During the 2025-2026 season, I SOLISTI will continue to focus on young talent, creation and tradition, adding a generous dash of participation. Connection is the keyword for our new concert season.
The youngest generation of wind instrument talents will be coached during several YoungStar Days, our annual Summer School, lessons (in groups or individually), workshops, chamber music and music theatre. They will also be invited to step out of their comfort zone.
Within I SOLISTI MakerSpace, young creators receive intensive guidance for three years and are challenged to engage in dialogue with our musicians and other artists/technicians from their own artistic discipline. Through thorough research and interdisciplinary projects they can discover, perpetuate and renew the wind instrument repertoire. We are, among other things, looking forward to the creation and premiere of MANA, a multidisciplinary performance by MakerSpace Artist Laura Daelemans.
Together with HIIIT (formerly Slagwerkgroep Den Haag) and various Flemish conservatories, we will present Luc Brewaeys’ legendary work Talisker in December 2025, on the occasion of the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of his death.
Together with Kopergietery, De Centrale and Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, we are working hard on the creation of Fabels, a musical theatre performance for children aged 8 and above about the power and importance of great stories from East and West, with new music by Osama Abdulrasol and Erik Desimpelaere.
Adem de Stad is a co-production by I SOLISTI and DE SINGEL in collaboration with Zuidgeluid, an organisation that has been committed to social inclusion and community building for many years, making singing and music accessible to everyone. Around a hundred children are immersed in the music of Frederik Neyrinck (creation) and Louis Andriessen (Workers Union). Storylines and lyrics are gathered from children in primary schools and brought together by Max Greyson. Illustrations for the various scenes are created by illustrator Shamisa Debroey. I SOLISTI and the I SOLISTI YoungStars perform the new score. Undoubtedly an engaging and unmissable experience.
Come and enjoy all this beauty and much more. Discover the talent of today and tomorrow!
The I SOLISTI team: Francis, Ann, Cindy, Leen and Floor
I SOLISTI Summer School
After a successful first edition in 2024, we are once again welcoming young, talented musicians this summer. Under the guidance of I SOLISTI mentors, they can fully enjoy themselves in the oldest concert hall in the country for two days.
Together with co-producer Muziekcentrum De Bijloke in Ghent, I SOLISTI is continuing the Summer School launched last year with another edition of the intensive two-day course for young talent (aged 10 to 20) playing wind instruments, percussion and double bass. We are delighted with the high level of interest. This year, we are expecting 52 participants from all corners of Flanders.
The young musicians can take instrument lessons from accomplished musicians and will have the opportunity to delve deeper into the various aspects of being a musician. Among other things, they will be introduced to breathing exercises and instrument maintenance, they will immerse themselves in their scores and they will learn about the impact of their posture on stage on their playing and on their audience. As the icing on the cake, the 52 participants will also be given two pieces to play together, under the expert guidance of Jan Smets.
The I SOLISTI Summer School youths can take part in an audition on Saturday 30 August 2025. Those who receive a positive evaluation after the audition and a short intake interview with their parents can join the YoungStars programme for the 2025-2026 season.
MENTORS
FLUTE
Lieve Goossens
OBOE
Balder Dendievel
Korneel Alsteens
CLARINET
Nele Delafonteyne
Emma Broché
BASSOON
Bert Helsen
SAXOPHONE
Nele Tiebout
HORN Anthony Devriendt
TRUMPET
Simon Van Hoecke
TROMBONE
Jan Smets
Bram Fournier
PERCUSSION
Sylvie Erauw
Mathijs Everts
DOUBLE BASS
Tom Devaere
Jan Buysschaert
PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT
Kristien Devolder
WORKSHOPS
STAGE PRESENCE
Simone Milsdochter
SCORE ANALYSIS
Dimitri Bracke
EXTENDED TECHNIQUES
Balder Dendievel
Emma Broché
Francis Pollet
Diechje Minne
Simon Van Hoecke
Bram Fournier
LOOP STATION
Drik Vanmanshoven
INSTRUMENT
MAINTENANCE
With thanks to LEMCA musical instruments
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Saturday 30 August 2025 15.00 PM (FREE ADMISSION) Muziekcentrum De Bijloke Kraakhuis
NEW GROUNDS
In addition to the annual music theatre performance for and with YoungStars, we also offer YoungStars the opportunity to perform chamber music during the season.
In NEW GROUNDS, the I SOLISTI YoungStars venture into new territory. They leave the confines of the classical repertoire and discover new sounds from jazz, Argentine tango and the modern sound world of new music from their own country in a versatile and colourful chamber music programme.
With some of their mentors as experienced guides, this promises to be a fascinating journey of discovery in the wake of Flanders’ most promising musical talents – entirely without risk, but with the danger of lasting enthusiasm.
PROGRAMME
Simon Van Hoecke
■ Ouverture, Knights and Allegro from Donkie DON QUICHOT Sjot
Bela Kovacs
■ Hommage à De Falla
Astor Piazzolla (arr. Carlo Willems & Geert Callaert)
■ Tango No. 1 for 2 percussionists
Alain Craens
■ Moods
Frederik Neyrinck
■ Selected parts of music theatre production Landru
The 2024-2025 I SOLISTI YoungStars group will present a new musical theatre performance with music by Simon Van Hoecke and text by Simone Milsdochter, based on the graphic novel Don Quichot by Flix.
