Alumnus Alexander Declercq on the programme of Festival Ghent

HORIZON - The Festival's Young Talent

Flanders Festival Ghent is all about celebrated stars sharing the stage with up-and-coming talent. Alexander Declercq, brand new alumnus of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, is one of the chosen eight.

Sadly the coronavirus pandemic has shattered the dreams of many young musicians. They have missed the start of their careers and all this young talent is in danger of slipping through our fingers. Flanders Festival Ghent wanted to do something about this, so they launched a heartfelt appeal: anyone purchasing a ticket for one of their concerts had the option of making an additional donation to support young talent. This yielded incredibly good result, which they are currently translating into a new project entitled HORIZON.

In collaboration with the various Belgian conservatoires, HORIZON gives a major boost to eight recent Belgian music graduates. They offer them a professional springboard in the form of a promotional film, a portfolio and an online concert which will be broadcast via the Sound of Ghent streaming platform. Afterwards, each of these online concerts will also get a permanent place in Evil Penguin TV’s online catalogue.

As the cherry on the cake, you can also see the talented HORIZON-musicians perform live during Flanders Festival Ghent 2021 on 8 and 9 September at the Handelsbeurs!

Alexander Declercq | alumnus KCB

Alexander Declercq (1998) started his piano education with Ann Roelens at the Stedelijk Conservatorium van Brugge and only two years later he also started his clarinet education with Filip Demeyer (later Vlad Weverbergh and Geert Baeckelandt). After graduating in Bruges, he continued his studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel with one of our piano teachers: Jan Michiels.

At the end of the academic year 2019-2020, Alexander received two diplomas; his master's degree for piano and his bachelor's degree for clarinet by our teacher Benjamin Dieltjens.

Alexander likes to concentrate on the solo repertoire, but he is equally fond of chamber and orchestral music, which is why he has already given concerts at home and abroad (Hungary, France, California...). Alexander is currently completing his studies in Cologne with Sheila Arnold.

Alexander is one of the five members of Young Musicians Bruges. A collective that brings together five young talented musicians from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel to share their conviction of the importance of music with a wide audience.