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Michel Defourny, born in 1957, is an engineer and a self-taught composer.

He holds a degree in electromechanical engineering and a doctorate in Applied Sciences from the University of Liège. However, alongside his studies and later his career, he has always been drawn to classical music, in which his parents immersed him from a very young age. As he likes to say, he learned to compose music the way a child learns to speak: by listening and experimenting.

As a self-taught composer, he wrote his first compositions during his adolescence and while studying classical guitar at the Grétry Academy in Liège. These short guitar pieces are improvisations that have taken shape through repeated playing. A few years ago, he compiled his best pieces into two collections:

• Ambiances musicales (10 pieces)
• Pièces caractéristiques pour guitare (8 pieces)

which are available on the online sheet music site FreeScore.

Around the age of 20, he took over the direction of a choir, which he led for 17 years, during which time he harmonized and composed numerous pieces for four voices.

He then devoted himself to musical composition more generally, exploring various instruments and ensembles. He was fortunate to cross paths with Danielle Baas, who regularly featured him in the concerts she organized, allowing him to meet many composers and musicians, which allowed him to develop his writing and style. In particular, he has written several hexatonic works.

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Vincent Ghadimi was born in Rocourt on September 14, 1968. It was only in 1986 that he began his musical studies at the Schaerbeek Academy, where he studied piano with Leonardo Anglani. At the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, he obtained first prizes in piano (Vanden Eynden) and chamber music, as well as a higher diploma in advanced solfège. At the Rotterdam Conservatory, in the class of Aquiles Delle-Vigne, he earned a Master of Music diploma in piano and chamber music, and also specialized in four-hand and two-piano performance with Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabri. He then studied with him for three years at the Alfred Cortot School of Music in Paris and also attended masterclasses with Lazar Berman, Zoltan Kocsis, Andrei Nikolsky, and others.

Vincent Ghadimi is also a recipient of two first prizes from international piano competitions (1993: Rotterdam “Doelen”, 1995: Spain “Ibiza International Piano Competition”). His piano recitals in France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain have earned him high praise from the music press.

In 2005, he founded Ensemble Polyface with harpist Cécile Marichal, which performs regularly in concert. Alongside his piano career, he has composed several works, including “Nutations” for clarinet and piano (published by Alain Van Kerckhoven and recorded by René Gailly), “Jongleurs de Têtes” for solo piano, written for the 2002 Orléans Competition and awarded an honorable mention in its second version at the 2006 TIM Competition, 10 songs for children (in Dutch) with voice and piano accompaniment (published by Lantro Music, www.lantromusic.be), “Mémoires d’enfance,” and several Preludes for piano, also published by Lantro Music.

In 2005, he participated as composer, children’s choir director, and conductor in the children’s opera “Décamero lala” (performed at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels).

He also teaches piano and music theory and is an accompanist at the Dutch-speaking Academy of Brussels.

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Pianist-composer Marc Matthys (born 1956, Ghent) was drawn to music from a young age. As early as 1964, he won a European title at the CEA International Accordion Competition in Paris. After classical music training at the Royal Conservatory of Music in his native Ghent, where he was awarded the Higher Diploma in Piano and Chamber Music, as well as First Prizes in Counterpoint and Fugue, he established himself as an exceptionally versatile musician in diverse musical genres, including classical, jazz, and pop.

He has collaborated with figures such as Frédéric Devreese, Dirk Brossé, Rudolf Werthen, Walter Boeykens, Neeme Järvi, Aga Winska, Henry Raudales, Roby Lakatos, Toots Thielemans, Eddie Daniels, Ali Ryerson, Paquito d’Rivera, Jo Lemaire, Leen Persijn, and Shirley Bassey.

To date, he has released some 30 CDs and two DVDs for various labels,
many of which feature his own compositions.

From 1986 to 2016, he was director of the Kortrijk City Conservatory and, since 1978, has taught at the Ghent University College, Royal Conservatory Department, where he founded the Jazz Department. He has received several awards, including the Grand Prix Humanitaire de France, and has been a laureate of competitions such as Tenuto ’79 (VRT), the Joseph Van Roy Piano Competition (Ghent), the Klara Composition Competition, the Europ’ Jazz Contest, and the Dunkirk Jazz Competition. He has performed in Europe, the USA, Russia, and China.