Alphonse is a noble knight who sees it as his duty to protect the weak and pursue justice. Together with his servant and loyal companion Robin, he goes on adventures to fight injustice. They commit heroic deeds, end up in hilarity and have their hearts thoroughly stirred. Or is all of this just a dream, and is this where the power of imagination comes into play?
In the autumn of his life, Alphonse imagines the world as he would like it to be: magnanimous in courage and good at heart. In this way, he seeks shelter from its raw and unsavoury reality.
Dream dances with reality, fiction plays with fact and illusion fights against the real.
In our Donkie DON QUICHOT Sjot, an old man contemplates the world, a daughter watches her father and a little boy observes his grandfather.
A teetering concert adventure that moves between ALLEGRO CON BRIO and ADAGISSIMO.
ENSEMBLE I SOLISTI YoungStars conducted by
Simon Van Hoecke
ACTORS
Simone Milsdochter
Matthias Van de brul
OBOE
Hannah Debeuf
Phebe Deman
Thomas Vancayseele
CLARINET
Rani Van Wiele
Emiel Vrolix
BASSOON
Eabe Thieren
Rik Van Kelst
Jara Van Schaeybroeck
TRUMPET
Sebastiaan Aerts
Victor Decruyenaere
Jakob Degryse
Martijn Vandenbossche
TROMBONE
Matteo Silversmit
PERCUSSION
Rube Dons
Jonathan Vercauteren
DOUBLE BASS
Jaro Tassyns
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sunday 31 August 2025 15.00 PM (FREE ADMISSION) Muziekcentrum De Bijloke Tent Bijloke Wonderland
Timeless Dialogues
Young, up-and-coming talent under the wings of an experienced master: the success recipe of the I SOLISTI ACADEMY in an exciting programme.
Pianist Jan Michiels, a longtime core member of I SOLISTI, joins forces with two NextGeneration Artists, our talent development programme for advanced young artists. Alongside chamber music by Beethoven and Poulenc, they perform Wim Henderickx’s Droombeelden in an ode to the Flemish composer who died far too early in 2022 and worked intimately with I SOLISTI for many years. With compositions for the four musicians, Siebe Thijs, a student of Wim’s, enters into a dialogue with Lotte Dodion’s poem based on Droombeelden
A concert entirely devoted to artistic continuity and renewal between different generations.
In 1953, Cage opened the piano but decided not to touch a key. That same year, Beckett had four actors enter the stage to make them wait for something still to come. Both broke with the legacy of their respective art forms and made the void a protagonist for the first time.
In Nothing happens, twice, two actors and three musicians wonder why both seem to come to a standstill at the same time and what that tells us about our world. As young artists in a time with new pain, they look at the silence between words, the space between notes, the void and what is hiding there.
CONCEPT
Emile Souvagie
I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist
Ferre Vuye
Stan Martens
TEXT
Ferre Vuye
Stan Martens
PROGRAMME
Emile Daems
■ Nothing happens, twice (2024)
John Cage
■ In A Landscape (1948)
■ Solo with Obbligato Accompaniment of Two Voices in Canon, and Six Short Inventions (1933-1934)
■ Nocturne (1947)
■ Living Room Music (1940)
■ Clarinet Sonata (1933)
■ Dream (1948)
PERFORMERS
Emile Souvagie (clarinet)
Alexander Declercq (piano)
Tille Van Gastel (flute)
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sunday 26 October 2025 – 20.00 PM
Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam
Sunday 8 March 2026 – 11.00 AM
Concertstudio, Kortrijk
Ferre Vuye (actor)
Stan Martens (actor)
PRODUCTION
I SOLISTI ACADEMY
Talisker
Vibrant sounds of Luc Brewaeys
I SOLISTI & HIIIT, in collaboration with students from three Flemish conservatories, present a tribute to Luc Brewaeys, conducted by Filip Rathé. Live in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Amsterdam, Ghent, The Hague, and Brussels!
The many projects featuring music by Luc Brewaeys during the 2025-2026 season will be labelled Fasten Seat Belts! after the lively title of a dazzling composition by Luc that perfectly sums up the theme.
The Luc Brewaeys Foundation has succeeded in getting the major Flemish cultural centres, orchestras and various ensembles on board for a season full of music – symphonies, opera, ensemble pieces and location projects – by this important Belgian composer who died 10 years ago on 18 December 2015.
All information about the projects featuring Luc Brewaeys’ work by Flemish ensembles and orchestras during the coming season can be found on Luc Brewaeys’ revamped website: www.lucbrewaeys.com.
In Talisker, which was created in Antwerp Central Station on the occasion of Antwerp 93, it was the resonant architecture of the railway cathedral that inspired the composer.
Luc Brewaeys would have preferred to drop a metal dustbin from the roof ridge onto the ground and then marvel at the lingering echoes.
Instead, five soloists, a percussion ensemble and a large clarinet choir play a fascinating game with the reverberation in the concert venue (including clattering cymbals). This unfolds such a rich sound world that, as a listener, you are sometimes not entirely sure what you are hearing. The clarinets pick up the sound of the metal instruments from the percussion ensemble, and vice versa, making the echo broader and longer. Brewaeys also invented “sound phenomena”. As a spectralist, he colours his sounds with so-called multiphonics, clearly allowing the overtones of a sound to resonate. Atypical instruments such as a flute snake are no exception, nor are unusual playing techniques. Brewaeys’ musical imagination seems inexhaustible.
Perhaps the divine drink to which he refers in the title has something to do with it?
