers.
Source : © www.hermanengels.com
Biography
Martyn Brabbins studied at the College Goldsmiths, University of London. Later he took conducting lessons with Ilya Musin at the Conservatory of St. Petersburg.
In 1988 Brabbins received first prize in the Leeds Conductors Competition. Between 1994 and 2005 he was assistant conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He was artistic director of the Cheltenham Music Festival between 2005 and 2007. In that period he founded a new ensemble, the Festival Players.
Outside the United Kingdom, Brabbins became guest conductor with deFilharmonie (the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra) in 2009. In December 2011 he became chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2002 Brabbins started a training for young conductors at the St. Magnus Festival in Orkney as co-director.
Brabbins did a lot of CD recordings for labels such as Warner, Chandos, Hyperion and Deutsche Grammophon. In 2011 he recorded four orchestral works by Wim Henderickx with deFilharmonie (now the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra) under their own label and in 2016 he recorded, together with Edo de Waart, a double CD with this orchestra on which four works by their in-house composer Wim Henderickx were recorded.
From 2012 to 2016 he was chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra. In January 2013 he received the title "Doctor of Music honoris causa" from the University of Bristol.
Since 2016 he has been music director of 'The English National Opera', succeeding Mark Wigglesworth.
Source : © Wikipedia
Biography
Bjarte Engeset is one of the leading Norwegian conductors of his generation.
Background and education
Engeset comes from Ørsta. In his youth he played the recorder and later the flute. He studied management at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Jorma Panula. In 1991 he was invited to participate in the seminar for conductors, the 'Young Conductors Seminar' of Seiji Ozawa in Tanglewood in the US.
Norway
Engeset has had an extensive career as a conductor at home and abroad. He has directed all professional orchestras in Norway, including The Norwegian Opera & Ballet.
Engeset conducted the Bergen Opera Orchestra in 1981-1985 and Bergen Music Conservatory's Orchestra and Choir in 1982-1984. He was artistic director of the Tromsø Symphony Orchestra in 1994-2006, and held a similar position at the Northern Lights Festival in 1999-2006. He was artistic director of the Norwegian Wind Ensemble in 2003-2006. Engset was artistic director of the Ålesund Symphony Orchestra in 1985-1998 and 2013-2015, and in 2016 he was appointed honorary conductor. He was involved in founding the Sunnhordaland Chamber Orchestra, Group 20 (later BIT-20) and the Sunnmøre Chamber Orchestra. In addition to classical music, he has also conducted operas. In 1996 he was awarded the Nordlysprisen.
Engeset has been artistic director of the Royal Norwegian Marine Music Corps in Horten since 2014. From 2014 he will be the professional director of Norwegian Music Heritage, which produces critical editions of Norwegian music. Here he has been responsible for the work of Johan Svendsen.
International career
Engeset was a permanent guest conductor for the Flemish Radio Orchestra in Brussels from 2001 to 2004, and later chief conductor and artistic director of the DalaSinfonietta in Falun, Sweden in 2007-2012. Engeset has visited several leading orchestras in the Nordic countries, such as the Helsinki City Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in a number of leading orchestras in Europe and the United States, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings
Engeset has recorded more than 40 CD's, a large part with music by Norwegian composers such as Johan Svendsen, Christian Sinding, Ludvig Irgens-Jensen, Oscar Borg and Geirr Tveitt. For the company Naxos he has all works by Edvard Grieg for orchestra (8 CD's - Grieg Edition full. 1: Griegs klaverkonsert with Håvard Gimse as soloist, ouverturen I Høst og 4 symfoniske danser ) recorded with the Royal Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Malmö Symphony Orchestra. Engeset has also recorded music by Carl Nielsen, the violin concerts by Jean Sibelius and Christian Sinding with Henning Kraggerud and the Bournemouth Symphony, and Percy Grainger, as well as contemporary composers such as Nils Lindberg and Magne Hegdal. He has also collaborated with EMI.
Source : © Wikipedia - Store norske leksikon
Biography
In 1987 he went to the Franz Liszt Academy of Music as a composition student of the Hungarian composer and professor Emil Petrovics. In 1993 he graduated with First Class Honour in music theory, in 1994 with the same honour as composer and in 1995 as conductor.
Zsolt Hamar is a regular guest at several renowned concert halls in Europe, including Japan and the USA. In 1997 he became the first permanent conductor of the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra at the invitation of the co-founder and music director Zoltan Kocsis.
