Martijn Dendievel, born in Oostende in 1995, comes from a family of musicians. He showed a great interest for music during his childhood and took his first musical steps on the violin at the age of three. A few years later, he switched to the cello and started playing the recorder, percussion, and the harpsichord. As an instrumentalist, he gained orchestral experience in various youth orchestras, and has performed in halls such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and BOZAR in Brussels.
At the age of 14, he was exceptionally admitted to the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in music theory with distinction, whilst studying cello with Jeroen Reuling. Martijn then moved to Germany to study conducting at the HfM Franz Liszt Weimar with Prof. Nicolás Pasquet and Prof. Ekhart Wycik. In July 2022, he finished his master’s degree in orchestral conducting. Martijn has been mentored by Bernard Haitink, Paavo Järvi, Christian Thielemann and Iván Fischer.
After winning the 2021 German Conducting Award and obtaining laureate awards at the Donatella Flick Competition as well as the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam, he is invited to orchestras across the world where he is often appraised for his thorough knowledge of the repertoire and his vivid and expressive conducting. Martijn is currently chief conductor of the Hofer Symphoniker and associate conductor of Flanders Symphony Orchestra.
Martijn will take over as chief conductor of Flanders Symphony Orchestra in January 2026.
Jan Orawiec was born in Poland and studied at the Conservatoire National de Paris and the Hochschule de Saarbrüken in Germany.
He was concertmaster of the Orchestre Royal Philharmonique de Liège from 2009 to 2011 and guest concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra from 2011 to 2013. He is currently concertmaster of Les Siècles, the orchestra founded by François-Xavier Roth to perform a varied repertoire on period instruments.
He has been concertmaster of Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen since season 2021-2022.
Instrument: first violin, second soloist
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2000
Describe Flanders Symphony Orchestra in one sentence?
A passionate musical family!
What do you always bring to rehearsals?
My pencil as well as my eraser!
Do you have a ritual before you go on stage?
I always check whether I have my concert shoes on, because once in 2006 I came on stage in brown boots and I only noticed it when I stepped on stage from behind the curtains.
What is your most memorable concert with Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
To me, it was the concert in 2015 where we played Bruckner's Second Symphony conducted by guest conductor Kees Bakels. He stirred up so much musicality and feelings and conducted so beautifully, simply and humanly without making one move too many. I have very fond memories of it.
Instrument: first violin, soloist
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2017
Who is your favourite composer and why?
I do not have just one favourite composer. I really like the 20th century composers like Bartók, Berg, Shostakovich and Schnittke.
What is your fondest memory of Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
The UK tour in 2019.
What do you do besides being a musician at Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
I play solo and chamber music recitals and I teach in my violin studio in Brussels.
Describe Flanders Symphony Orchestra in one sentence?
Family!
Instrument: first violin, tutti
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 1998
Why did you choose your instrument?
I originally wanted to learn guitar or organ, but the violin teacher had not enough students. He came recruiting in the solfège classes and I was immediately sold! Luckily, because a church organ would have never fitted on my bike.
What is your most memorable concert with Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
The concert with Ballet Flanders: half the orchestra was stuck in a terrible traffic jam and the conductor showed a fine example of crisis management back then.
Describe Flanders Symphony Orchestra in one sentence?
Making music together with my friends.
What do you always bring to a rehearsal?
A pencil to note down changes! And an eraser, for when those changes then need to be changed again!