PRODUCTION
I SOLISTI & HIIIT
MUSICAL DIRECTION
Filip Rathé
ENSEMBLES
I SOLISTI & HIIIT
SOLOISTS
Joey Marijs (percussion)
Agata Kruszewska (percussion)
Tomonori Takeda (contrabass clarinet)
Anthony Devriendt (horn)
Benjamin Dieltjens (clarinet)
CLARINET CHOIR
Clarinet students from conservatories of Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels
Talisker is an I SOLISTI and HIIIT coproduction.
Realized with the support of the Tax Shelter measure of the Belgian Federal Government via Flanders Tax Shelter in collaboration with Perpodium.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Talisker is part of several programmes. Visit isolisti.be for more information.
Saturday 15 November 2025 – 17.00 PM
Grote Kerk, ’s Hertogenbosch November Music Festival
Thursday 4 December 2025 – 20.15 PM
Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, Amsterdam
Saturday 6 December 2025 – 20.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent Drums, Bells, Birds and Ghosts
Sunday 7 December 2025 – 20.15 PM
Amare, Den Haag
Saturday 21 March 2026 – 14.00 PM
Ravensteingalerij, Brussel
Klarafestival in collaboration with Bozar
Saturday 21 March 2026 – 17.00 PM
Ravensteingalerij, Brussel
Klarafestival in collaboration with Bozar
MANA
The last woman to be burned as a witch in Lier, Cathelyne van den Bulcke, inspired the young Belgian choreographer, dancer and visual artist
Laura Daelemans to create the solo dance performance MANA.
Thanks to Cathelyne’s courage in refusing to betray other women during her torture, the witch trials in Lier came to an end.
It may seem far removed from our lives today, but the theme of abuse of power by majority groups over minorities is still highly topical.
For MANA, Laura created three large illustrations based on Cathelyne’s life story. She performs her own choreography while the animated images glide over her body like moving tattoos. New music for bass clarinet and electronics provide a fitting live soundscape. The oppressive feeling evoked by the whole piece sketches Cathelyne’s emotional journey.
MakerSpace
Laura is one of the MakerSpace Artists at I SOLISTI. For three years, they are given the opportunity to create multidisciplinary projects based on their own artistic discipline, in collaboration with musicians who play wind instruments and other artists. They receive intensive production and artistic guidance and business support throughout this process.
After previous residencies at c o r s o, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Buda, DE SINGEL, and KCA, Laura will be entering a final residency phase at Het Oude Badhuis in Borgerhout before completing her production and premiering MANA at Schouwburg Noord in Merksem. MANA will also be performed at KMSKA Laat later this season.
MAKERSPACE
Laura Daelemans
Concept, regie, tekeningen, choreografie, uitvoering dans
Well-to-do single man (46 years) seeks charming lady to accompany him on a lavish dinner, an evening at the theatre or a trip to the countryside.
Henri-Désiré Landru appears to be a respectable gentleman, but appearances can be deceiving. This citizen, husband, and father of four has an extraordinary appeal to women. Over a period of four years (1915-1919), the charming Landru lures no fewer than 283 women, mainly widows who lost their husbands in the Great War. He promises them the world, but ultimately they disappear into his oven. Except for tall piles of clothes and some ashes, nothing remains of his victims. The only witness to these atrocities is Landru himself. During the trial, Landru emerges as a master seducer of the court, jury and public. The cunning murderer manages to refute every accusation in a clever way.
Jan Decleir masterfully slips into the skin of serial killer Landru for the very last time. The text of Het Banket and the music of Frederik Neyrinck bring the horrific history of this creepy entertainer to life. The wind quartet of I SOLISTI takes you on a journey through this incredible true story. Two sopranos from the Flemish Radio Choir oversee the whole and interpret, among other things, the voices of the murdered women.
CONCEPT
Het Banket
i.s.m. Francis Pollet
COMPOSITION
Frederik Neyrinck
ENSEMBLE
I SOLISTI
Vlaams Radiokoor
Tomonori Takeda (clarinet)
Francis Pollet (bassoon)
Simon Van Hoecke (trumpet)
Bram Fournier (trombone)
Jolien De Gendt (soprano)
Kelly Poukens (soprano)
ACTOR
Jan Decleir
TEXT & DIRECTION
Tristan Versteven
Brechtje Louwaard
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sunday 14 Dec 2025
20.15 PM
CC Leopoldsburg
Fabels (8+)
Creation by Kopergietery & I SOLISTI: Wonderous (music) stories
The Cricket-Who-Likes-To-Chill. The Snake of Longing who, yearning and dreaming, never embarks on her journey. The Disputurtle who falls in love with a Bird who lovingly contradicts him. And, of course, the white Scholar Bear whose non-stop philosophing sees him end up beached on a beach that is far too hot.
According to the dictionary, a fable is a short story that proclaims a commonly known truth by means of a striking example. But do those truths still exist in a world where we increasingly disagree with each other?
The dazzling musical performance Fabels puts this to the test. Players, musicians and audience embark on an exciting journey together: jumping through the forest, stirring up the desert, floating down the river, landing on the volcano, flying over an ice floe and stranding on the coast. Centuries-old stories are shuffled, pruned and pieced back together, resulting in a procession of wondrous encounters between equally wondrous creatures. Is that where the truth lies?
