Instrument: bass, tutti
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2011
Why did you choose your instrument?
I played the violin as a child since I was six. I was part of a nice group that played in the music school’s orchestra. There was a friend of mine there who wanted to learn to play bass, but didn't want to go to the lessons alone. So I went with her. She also to this day still plays bass.
What is your fondest memory of Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
The children's production ‘Valse Noot’ and also Symphonic Mob.
What do you do besides being a musician at Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
I teach bass at the Academy for Performing Arts in Ghent. And besides that, you can find me at sea on my sailing boat.
Do you have a ritual before you go on stage?
A good laugh in the dressing rooms.
Instrument: bass, tutti
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2009
Why did you choose your instrument?
As a child, I wanted to learn to play all the instruments that The Beatles played: drums, guitar, piano and bass! At music school, there was no bass guitar course yet, but I could learn bass with the cello teacher ... Renaat Ackaert! So the current principal cello of FSO was my first bass teacher!
Who is your favourite composer and why?
Gustav Mahler: there is a whole world of characters, emotions, stories and atmospheres in each of his symphonies.
What was your most memorable concert with Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
The concert in Tallinn in 2022 with Beethoven on the programme and Hartverheffing by Lodewijk Mortelmans as encore. The concert was the last of a beautiful Estonia tour in Tallinn's beautiful, packed concert hall and also live on Estonian radio. This was followed by a memorable evening with fellow musicians in the city centre.
What do you always bring to a rehearsal?
A chocolate waffle.
Instrument: piccolo and flute, second soloist
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 1984
Who is your favourite composer?
Brahms, Prokofiev and Shostakovich for the symphonic repertoire. Also Bach, Mozart and Poulenc.
What is your fondest memory of Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
Too many to mention!
What do you do besides being a musician at Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
I teach and in my spare time I like to travel. I also enjoy sports, reading and gardening.
When is a concert considered successful for you?
When I feel like we have brought something beautiful together.
Instrument: oboe, first soloist
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2004
Who is your favourite composer and why?
Without any doubt Leoš Janáček. I got to know his music where it was composed, in his homeland of Moravia, when I was part of the Young Janáček Philharmonic there. His music is a wonderful mix between the romantic style and a very expressive, colourful, original and certainly for its time progressive language with an enormous individuality and distinctiveness. Very modern and at the same time traditional, because it is laced with typical folk melodies and rhythms from the Czech Republic.
What is your fondest memory of Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
During the twenty years that I have been part of this orchestra, I have experienced countless wonderful concerts and beautiful tours. So many memories from which I find it hard to choose. But the orchestra is by all means a place where I feel good and where I can continue to express myself artistically in a pleasant and heartwarming way.
What do you always bring to rehearsal?
A box full of reeds that I hope will do as well on stage as they do in my study.
What was your most memorable concert with Flanders Symphony Orchestra?
Of the many great concerts we played, our performance at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in August 2013 will always stay with me. The programme included two of my favourite works: Brahms' First Symphony and his Violin concerto. A lot of work for me as an oboist and a gang of ‘fans’ in the iconic hall.
Instrument: bassoon, leader
With Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen since: 1997
Why did you choose your instrument?
I started with piano, then I started bassoon because my uncle needed another bassoonist in the Ardooie concert band.
Who is your favourite composer?
Shostakovich because he wrote beautiful solos for the bassoon.
What do you do besides being a musician with Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen?
I teach at the academies in Roeselare and Tielt and am a lecturer at the conservatory in Tilburg.
Instrument: bassoon, second soloist
With Flanders Symphony Orchestra since: 2019
Why did you choose your instrument?
The bassoon makes everyone happy with its unique sound. And as a bassoonist, you are never taken too seriously, which actually suits me.
Who is your favourite composer and why?
Berlioz: he is a little crazy and I love that!
What do you always bring to a rehearsal?
A photo of my little daughter and of my girlfriend (soon to be wife).
When is a concert considered successful for you?
When we can share our enthusiasm with the audience in the café after the concert and the audience turns out to be equally enthusiastic.