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Applause

Main and supporting roles, debut and collection albums, final place, beginners' luck and career prize ... here you can read who received applause recently and why.

Jazz

  • As usual, every year Klara compiles a list of ten young musicians you should definitely keep an eye on. They call it De Twintigers. Jazz pianist Milan Verbist was added to the list in 2023.
  • A 4-star review in De Standaard for the concert by alumnus Jazz sax and teacher Lennert Baerts. The same review tipped Vitja Pauwels (jazz guitar alumnus) as a rising star. 
  • Dries Laheye, alumnus bass guitar presented his debut album 'Deining' at Het Bos on 23 February.
  • Lennert Baerts receives incredible reviews for his new album PROFOUND OBSERVER FEAT. BERT JORIS. 
  • Schntzl, the band of Hendrik Lasure and alumnus Casper Van De Velde releases the album 'Holiday' to the world.
  • The band members of AKI, the remarkable group around drummer and alumna Anke Verslype, met at the Conservatoire in Antwerp. They have since recorded three albums and won JONG JAZZTALENT 2023 at Gent Jazz 2023.
  • Alumnus Geert Hellings composed the music for WIL, director Tim Mielants' second feature film.

Classical Music

  • Oboe player Balder Dendievel also won a spot in De Twintigers on Klara.
  • Julita Burzynska, Amelia Grenda and Jana Rumpf have all earned a place in the finals of The Dutch International Flute Competition.
  • Gold, silver and bronze for Ana Mondéjar Amat, Erica Tuik-Vogel and Elizabeth Salerno, three Conservatoire piccolo master students, in that same competition! Read more ...
  • The flute class continues to amaze! Denisa Geislerova snatched first place at the audition for an internship location at I Solisti. A few weeks later, she was also chosen assistant first flute at the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.
  • Lars Corijn will become assistant conductor to chief Gergely Madaras at the Orchestre Philharmonique Royale de Liège from 1 September.
  • Linsey Coppens, vocal studies alumna, made it to the semi-finals of this year's Queen Elisabeth Competition.
  • Julita Burzyńska comes from Aldo Baerten's flute class. She was the strongest in an audition for the Sinfonia Varsovia Academy.
  • Flávia Valente comes from Peter Verhoyen's piccolo class. She will soon join the Norrköping Sinfonieorchester
  • Many of our students, alumni and teachers won prizes when Brassband Willebroek won the Flemish Ultima Prize for Amateur Arts.
  • Baritone player Thibault De Bondt won first prize at the European Soloists competition in Malmo, Sweden.
  • Harpist and alumna since 2023 Jenna Vergeynst received the highly prestigious 1er Prix à l'unanimité, Prix Marius Constant, Prix spécial pour Fidélité de Georges Aperghis, awarded by Collegium 21.
  • Emma Wils became one of the laureates of Vocatio, an organisation that supports talented young people with a life project or vocation. Emma was chosen because of her vocation. She wants to revive the forgotten romantic guitar repertoire on period instruments. 
  • Alumna vocal studies Sofia Poulopoulou was invited to join the artistic team of Theater Krefeld/Mönchengladbach
  • Emma Wills (guitar) and Thomas Boodts (pianoforte) (together Duo Marotel), assisted by soprano Franches Dhont, recently recorded a new album of music at the request of Museum Vleeshuis. Inspired by concert programs from the archives, they selected music that scored high points throughout Europe around 1825. 
  • Ana Mondéjar Amat, master's student in piccolo, won the second prize at the Concorso Severino Gazzelloni piccolo competition. 
  • Fleur Strijbos, alumna vocal studies, has been appointed as artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in October 2023.
  • Bernardo Beirão won the prestigious Sabam prize for composition. Bernardo graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp in June 2023 with the highest grade for composition. 
  • Irene Martin Sanchez has been accepted as 2nd hobo in the National Orchestra of Belgium after a successful audition.
  • Brassband Willebroek, in which the Antwerp Conservatoire is exceptionally well represented, has won the 2023 Belgian Brass Band Championship.
  • 3 students studying piano with Nikolaas Kende won prizes at the latest EPTA awards. In the highest grade, first prize went to Yaroslav Kryzhanivskyi and second prize to Brecht Valckenaers. In the third category, first prize went to Jonathan Ide.

Drama

  • Alumnus Tijmen Govaerts is the lead character in '1985', a drama series on VRT.
  • Even more famous people in De Twintigers on Klara: Johannes Wirix-Speetjens, alumnus Acting, presents the programme. 
  • Mona Thys was selected as a young writer's talent for Slow Writing Lab 2023.
  • Elisa Stuyck graduated from the Antwerp Conservatoire in 2021. In March 2023, INSIDE premiered in cinemas around the world. A stunning psychological drama starring Willem Dafou.
  • Theatre creator and alumnus Yves Degryse and curators Barbara Raes and Melih Gençboyaci succeed Milo Rau as artistic directors of NTGent.
  • 'WIL' is a prestigious Belgian film based on the bestselling novel by Jeroen Olyslaegers. The film will premiere in cinema's in September 2023. A lot of alumni have worked on the project. 
  • The curators of Theater aan Zee asked recent graduates Sander Deckx, Leonie Maes and Maria Feenstra to reprise their graduation performance at the Ostend performing arts festival.
  • Nele Eeckhout, Siona Houthuys and Mirke Kist, the three pacesetters of AudioCollectief SCHIK received the Career Award at the Podcast Festival for their exceptional contribution to Flemish and Dutch podcasting history. The award was handed to them by alumna and Stubru face Michèle Cuvelier. On 11 November, they also released their new podcast 'De Erfenis'.
  • Eliza Stuyck (alumna acting 2021) and Lilith Pas (alumna acting 2023) have been selected in East Flanders for Eigen Kweek, a development program for the talent development of performing artists. They set up an all female collective called OTTESSA.
  • In Antwerp, the project of the trio Timon Kouloumpis (current master's student in acting), Helder Onkelinx and Ruben Pauwels (both alumni acting 2023) was selected for Eigen Kweek. They will perform the play "Enough Now About You" by Magne van den Berg.