Composers Osama Abdulrasol and Erik Desimpelaere, together with Naomi van der Horst, Sophia Bauer, Ibe Rossel and Sarah Yu Zeebroek, create wonder about the power and importance of great stories. Within this ode to the classic animal fable, the past, present and future merge. An often humorous journey through time and space in which each story deserves its melancholic musicality or theatrical ferocity.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Maandag 22 December 2025
15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Tuesday 23 December 2025
15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Sunday 28 December 2025
15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Maandag 29 December 2025
15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Tuesday 30 December 2025
15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Sunday 15 March 2026
15.00 PM
Cultuurcentrum Bruges
School performances
Tuesday 3 February 2026
11.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Tuesday 3 February 2026
13.30 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Wednesday 4 February 2026
10.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Tuesday 10 March 2026
13.30 PM
De Grote Post, Oostende
Maandag 16 March 2026
10.00 AM
Stadsschouwburg Bruges
Maandag 16 March 2026
14.00 PM
Stadsschouwburg Bruges
A production by Kopergietery & KGbe, in coproduction with I SOLISTI, De Centrale and Muziekcentrum De Bijloke.
With the support of the Flemish Government, the City of Ghent and the Tax Shelter measure of the Belgian Federal Government through PARTNER Flanders tax shelter.
MUSIC
Osama Abdulrasol
Erik Desimpelaere
CREATION
Sophia Bauer
Ibe Rossel
Naomi van der Horst
Sarah Yu Zeebroek
TEXT
Ibe Rossel
ACTORS
Sophia Bauer
Naomi van der Horst
VISUALS & SCENOGRAPHY
Sarah Yu Zeebroek
FLUTE
Tille Van Gastel
TROMBONE
Bram Fournier
QANUN
Osama Abdelrasol
PERCUSSION
François Taillerfer
DRAMATURGY
Johan Van Acker
LIGHTING
Jeroen Doise
SOUND
Victor Hidalgo
TECHNICIANS
Jonas De Wulf
Koen Demeyere
Osama Abdulrasol
Erik Desimpelaere
August 2025
I SOLISTI Summer School - audition concert
30/08/2025 - 15.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
New Grounds
30/08/2025 - 19.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Donkie DON QUICHOT Sjot
31/08/2025 - 15.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
October 2025
Timeless Dialogues
22/10/2025 - 20.15 PM
CC Maasmechelen
Nothing happens, twice
26/10/2025 - 20.00 PM
Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam
November 2025
Talisker
15/11/2025 - 17.00 PM
November Music Festival, ‘s-Hertogenbosch
December 2025
Talisker
04/12/2025 - 20.15 PM
Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam
Talisker
06/12/2025 - 20.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Talisker
07/12/2025 - 20.15 PM
Amare, Den Haag
MANA
11/12/2025 - 20.15 PM
Schouwburg Noord, Merksem
Landru
14/12/2025 - 20.15 PM
CC Leopoldsburg
Fabels
22/12/2025 - 15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Fabels
23/12/2025 - 15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Fabels
28/12/2025 - 15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Fabels
29/12/2025 - 15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Fabels
30/12/2025 - 15.00 PM
De Centrale, Ghent
Consult our digital calendar with links to the performances at isolisti.be or by scanning the QR code.
Seizoenskalender I SOLISTI
2026
January 2026
MANA
08/01/2026 - 20.00 PM
KMSKA Laat, Antwerp
Dromen van Wim
11/01/2026 - 11.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
February 2026
Fabels School performance
03/02/2026 - 11.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Fabels School performance
03/02/2026 - 13.30 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Fabels School performance
04/02/2026 - 10.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Serenades for Winds
06/02/2026 - 20.00 PM
CCHA, Hasselt
Serenades for Winds
08/02/2026 - 15.00 PM
Concertgebouw Brugge
METAMORFOSEN
14/02/2026 - 20.00 PM
CC Het Spoor, Harelbeke
PINOKKIO Try-out
19/02/2026 - 16.00 PM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
March 2026
Nothing happens, twice
08/03/2026 - 11.00 AM
Concertstudio, Kortrijk Festival Kortrijk
Fabels School performance
10/03/2026 - 13.30 PM
CC De Grote Post, Oostende
Fabels
15/03/2026 - 15.00 PM
CC Bruges
PINOKKIO
15/03/2026 - 15.00 PM
De Kleine Stooringhe, Rumbeke
Fabels School performance
16/03/2026 - 10.00 AM
CC Bruges
Fabels School performance
16/03/2026 - 14.00 PM
CC Bruges
MakerSpace Milou Abel 20/03/2026 - 20.00 PM
Arttelex, Antwerp
Talisker
21/03/2026 - 14.00 PM
Ravensteingalerij, Brussels Klarafestival x Bozar
Talisker
21/03/2026 - 17.00 PM
Ravensteingalerij, Brussels Klarafestival x Bozar
April 2026
Adem de Stad
24/04/2026 - 19.00 PM
DE SINGEL, Antwerp
May 2026
Opmars van ‘t Schijn
23/05/2026 - 15.00 PM
DE Studio, Antwerp
Opmars van ‘t Schijn
23/05/2026 - 20.00 PM
GC ‘t Gasthuis, Wijnegem
Opmars van ‘t Schijn
24/05/2026 - 15.00 PM
De Klap, Deurne
Dromen van Wim
In the chamber music programme Dromen van Wim (Dreams/Dreaming of Wim), we pay tribute to the composer and close friend of I SOLISTI, Wim Henderickx, who passed away far too early.