He works with important orchestras such as Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Philharmonisches Orchester Dortmund, Vlaams Radio Orkest, Lisboa Radio Orkest, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento, Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, Vestjysk Symphony Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic, Warsaw Radio Symphony Orchestra, Cadaques Symphony Orchestra, Orkest di Padova e del Veneto, Orkest del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra, W. He conducted concerts with the Bruckner Orchestra in the Brucknerhaus Linz, where he was praised in the Austrian press as a 'sensation as a conductor' and 'top-quality conductor'.
From 2000 to 2009 Zsolt Hamar was general music director of Pannon Philharmonics - Pécs.
Since 2001, Zsolt Hamar has often performed as the conductor of the Hungarian State Opera. He is also a constant guest at international opera houses, such as the Teatro National de Sao Carlo in Lisbon, the Teatro Treviso with 'Don Giovanni', the Oper Frankfurt 'Tiefland' by Eugène D'Albert and a new production of Verdi's 'I Masnadieri' with a total of 9 performances.
In 2007 he had a very successful debut at the Zurich Opera House. Since then he has conducted many performances, both premieres and revivals, and so far he has worked there as a permanent conductor.
Since 2009 he has been visiting professor of the conductor's department of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest.
As of 2012/2013, he was appointed to the 5-year term of office as General Manager of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. His successful performances here include the following.: Verdi Aida, Lucia Lizermoori by Donizetti, Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss and Woman without Shadow, Wagner Lohengrin and Planet Dutch, Brecht Mahagonny, Mozarts Magic Flute, Verdi Traviata, Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel, Prokofiev Three Orange Lovers, Puccini Bohemian, Bartók Bluebeard's Castle, Poulenc Human Voice, Britten The Twist Spins, Janacek Katja Kabanova, Mussorgsky Boris Godunov, Henze Elegia's Young Lovers and Bernd Alois' Zimmermann Soldiers.
In 2016 and 2018 he was professor conducting at the International Bartók Seminar and Festival in Szombathely. Since March 2017 he is Music Director of the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2003 Zsolt Hamar was honoured by the Minister of Culture with the Franz Liszt Prize of the Hungarian Republic and with the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Hungarian Republic by the Hungarian Minister of Culture.
Source : © www.zsolthamar.com
Cellist, music teacher, conductor
1953 : Conductor of the Orchestra at Alhambra Theater
1956 : Conductor of the BRT Omroeporkest
1963 : Conductor of the BRT Variété- and Festival-orkest - 1966 : first Conductor of the BRT
1978 : Permanent Main Conductor of the BRT-Filharmonisch Orkest
Biography
Fernand Terby studied cello at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he earned first prizes in cello (1948) and chamber music (1950). He also won the H. Cutsem Prize for cello in 1950. As a cellist he played recitals at home and abroad and he also played tenor parts in the ensemble Pro Musica Antiqua. With tenor Louis Devos, lutenist Michel Podolski and others, he recorded works by Francesco Landino and Jacopa da Bologna under the direction of Safford Cape in 1953, a recording released by the prestigious Archiv Produktion label.
In 1953 he won the conductor's competition at the Muntschouwburg, after which he was able to work in the Brussels Alhambra Theatre. There he conducted mainly operettas and light music. Three years later he also won the conductor's competition of the BRT and was appointed conductor of the Broadcasting Orchestra.
In 1963 he became the conductor of the broadcaster's Variety and Festival Orchestra, three years later he became the first conductor of the BRT and in 1978 he became the permanent chief conductor of the BRT Philharmonic Orchestra. With the broadcasting orchestras, Terby proved his craftsmanship and his versatility.
His repertoire was exceptionally large and varied, from light music to the creation of new music. In addition, he has recorded Flemish music on radio and television like no other. Thanks to the record label Phaedra, a number of these recordings were released on CD. These include recordings of works by Frits Celis, Marc Matthijs, Lodewijk Mortelmans, Ernest Van der Eyken and Jef Van Hoof.
From 1972 to 1980 Terby was a professor of orchestral conducting at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp.
Source : © Wikipedia
Biography
Jan Latham-Koenig is a British conductor, born in England, of French, Danish, Polish and Mauritian descent. He attended the Highgate School and then studied at the Royal College of Music in London before founding the Koenig Ensemble in 1976 and starting his career as a concert conductor with the BBC in 1981, winning the coveted Gulbenkian Fellowship. He made his debut in 1988 with Macbeth at the Vienna State Opera and was appointed permanent guest conductor of the Vienna State Opera in 1991.
