Ties van Echelpoel was born on 10 August 2008. At the age of seven, he started saxophone lessons at the Academy of Tessenderlo, where he was taught by Ingrid Viskens.
At fourteen, Ties chose to study Classical Music at the Kunsthumaniora Musart in Hasselt. At the same time, he continued his musical education in part-time art education at the Academy of North Limburg. In both schools, he is coached by Suzy Vanderheiden.
Since 2024, he combines his education at Musart and the academy with lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where he studies with Pieter Pellens.
Ties already achieved great results at various competitions. For instance, he won first prize twice at the Flemish soloist contest Vlamo Virtuoso in 2023 and 2024, participated in the International saxophone festival in Andorra in 2024 and became laureate of the Jong Talent contest Limburg in the same year. In 2025, he finished as first laureate at the 9th International Competition for Young Saxophonists in Dinant and became a finalist of the Young Belgian Talent competition, the final of which takes place in November 2025.
