I was born in 1982 in a house filled with music and photography. I got my first drumkit at the age of 5 and this was the start of a long, musical journey.
In 2005, after my studies at the Luka-Arts school in Leuven, I graduated with a master’s degree at the Royal Conservatorium Antwerp under the tutelage of Koen Wilmaers and Carlo Willems. In that year, I made my dream come true and joined the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra (ASO) as Principal Percussionist and Second Timpanist and in 2010 I became Principal Timpanist in this orchestra.
For the last 15 years in the ASO, I have had the honour to play with distinguished conductors, such as Jaap van Zweden, Edo de Waard, Lahav Shani, Elim Chann, and Phillippe Herreweghe.
Since 2013, I have been invited personally by Phillippe Herreweghe to play with the Collegium Vocale Ghent and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées.
As well as my love for the romantic and modern repertoire, I have cultivated an interest for historical performance practice. Collecting and restoring old timpani and drums has become a passion of mine.
In 2015, I had the privilege to play and record “Groove” with my colleagues at the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. A percussion concerto by Wim Henderickx that pushes the percussionist to the limit. The recording was honoured with a positive Critic’s Choice review in Gramophone Magazine.
I am though not principally only a classical Timpanist! Performing the drums and percussion in different styles of music, ranging from the early middle ages, classical music to funk, pop and hiphop is what I love to do. For me it is important to feel and understand the many different styles of music.
In addition to my other orchestral duties, I share my passion by teaching music at De!Kunsthumaniora in Antwerp and occasionally at the Royal Conservatorium of Antwerp. I also give masterclasses at the academy of the ASO.
I live in Antwerp together with my wife Kaat, and family Tuur en Lou. We try to live a versatile life. We like going to concerts, restaurants and musea but we also enjoy walks in nature with our dog and discovering the world together.
Playing and performing with the different orchestras, ensembles, musicians, dancers and actors in Belgium and abroad is more than a passion: it is a dream come true; a fulfilling musical journey for which I'm very grateful.
You can check some of these projects under the tab 'my projects/media'.