His guest appearances in opera and concert included the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, New Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Orchestra dell'Arena di Verona, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the orchestras of Westdeutscher Rundfunkunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunkunster Berlin and the orchestra of Westdeutscher Rundfunkunk, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunker Rundfunk. His performances with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome include the Beethoven Piano Concerts with Evgeny Kissin.
As an opera conductor he was mainly active in La traviata (Royal Opera House London), Macbeth (Savonlinna Festival), Tristan und Isolde and Thaõs (Novaya Opera Moscow), Tristan und Isolde and Orfeo ed Euridice (National Opera Prague), Otello (New National Theatre Tokyo) and Il viaggio a Reims (Finnish National Opera); I puritani (Vienna State Opera); Billy Budd (Gothenburg Opera); Venus and Adonis (Teatro Carlo Felice Genova); Tosca (Opéra National de Paris); La figlia del mago (Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte); Jenufa and Hamlet (Royal Danish Opera); the Chilean premiere of Peter Grimes and I Lombardi (Orquesta Filarmónica del Teatro Municipal de Santiago). Other personal successes include Dialogues des Carmélites (BBC Proms, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Opéra national du Rhin), the latter winning the Claude-Rostand Prize for best regional production 1999 and the Diapason d'or for best opera video 2001. He also made acclaimed recordings.
In 2004 he recorded the CD Flemish Connection IV for ET'CETERA, including the work Evangelical Diptych, with 'Ephiphany' and 'Solemn Procession to Gethesemani' by Lodewijk Mortelmans. This work is a summary of life, worship, suffering and the announced death of Jesus, a theme that undergoes melodic variations and extensions to the climax. Mortelmans completed this serene diptych in 1933.
He was Music Director at ensembles and organisations including the Oporto Orchestra (which he founded at the request of the Portuguese government), the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano, Teatro Massimo di Palermo and both the Orchestre Philharmonique and the Opéra in Strasbourg. He was principal guest conductor with Opéra national du Rhin, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Filarmonica del Teatro Regio di Torino and he was the founder and artistic director of the young Janáček Philharmonic.
Since August 2011 he is Artistic Director of the Novaya Opera, Moscow. Currently he is also Artistic Director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM, Mexico City and the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders, Bruges. In 2019 he founded the British Shostakovich Festival Orchestra, a collaboration of young British and Russian musicians.
Source : © Wikipedia - ET'CETERA
Biography
Rahbari studied violin and composition with Rahmatollah Badiee and Hossein Dehlavi at the Persian National Music Conservatory. From the age of 17 he was a violinist with the Fine Arts Administration Orchestra no. 1 (conducted by Hossein Dehlavi). After obtaining his violin diploma at the National Conservatory, he won a scholarship from the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Art and moved to Austria. Rahabari continued his studies in composition and conducting at the Vienna Academy with Gottfried von Einem, Hans Swarovsky and Karl Österreicher.
A few months after his return to Iran, he became director of the Persian National Music Conservatory in 1973 and, from 1974 to 1977, director of the Tehran Conservatory.
During this period Rahbari, in collaboration with young Iranian musicians, founded the Iranian Jeunesse Musicale Orchestra, where he was the music director and permanent conductor. As guest conductor at Roudaki Hall he also conducted the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, the National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT) Chamber Orchestra and the Tehran Opera Orchestra.
In 1977 he emigrated to Europe. In the same year he won the first prize of the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors (France) and in 1978 he received the silver medal at the Geneva International Conducting Competition. In this year he recorded 3 LP's entitled 'Symphonische Dichtungen aus Persien' with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany, including six works by some of the greatest Iranian composers of the 20th century: 'Bijan & Manijeh' by Hossein Dehlavi, 'Dance', 'Ballet-Immpressionen' and 'Rhapsody' by Ahmad Pejman, 'Sheherazade' by Aminollah (Andre) Hossein, 'Iranian Suite' by Houshang Ostovar, 'Persian Mysticism in G' (his own composition) and 'Movement Symphony' by Mohammad-Taghi Massoudieh.
1979 was the most important year in Rahbari's career. He was invited to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1980 he became Karajan's assistant at the Salzburg Easter Festival.
From 1988 to 1996 Rahbari was the chief conductor of the Flemish Radio Orchestra (now the Brussels Philharmonic) and afterwards he became music director of the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2005 he returned to Iran and conducted Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Tehran. Many conservatives and newspapers accused Rahbari of propagating Western values. He resigned from the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and left Iran in protest against the music industry.
In 2009 he introduced new musical ideas based on rhythms in Persian traditional music.
