Bram Fournier is principal trombonist with the orchestra of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and a member of the wind ensemble I Solisti, with whom he performs chamber music and mentors young talents. He also regularly appears as a guest musician with the Hermesensemble, Belgian Brass, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Belgium and Casco Phil.
Even whilst still in his studies, Bram made a name for himself as the Belgian finalist in the Lions European Musical Competition in 2009 and was also a member of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra Academy (SHMF) and the Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy (NJO). From 2010 to 2013 he was a member of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra; in 2012 he was Trial Principal Trombone with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in London, and subsequently worked as principal trombonist with the Aachen Symphony Orchestra in 2013.
He has worked under the baton of conductors such as Alain Altinoglu, Carlo Rizzi, Christoph Eschenbach, Edo De Waart, Esa-Pekka Salonen, George Benjamin, Hartmut Haenchen, Jaap van Zweden, Kazushi Ono, Koen Kessels, Lahav Shani, Reinbert de Leeuw and Sylvain Cambreling. He has also collaborated on the world premieres of works by composers including Bram Van Camp, Daan Janssens, Frederik Neyrinck, Pascal Dusapin, Wim Henderickx and Wolfgang Rihm, and has recorded works by Frederik Neyrinck, Pieter Schuermans and Wim Henderickx (World Premiere Recordings).
Bram studied at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and subsequently with Jan Smets at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, where he obtained his Master’s degree in music with the highest distinction. He furthered his studies with Jonas Bylund in a ‘Solo Class’ at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover and attended masterclasses with, among others, Alain Trudel, Christian Lindberg, Ian Bousfield, Jörgen Van Rijen, Michel Becquet and Wim Becu.
As a trombonist, Bram is committed to rediscovering and performing Belgian compositions. He is therefore a welcome guest for recitals, solo concerts and chamber music concerts.