His quartet, featuring flutist Dirk De Caluwé and others, performed at the Royal Palace for the silver wedding anniversary of King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola. He was also a solo composer at the World Expo in Shanghai and the NFA Convention in Las Vegas. Recordings of his compositions have been released with the VRO, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, the National Orchestra of Belgium, I Fiamminghi, L’Arco Musicale, Ensemble Walter Boeykens, Big Band Sound, Toots Thielemans, Jo Lemaire, cellist Viviane Spanoghe, pianist André De Groote, flutist Peter Verhoyen, Arco Baleno, the Kugoni Trio, and Convivium Musicum.

Marc Matthys was a visiting professor at Bowling Green State University (Ohio), a board member of Sabam (1995-1999), a founding board member and chairman of ComaV (the Flemish Composers’ Association), a board member of UBC (Union of Belgian Composers), and has served on international juries since 1982, including the Europ’ Jazz Contest, the International Clarinet Competition, and the Adolphe Sax Competition.

Marc Matthys is a Knight in the Order of Leopold and an Officer in the Order of the Crown.

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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.

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Luc Van Hove (born 1957) received his musical training at the Royal Flemish
Music Conservatory in Antwerp. He studied composition with Willem Kersters, analysis with August Verbesselt, piano with Lode Backx, and
music history with Kamiel Cooremans. He later also took advanced courses in orchestral conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and composition and choreography at the University of Surrey in Guildford.

Luc Van Hove’s list of achievements includes several composition prizes, including the Annie Rutzky Prize, the Sabam Belgian Artistic Promotion Prize, the Albert de Vleeshouwer Prize, and the Sabam Serious Music Prize 1993.

Luc Van Hove is a former extraordinary teacher at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and currently teaches composition at the Antwerp Conservatory and composition and analysis at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven. He is also a promoter and artistic advisor at the Orpheus Institute and a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts.

Luc Van Hove has commissioned works from numerous prominent organizers and performers. He has composed for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic Society, the deSingel International Arts Centre, Antwerp ’93 European Capital of Culture, I Fiamminghi, the Beethoven Academy, and Roel Dieltiens and his ensemble Explorations. He was also composer-in-residence at the Flanders International Festival, was appointed guest composer for the Week of Contemporary Music in Ghent, and was the featured composer for the I Fiamminghi in Campo festival in 1997.

Luc Van Hove’s oeuvre includes works such as “Carnival on the Beach” for orchestra, opus 17, Symphony 1, opus 25, “Stacked Time” for electric guitar and orchestra, opus 26, Triptych for oboe and orchestra, opus 29, String Quartet,
opus 30, Piano Concerto, opus 32, “Strings,” opus 33, Symphony 2, opus 34, “Kammerkonzert” for cello and ensemble, opus 36, Symphony 3, opus 39, and “Four Sacred Songs for Mixed Choir,” opus 42.

Luc Van Hove enjoys great renown not only in Belgium but also abroad. His work has been performed at the Midem Festival in Cannes, during the promenade concerts at De Doelen in Rotterdam, and at the November Music festival.

Furthermore, renowned international ensembles and musicians regularly perform works by Luc Van Hove: the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Brodsky Quartet, the Arditti Quartet, the Xenakis Ensemble, and cellist Pieter Wispelwey.

See also: Peter Benoit Prize 2026 awarded to Luc Van Hove

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Michel Béro was born in Mélin (Jodoigne) on April 26, 1950. At the Brussels Conservatory, he studied piano in the class of André Dumortier (Yvette Allard) (1969-1970). At the Université Libre de Bruxelles (1971-1975), he earned a bachelor’s degree and a teaching qualification in Art History and Archaeology (musicology) for his thesis: ‘Sigismond Thalberg, Aspects of Piano Virtuosity in the 19th Century’ (Professor Robert Wangermée). He then studied musical composition and orchestration privately with Marcel Quinet (1981-1986).

Joining RTBF as a production assistant in 1973, he became a producer in 1981 and then head producer in 1995. Concurrently, he served as delegate to the International Rostrum of Composers (UNESCO) from 1987 to 2009. He also taught music history from 1980 to 1984 at the Brussels Academy of Music and from 1980 to 1996 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Brussels.