Alexander Rahbari has worked with more than 120 European orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Source : © Wikipedia
Biography
After completing the Latin-Greek humanities at the Royal Athenaeum in his native city of Lier and music studies in Mechelen, Silveer Van den Broeck opted for professional music studies at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where he followed orchestral conducting with René Defossez and André Vandernoot, among others.
This was followed by an impressive career in music and education: from 1962 he became flute soloist at the KVO in Antwerp and in 1968 at the Grand Symphony Orchestra of the BRT/RTB. In 1967 he also joined music education as a flute teacher at the municipal music academy in Lier and as from 1971 he is a flute teacher at the municipal music academy in Mechelen. He also taught flute at the municipal music academy in Willebroek from 1972 to 1978. In addition to a successful career as a flute soloist with the Grand BRT/RTB Symphony Orchestra, he created several new works by Belgian composers through recitals, concerts and radio productions. 
From 1970, in addition to his daily work, he began conducting with the Broadcasting Orchestra and the Grand Symphony Orchestra of the BRT/RTB. Soon he got invitations as guest conductor at the NOB, the Antwerp Philharmonic, the Liège Orchestra, the Milan Angelicum, the Radiosinfonieorchester der sender freies Berlin, the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Gottwaldow Symphonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Lirica de Tirreno in Bastia, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Alte Oper Frankfurt, the National Theatre Mannheim,...
Between 1978 and 1982 he conducted the orchestral class at the Music Academy in Sint-Niklaas. Van den Broeck also worked as a music director at the VRT and started his career at the opera in 1978. After 4 years of guest conducting at the KVO, he exchanged the BRT for the Opera direction in 1978.
As the first conductor he was urged to take on the music directorship of the Opera in Ghent, which later resulted in the Opera for Flanders. His first Parsifal conducting in the OVV was so well received by some foreign soloists that he was promptly invited as the first conductor at the National Theatre Mannheim in 1985. Here he conducts various international performances and expands his opera repertoire to 82 different works, including the Ring, Salomé, Rosenkavalier, Elektra, Frau ohne Schatten, the Italian repertoire,... A little later, however, he was asked to return to his native country to take on the management of the OVV. After a long hesitation and a lot of negotiations in Mannheim and here in the country, he accepts the proposal. In the OVV he works with Silvia Sass, Christina Deutekom, Raïna Kabaivanska, José Van Dam, Jules Bastin, Marilyn Horne,... As artistic director, Van den Broeck leads the OVV Antwerpen-Ghent until this institution closes its doors in 1988.
In addition to the opera work, he and the various orchestras in the country created many new compositions by fellow countrymen, in addition to the 'iron' repertoire. He conducts the BRT orchestra at the 60-40th anniversary celebration of King Baudouin. Numerous recordings with the Belgian orchestras for the Ministry of Dutch Culture are in full swing, particularly works by Jef Van Hoof, Peter Welffens, David Van de Woesteyne, Lodewijk De Vocht. With the BRT-Philharmonic he makes CD recordings of work by Peter Benoit, Emmanuel Durlet, Arthur Meulemans, Lodewijk Mortelmans, Rafaël D'Haene,... His 1993 'Façade' CD by William Walton was an unparalleled international success.
From 2001 until his retirement, Silveer Van den Broeck was professor of orchestral conducting at the Erasmus High School of Brussels, at the department of the Royal Conservatory.
Source : © muziekcentrum.kunsten.be
Biography
Frits Celis is a Flemish musician and composer. Celis studied at the Royal Music Conservatories in Antwerp and Brussels, the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst 'Mozarteum' Salzburg in Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne.
Celis started as a harpist and then became conductor and music director at the Royal Monnaie Theatre, the Royal Flemish Opera and the Opera for Flanders. He has been a guest conductor in the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany and the US.
Later on he mainly focused on composition. His style evolved through expressionism and serialism to a free-atonal style with an unmistakable preference for the lyrical aspect of the musical language.
In 1946 he began his musical career as a harpist in the orchestra of the former Royal Flemish Opera in Antwerp, a position he held until 1954. In that year he was the first laureate in a competition for conductors, organised by the Royal Monnaie Theatre in Brussels. Shortly afterwards he was declared the sole laureate in a similar competition, this time organised by the former BRT. Because of his predilection for opera, he opted for the Brussels Mint Theatre, where he was conductor until 1959. Afterwards he acquired the positions of first conductor and music director at the Royal Flemish Opera in Antwerp, positions which he also held from 1981 to 1988 at the former Opera for Flanders in Antwerp and Ghent. As a guest conductor he has performed in the Netherlands, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain and the US. He also made a name for himself as a concert conductor.