Three of his masterpieces are interspersed with works by Olivier Messiaen and Claude Debussy, which also reveal influences from non-Western origins. The main focus is a dialogue between Henderickx’s hypnotic “Droombeelden” (Dream Images) and “Miniatures on Droombeelden” by Siebe Thijs and Lotte Dodion.
Lotte Dodion’s poems, recited by herself, complete the enchantment of this slumbering soundscape.
PROGRAMME
Wim Henderickx
■ Trio for woodwinds
■ Ronddolen for bassoon
■ Maya for clarinet
■ Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut from Images boek 2
■ Droombeelden
Siebe Thijs/Lotte Dodion
■ Miniatures on Droombeelden
Olivier Messiaen
■ Six petites esquisses d’oiseaux
PERFORMERS
Balder Dendievel (oboe)
Benjamin Dieltjens (clarinet)
Jappe Dendievel (bassoon)
Jan Michiels (piano)
Lotte Dodion (reciter)
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Sunday 11 January 2026
11.00 AM
Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, Ghent
Serenades for Winds
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Antonín Dvořák
Included among the many compositions Mozart produced in the early 1780s, was his most intriguing wind serenade. The Serenade in B flat major, KV 361 (1781-1782), written for two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, four horns, two bassoons and supported by a double bass, is regarded as the most beautiful contribution to eighteenth-century “harmonic music”. This composition owes its nickname, Gran Partita, to a disputable addition to the autograph. Authentic or not, this composition is certainly “grand”. Everything in this serenade carries ambitious promises. There is the grand instrumentation, which taps into a wealth of timbres with three pairs of soprano instruments and two pairs of horns. Equally impressive is the monumental seven-part form, including a slow introduction, two minuets and two wonderfully dreamy slow movements. Mozart concludes with a grandiose finale in rondo form, in which the instruments snapping at each other already foreshadow the operatic theatrical inventiveness with which Mozart would score not much later.
Dvořák’s most beautiful and cheerful pieces are undoubtedly his two serenades, one for strings and one for wind instruments. He wrote them both in one go: the string serenade in twelve days in May 1875 and the wind serenade three years later, in January 1878, also in just under two weeks. We are involuntarily reminded of the graceful eighteenthcentury serenades: in five movements, as in the serenade for strings, or, in the serenade for wind instruments, the same basic arrangement as in Mozart’s Gran Partita. In the wind serenade, he expands the arsenal with a double bassoon, a third horn and a solid string bass in cello and double bass.
PROGRAMME
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
■ Gran Partita (1781-1782)
Antonín Dvořák
■ Serenade in d minor, op. 44 (1878)
ENSEMBLE
I SOLISTI
OBOE
Karel Schoofs
Korneel Alsteens
CLARINET
Benjamin Dieltjens
n.n.
BASSET HORN
Tomonori Takeda
Toon Quanten
BASSOON
Jappe Dendievel
Bert Helsen
DOUBLE BASSOON
Jasper Charlet
HORN
Anthony Devriendt
Diechje Minne
Quinten De Gelaen
Koen Cools
CELLO
Jan Sciffer
DOUBLE BASS
Jan Buysschaert
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Friday 6 February 2026
20.00 PM
CCHA Hasselt
Sunday 8 February 2026
15.00 PM
Concertgebouw Brugge
METAMORFOSEN
In these Metamorphoses, performance, music, images from sand and a narrative voice alchemise themselves in equal measure into a new and unique whole. For a short while, you are carried off into a mythical world.
I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist Balder Dendievel explores the core philosophical idea of Ovid’s Metamorphoses together with writer Michèle Delagrange. Ovid wrote texts full of humour, ambiguity and musicality that have inspired many artists, including composer Benjamin Britten. With masterful character sketches in his Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, Britten created his own musical story of change.
These solos are interspersed with short text fragments from Ovid, rewritten by Michèle Delagrange and brought to life by Simone Milsdochter, as well as new creations by five young composers for I SOLISTI. Music and text are supported by live sand drawings by Immanuel Boie, lifting the theme of change - and the futility of resisting it - into a new dimension. Together, they create a musical-literary whole around a theme that transcends many centuries.
‘The Adventures of PINOCCHIO’ is an Italian fairy tale written in a different time and world. But besides the amusing adventures of the puppet, we find even more fascinating things in it for today. It is a story about growing up. A wooden puppet wants to become a “real boy”.
PINOKKIO has a little cricket as his advisor. At the beginning of the story, he swings a hammer at the cricket who lectures him, but he follows him throughout the story. Did the cricket dodge the hammer? Or is it his conscience that follows him? Both young and old are touched by this story about a puppet who has to learn to think for himself in order to no longer be a marionette. He has to take control himself. He is not a fairy-tale character who is only good or bad. He is not a hero. He makes mistakes and grows as a result. When he becomes a real boy, he will also be able to grow literally and will no longer be stuck in his childish state.
The story of PINOKKIO also tells that of the YoungStars, who themselves, as children and young people, find themselves in an adult world. They grow up and learn more and more during their time with I SOLISTI. They not only grow into adult musicians, but also into adult people. They gradually become “real boys” and “real girls”, making them the ideal musicians to interpret this story.
The new music was composed by our Artist in Residence Frederik Neyrinck and the lyrics were adapted by former MakerSpace Artist Michèle Delagrange. The YoungStars ensemble is conducted by Jan Smets. This performance is a new adaptation of the composition, tailored to the new generation of YoungStars.
