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After completing his Higher Secondary Arts Education, Alain Craens chose to study at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp, where he earned First Prizes in Composition (A. De Vleeshouwer Prize), Music Theory, Harmony (Paul Gilson Prize), Counterpoint, Fugue, Oboe, English Horn, and Chamber Music.
From 1978 to 1998, he taught oboe, chamber music, and harmony at the Municipal Music Conservatory of Leuven, the State Academy of Antwerp, and the Municipal Music Academy of Antwerp (Ekeren branch), where he served as acting director from 1993 to 1996.
He teaches music notation and arrangement and coordinates the AMV courses at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp, where he has also served as artistic director since 2001.
As a performing musician, he was the oboe soloist with the orchestra of the Flemish Chamber Opera and the Flemish Chamber Orchestra, and he gave concerts with various ensembles and orchestras at home and abroad.
Alain Craens earned the Paul Gilson Prize for Harmony and the A. De Vleeshouwer Prize upon graduation. He also received the same A. De Vleeshouwer Prize in May 1985 for his composition “Divertimento for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon.” He also received the Cantabile Prize for piano composition twice, in 1989 and 1991.
Alain Craens has received various composition commissions, and his works have been premiered and performed by renowned musicians and ensembles. Many of his compositions are available on CD (e.g., with labels such as Arsis Classics, Phaedra, and De Haske) or recorded for radio.