In 1960 Frits Celis was appointed solfège teacher at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp, where he was also appointed transposition teacher twelve years later.
As a composer Frits Celis became known for his songs, choral works, chamber music and orchestral works that were performed in several European countries, the United States and Japan. He has received composition commissions from the BRT and the Festival of Flanders. In 1992, SABAM awarded him the Fuga Trophy in recognition of his many years of dedication to Belgian music. Since 1989 he has focused almost exclusively on composing, which has led to a considerable increase in his oeuvre since then. Nowadays he almost always writes on commission, for symphonic ensembles as well as for chamber music or choir groups.
The boardmembers of the 'Foundation Mortelmans', have met a very engaging and passionate admirer of 'our' Lodewijk Mortelmans at numerous concerts over the past few years. Frits Celis likes to refer to the time when he conducted many of Mortelmans' works, in particular how he learned to discover the work 'Morgenstemming' (Morning mood), and expresses very laudatory criticism about it. It is striking how often his works and those of Mortelmans are performed in the same concert. He certainly deserves a place on this site.
Source : © Wikipedia
Biography
Simon De Paepe started his piano studies with Roeland Daems at the municipal academy for music and word in Kapellen and with Heidi Hendrickx at the Ma'Go in Antwerp. Simon sings bass voice in symphonic choir Octopus.
2013 : took part in the masterclasses piano by the Swiss pianist Pascal Sigrist and the German pianist Christian Zacharias.
2014 : he studied at the Antwerp Conservatory with Levente Kende and Heidi Hendrickx. He continues his studies with a Master in Choral Conducting with Luc Anthonis and is still studying song classes with Jozef De Beenhouwer and Lucienne van Dijck.
2015 : he continued his studies with Nikolaas and Levente Kende.
2016 : travelled to Ruse (Bulgaria) to participate in the masterclass orchestral conducting of Ivo Venkov with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Russe. Together with tenor Lars Corijn, he took part in the song masterclasses of British pianist Roger Vignoles and German pianist Jan Philip Schulze.
He performs regularly and has already worked with cellist Pieter-Jan De Smet, mezzo-soprano Jenny Selander and soprano Fleur Strijbos.
He put his shoulder to the wheel of the 'Common Ground' project week at the Antwerp Conservatory, which was repeated in 2017.
Since March 2016 he has been conducting the royal wind orchestra 'Door Eigen Kracht' in Deurne. He performs music by Pärt, Saint-Saëns, Elgar and Liszt, among others, and has already conducted works by Mozart, Haydn, Sibelius, Berstein and De Boeck at the conservatory. This summer he conducted an occasional choir twice, which increased the desire to found a choir. Recently he started conducting the women's choir 'Voix Célestes'.
2017 : In July Simon took part in the Kurt Thomas course for choral conducting in Utrecht. He was taught by Rob Vermeulen, Adrian Van der Spoel, Hans Leenders, Michael Reif and Harjo Pasveer. Still in 2017, 2018 and 2019 he successfully followed the masterclass orchestral conducting conducted by Bruno Weil at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Together with the occasional orchestra Con Spirito, Simon conducted Mozart's Jupiter Symphony in October and several opera arias with singers from the singing classes of Anne Cambier and others.
2018 : He brought Con Spirito back together again. They performed the Eroica symphony by Ludwig Van Beethoven and the Hobo concerto by Richard Strauss.
The second symphony by Johannes Brahms and the cello concerto by Antonin Dvorak with soloist Shuya Tanaka were on the programme for 2018.
2019 : In June he obtained his Master's degree in Piano in the field of accompaniment and coaching at the Antwerp Conservatory. He followed a masterclass with the Polish pianist Maciej Pikulsky and the German tenor Christoph Prégardien.
On Thursday 24 October 2019 at 20.00 hrs the symphony orchestra Con Spirito will perform several Flemish compositions in the Blue Hall of deSingel, including the Symphonic poem opus 46 for piano and orchestra by Peter Benoit with the soloist Jozef De Beenhouwer. On Sunday 17 November 2019 at 11.00 a.m. Simon will perform with soprano Fleur Strijbos in 't Kerkske in Kapellen.
The 'Foundation Mortelmans', represented by Mrs. Erica Schiltz and her son/webmaster Stéphane Moyersoen (resp. granddaughter/godchild and great-grandson of the composer), were able to thank conductor Simon De Paepe and les 'Voix Célestes' for their excellent concert on 28.04.2019 in the church of Kapellen, on the occasion of the performance of the choral work 'Ave Verum' by Lodewijk Mortelmans.
Source : © Voix Célestes