I SOLISTI & Zuidgeluid in collaboration with I SOLISTI YoungStars Frederik Neyrinck, Max Greyson, Shamisa Debroey
A musical journey with children from three Antwerp schools through the heart of the city, without ever leaving the concert hall of DE SINGEL.
Rushing and relaxing, clashing and softening.
Adem de Stad takes you on a musical walk through the beating heart of the city. From playful encounters to absurd scenes - here, the city is sung about and played. With brand new music by composer Frederik Neyrinck, excerpts from Louis Andriessen’s Workers Union and lyrics by Max Greyson, I SOLISTI, Zuidgeluid (with a children’s choir featuring young people from Antwerp schools), I SOLISTI YoungStars, Shamisa Debroey (live drawings) and Max Greyson (spoken word) bring the city to life.
Inspired by conversations with the participating children, a performance emerges that is as polyphonic as the city itself.
Adem de Stad will be a compelling experience for young and old (8+), where sounds, words and images merge into a vibrant city portrait. The children will work towards this performance throughout the school year in collaboration with the people of Zuidgeluid.
PROGRAMME
Frederik Neyrinck
■ Adem de Stad (composition commissioned by I SOLISTI and DE SINGEL)
Louis Andriessen
■ Workers Union
ENSEMBLE
Zuidgeluid
About 100 children from the third grade of primary school at the Antwerp schools Alberreke, De Piramide, and Het Kompas
I SOLISTI
Kasper Baele (oboe)
Tomonori Takeda (clarinet)
Francis Pollet (bassoon)
Simon Van Hoecke (trumpet)
Niels Lukkesen (bass tuba)
Birgit Eecloo (percussion)
I SOLISTI YoungStars lichting 2025-2026
MUSICAL DIRECITON
Zuidgeluid led by Tom Johnson
I SOLISTI & I SOLISTI YoungStars led by Francis Pollet
SPOKEN WORD
Max Greyson
VISUALS
Shamisa Debroey
CONCEPT / DIRECTION / SCENOGRAPHY
Francis Pollet in collaboration with Max Greyson and Shamisa Debroey
Adem de Stad is a coproduction by I SOLISTI en DE SINGEL in collaboration with Zuidgeluid
Every Antwerp resident is familiar with the Scheldt, but equally enchanting is the Schijn, Antwerp’s second largest river. Rising diffusely in a meadow near the Mintjens furniture factory in Malle, it meanders through the landscape of Park Groot Schijn and the Rivierenhof, among other places, before being pumped up to become fish-friendly.
Lies Van Gasse and regional composer Peter Pazmany have transformed their fascination into sung poetry. On three walks with a choir and soloists Jan Van Elsacker, Jef De Haes and Robby Cleiren, walkers are overwhelmed by words and music at every turn.
The project culminates in a concert performance of the sung poem, in collaboration with I SOLISTI YoungStars. Not only Peter Pazmany’s poetic music, but also ‘t Schijn itself flows into the concert hall.
In collaboration with Vonk & Zonen.
MUSIC
Peter Pazmany
TEXT
Lies Van Gasse
ENSEMBLE
I SOLISTI YoungStars 2025-2026 led by Peter Pazmany
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Saturday 23 May 2026
15.00 PM
De Studio, Antwerpen
Saturday 23 May 2026
20.00 PM
GC ‘t Gasthuis, Wijnegem
Sunday 24 May 2026
15.00 PM
De Klap, Deurne
I SOLISTI
Innovative, versatile, surprising. I SOLISTI gives classical music a creative twist. What began more than 30 years ago as a traditional wind octet grew under the leadership of artistic director and founding father Francis Pollet into an international production house. Conceptual and dramaturgical thinking goes hand in hand with strong performances by outstanding musicians. Giving opportunities to young talented artists, adventurous and challenging projects, as well as creations and musical theatre are a constant feature of the ensemble’s work.
I SOLISTI brings together top musicians who have each built up a solid reputation as soloists, orchestral or chamber musicians. A core group of 25 musicians is expanded or reduced depending on the project. Reflecting on 250 years of wind instrument [r]evolution, we create a varied and colourful spectrum of original projects, ranging from intimate chamber music, impressive masterpieces, creations and surprising opera and musical theatre for young and old to supporting creators and young talent with the I SOLISTI ACADEMY and publishing fascinating recordings. The ensemble, in residence at the Antwerp Conservatory and campus resident of DE SINGEL, occupies a unique place within the Belgian music landscape and is structurally subsidised by the Flemish Government.
ISOLISTI.BE
Frederik Neyrinck
Composer and Artist in Residence FREDERIKNEYRINCK.BE
Composer Frederik Neyrinck (born 1985) studied in Brussels, Stuttgart and Graz with Piet Kuijken (piano), Jan Van Landeghem, Marco Stroppa and Clemens Gadenstätter (composition).
As a composer, he has collaborated with ensembles and orchestras in Belgium and abroad. He also frequently arranges and transcribes existing repertoire. His works have been recorded by I SOLISTI, Revue Blanche and SPECTRA, among others.
He has received awards such as the Austrian State Scholarship for Composition (2018) and the Förderpreis der Stadt Wien (2020).
During the 2017-2018 season, he was composerin-residence at Concertgebouw Brugge.
From 2020 to 2028, he is Artist in Residence at I SOLISTI, which has resulted in Landru (music theatre, 2020), Wild (music theatre, 2021), De oude woorden van een tijd die komen gaat (2021), PINOKKIO (children’s music theatre, 2023) and In What We Trust (concert in dialogue with Bruckner, 2024).