Michel Béro defines himself as a contemporary composer insofar as he feels an affinity with current Belgian composers. Fascinated by the relationship between music and mathematical formulas, his works are nevertheless not governed by rigid formulas.

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Renier Doutrelepont was born on November 26, 1939, in Malmedy.

His early musical training began with Octave Micha (Stavelot) for solfège and piano. Later, he studied harmony with Francis de Bourguignon. After de Bourguignon’s death, Jean Absil took him on as a student of harmony, counterpoint, and composition.

He joined RTBF in 1966. He wrote scores for documentaries: “To Illustrate Magritte” (Christian Bussy), “The Memory of Stones” (Françoise Lempereur), and later for films: “Murders at Home” (Marc Lobet), “The Metamorphoses of Rachel” (Robert Lombaerts), etc.

He continues to compose (in atonal style): two concertos for piano and violin, chamber music for various ensembles (with guidance from Georges Octors), and lieder set to poems by Marcel Mariën, Louis Scutenaire, Charles Vanlerberghe, Andrée Sodenkamp, ​​and Jean-Claude Lalanne Cassou.

He has recorded six CDs of his works.

He currently lives in Brussels, is an administrator of the Union of Belgian Composers (UCB), and frequently participates in the Osmose Festival thanks to Danielle Baas.

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Nicole De Paepe was born in Antwerp on July 11, 1958. Encouraged by the musical pursuits of her father, who played piano as a hobby, and her grandmother, who was an opera singer, she entered the music academy in Borgerhout at the age of eight, where she studied piano, cello, harmony, and chamber music. In 1974, she earned a distinction for piano at the Gunther Competition in Brussels and in 1977, she was awarded a government medal in Borgerhout. At the age of 14, she took the entrance exam at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in Antwerp, where she studied music theory, harmony, practical harmony, counterpoint, music analysis, music history, and art history. She specialized in piano and chamber music.

Passionate about music and guided by her intuition, she began composing at a young age. This continues to inspire her to this day.
For two years, she worked as a ballet accompanist. At 21, she became a
practical harmony teacher at the Royal Flemish Music Conservatory in
Antwerp, a position she held for 14 years. She retired to devote more time to raising her three children and to developing her career as a freelance pianist and composer.

As a pianist, she has accompanied various choirs, including
the Antwerp Philharmonic Choir (Philko), the Royal Mixed Choir Alma Musica, and the Don Bosco Choir in Hoboken. She is also regularly invited to accompany choirs such as the Sanseveria women’s choir in Duffel, the Edegem Family Choir, and, in the past, our Schola Gregoriana, Camerata Vocale, and Cantabile from Hove, among others. She has also accompanied soloists at various concerts and competitions at home and abroad.

Nicole also plays the organ, and you can hear her perform Bach interpretations as well as her own works. She has also performed in various churches in Antwerp, including those of St. James, Charles Borromeo, Christ the King, Pius X Wilrijk, the Holy Family, and St. Joseph in Hoboken.

From 2002 to the present, Nicole De Paepe has also participated in various (art) projects, such as the Night of Museums, the Summer of Antwerp, the Channel exhibition, the Golden Derailment on July 11, 2002, in Brussels, and the Galerie Utrecht in the Netherlands. She has also collaborated with cultural centers and given various private concerts.

Her music has been featured several times on numerous radio stations,
including Marc Brillouet’s Funiculi Funicula. Radio 2 presenter Els Broekmans has also interviewed her several times. Nicole is also actively involved in various concerts and accompaniments, including for German and Dutch television.

She has composed music for Antwerp legends and stories such as Brabo and Antigone, Lange Wapper, and Nello and Patrasche. In this final storytelling recital, she brings the story of A Dog of Flanders to life musically. Nicole sometimes collaborates with Milly Jennes, the driving force behind the puppet theatre Mirantibus, in this recital, acting out the story with her beautiful puppets.

Nicole previously recorded the CD Bagatelle in collaboration with violinist Marcel Andriesii.
She is working on new concerts with hornist Ernest Maes and cellist Viviane Abdelmalek, and new CDs featuring her compositions have been recorded.