Frederik is also active in the world of (children’s) musical theatre and opera. He is in residence at LOD musical theatre and wrote i c o n (chamber opera, 2018), Zolang hij niet zichzelve kent (musical theatre, 2018) and Rhapsody (musical theatre, 2022) for them.
Other projects in this context include Der Bär der nicht da war (Oldenburg State Theatre, children’s musical theatre, 2017), Homo Deus Frankenstein (Kopergietery, makemake produktionen, I SOLISTI, children’s musical theatre, 2019) and Nenia (Revue Blanche, LOD, Katharina Smets, 2025).
In April 2023, Kruistocht (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Kopergietery) premiered, a family opera with some 50 children on stage, a symphony orchestra and the collaboration of Jaouad Alloul, Marjan De Schutter and the Compact Disk Dummies, among others.
Lise Bruyneel
Artist in Residence from 1 January 2026 onwards
Lise Bruyneel works in dialogue between visual art and music. She studied cello (CRMB Brussels, UdK Berlin) and art history (ULB Brussels, Roma III Rome). She first worked as a cellist, then as an opera dramaturge and visual dramaturge in the opera world (Staatsoper Berlin, Nationale Opera Amsterdam, and several years at the Opéra de Paris with Gerard Mortier).
In 2009, she founded la fabrique des regards, with the idea of reflecting on sounds, movements and images in different ways and for different institutions, as a visual dramaturge and graphic designer (Opéra de Paris, Concertgebouw Brugge, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Bozar, Opéra du Rhin, Festival 20-21 Leuven, Silbersee Amsterdam, Ruhrtriennale).
She has also created and organised unconventional visual art projects, often out on the streets (EXI(S)T, échappées belles in Brussels, Dance! in Brussels, Biennale du Condroz, Dans tes brumes at Les Filles du Calvaire in Paris).
Since 2013, Lise has been experimenting as a classical VJ with new paths between visual arts and music, mixing live videos during classical concerts. Her personal style combines different types of images that are projected onto materials with a soul, such as gauze cloths, curtains or metallic foils, but also onto walls and floors. The result is not a narrative film but a visual accompaniment to the music, a musical interpretation in images.
Projects around Babylon with Cindy Castillo (À contre-courants, Festival Musiq’3, Flagey, 2014), time perception with the Nederlands Kamerkoor (The Time stands still, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t Ij, Vredenburg, Schouwburg Groningen, Festival Wonderfeel etc., 2014), the last words of Jesus and Socrates in music with Jan Michiels (Laatste woorden, Schouwburg Leuven, Festival 20-21, 2019), a transgender opera by Renske Vrolijk created by the Nederlands Kamerkoor, in collaboration with Smith (#UNCUT, Netherlands, 2022), an augmented piano recital remembering Proust with Jan Michiels (ISOLT, Singel, Concertgebouw, Festival van Vlaanderen Gent 2022),the theatre play Ces enfants-là (Brussels, Théâtre national, 2023) Schoenberg’s vision on Pelleas und Melisande (Leuven with Het collectief, 2023, Klarafestival with the Brussels Philharmonic 2024).
Ongoing tour with an interpretation of Kurtag’s Kafka-Fragmente with drawings of Kafka (Leuven, 2022, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht and Ghent 2024). Nenia with Katharina Smets and Revue Blanche (Klarafestival, 2025), Between two lights with Nederlands Kamerkoor (Belgium and the Netherlands, 2025), C#2 extended for Le festivals de Wallonie (2025), Things lived and dreamt surrounding music by Janáček and Suk with pianist Severin von Eckardstein (creation in the fall of 2025).
I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist
NextGeneration Artist is an I SOLISTI ACADEMY programme for promising soloists who are at the beginning of their professional careers. They receive careful guidance in developing their careers and are given opportunities to participate in the ensemble’s projects.
SEASON 2025 - 2026
BASSOON
Jappe Dendievel (°2004)
Jappe started playing the violin at the age of four and soon discovered other instruments. At the age of eleven, he definitively chose the bassoon, under the guidance of Francis Pollet. He has won the Prix Dominique and the Prinses Christina Concours, among others. As a soloist and orchestral musician, he has performed with renowned orchestras and conductors throughout Europe. He has taken masterclasses with Sergio Azzolini & Gustavo Núñez, among others, and has been an I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist since 2021. Jappe studies bassoon in Munich with Dag Jensen and baroque bassoon with Katrin Lazar. His playing can regularly be heard on international stages and radio stations such as NPO-4.
CLARINET
Emile Souvagie (°1999)
Emile has been principal clarinettist with the Brussels Philharmonic since 2024, having previously worked with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, the Verbier Festival Orchestra and as an academician with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He studied clarinet and early music at the Brussels Conservatory with Benjamin Dieltjens, in Stockholm and Cologne, and in 2023 became the first non-Commonwealth musician to win the Gold Medal Prize at the Royal Overseas League Competition in Wigmore Hall. Souvagie has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras, plays on modern and historical instruments, and was co-founder of the award-winning Firgun Ensemble. He is active in various chamber music formations, a guest at international festivals, and was named one of “The Twenties” by Klara.
As an I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist, he collaborated with ACTORS Stan Martens and Ferre Vuye to create Nothing happens, twice (p. 7), a production based on the music and ideas of John Cage and Samuel Beckett.
PERCUSSION
Mathijs Everts (°2002)
Mathijs started playing the drums at the age of six and took percussion lessons in Gellik. He played with Brass Band “De Grensbewoners” from 2014 to 2019 and was admitted to the Young Conservatory of Antwerp in 2017. He graduated from the Lemmens Institute in 2020 and continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. There, he obtained his master’s degree in June 2025, including the project Drummer Boy in collaboration with I SOLISTI and Simone Milsdochter. Mathijs became a YoungStar in 2021 and has been a NextGeneration Artist since 2023. In 2024, he became first soloist percussion with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège.
TUBA
Niels Lukkesen (°2004)
Niels Lukkesen started playing the trumpet at the age of eight and later switched to the tuba. He quickly achieved success in national and international competitions, including the Prinses Christina Concours. In 2021, he became an I SOLISTI YoungStar.
Niels studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Perry Hoogendijk and completed his training at the Hochschule der Künste Bern with Rex Martin. Niels has performed with various orchestras at home and abroad and actively explores the solo and chamber music possibilities of the tuba. From September 2025, he will be I SOLISTI NextGeneration Artist.
TRUMPET
Simon Binon (°2004)
Simon began playing the cornet at a young age with his father and won his first solo competition at the age of six. He later won several prizes at home and abroad and studied at the Academy of Tienen. From the age of 14 to 18, he was I SOLISTI YoungStar and played in various youth orchestras. In 2022, he won the audience award at Young Belgian Talent.
After two years of lessons in Antwerp with Simon Van Hoecke, Simon is now studying with an Erasmus scholarship with Professor Reinhold Friedrich and his assistant Markus Klein at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. Next year, he will begin his master’s degree there after participating in the ARD competition in Munich.
I SOLISTI MakerSpace
MakerSpace focuses on talented and resourceful creators. Under the wing of I SOLISTI, they seek their own artistic voice. During this development process, the artist’s creativity is challenged and experimentation and innovation in wind music are encouraged. With the knowledge and experience gained, the young artist can learn through trial and error.
MakerSpace offers many opportunities for development, not only artistically, but also commercially and organisationally, depending on the needs and personal emphases that the artist wishes to place.
Laura Daelemans (° 1999)
Laura Daelemans is a dancer, choreographer, and visual artist.
She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem, the Netherlands, and immediately joined I SOLISTI as a MakerSpace Artist.
Laura has choreographed for various international institutions, including Teatro Municipal do Porto, Toneelgroep Maastricht, SALLY Dance Company, Seminar Hakibbutzim, and the Mosa Ballet School.
She regularly collaborates with Frederik Daelemans (Tamino, Beirut), who often composes the music for her new creations. Her work Tales to Disturb toured the Netherlands with ten performances as part of vier x vier, under the auspices of Theater aan de Rijn, and was selected for various international festivals and competitions, including Teatri Riflessi, Danzad Danzad Malditos, Roots Festival, Hoogte 80, Jeju International Dance Festival in Jeju Island and Stray Birds Dance Platform in Taipei. At the latter, Tales to Disturb was awarded the South Korean International Performing Arts Project Award.
Laura is currently working on bringing together her visual and choreographic work. This has resulted in MANA (p. 10), a new creation supported by I SOLISTI, Fonds Nieuwe Makers, Schouwburg Noord, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, DE SINGEL, BUDA Kunstencentrum, Het Oude Badhuis, c o r s o and the KMSKA.
Jasper Charlet (° 1997)
Jasper is a composer, (contra)bassoonist and arranger. At the age of 16, he began his higher studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where he studied with Francis Pollet, Filip Neyens, Wim Henderickx, Alain Craens and Luc Van Hove. Jasper plays (contra)bassoon with, among others, the orchestra of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, is conductor of the Hove wind orchestra and teaches at Kunsthumanoria!, Academie HSN and the Academie van Ekeren.
Projects for I SOLISTI
YearIn collaboration with Music for ‘Mars om de macht (te verspelen)’2019Jan Decleir Heyra, kameropera 2021Martijn Dendievel, Liesbeth Devos Dag Stad 2022Johnny MUS, Kato Vanackere
Together with poet and performer Lotte Dodion, Jasper is currently developing a new musical theatre production with the working title ANTIGOON.
Milou Abel (° 1990)
Milou is an artist, fragrance maker and counsellor at Albe vzw, an organisation that focuses on people with mental health issues. Her experiences in healthcare, which fall outside the language and pace of society, and her artistic practice are inextricably linked.
She creates installations by combining photography, objects and perfumes. Milou will explore the combination of
scent art with sound/music, among other things. Together with Frederik Neyrinck and former I SOLISTI MakerSpace Artist Toon Quanten, she is working on a project inspired by George William Septimus Piesse’s book “The Art of Perfumery” (1862). A second theme around which an artwork and performance will be created is breath. This will bring together playing instruments, smelling scents and the link with work in healthcare.
On Friday 20 March 2026, Milou will open an exhibition at Arttelex Antwerp, where she will present the first output of her I SOLISTI journey.
I SOLISTI YoungStars
I SOLISTI YoungStars are promising young musicians between the ages of 10 and 20. Together with the young people and their environment, we map out a tailormade programme that requires a high degree of motivation and commitment. The YoungStars receive superior artistic training and concert opportunities. They are guided both individually and in groups by ensemble members of I SOLISTI who act as mentors.
SEASON 2025 - 2026
Following the I SOLISTI Summer School (p. 3) at De Bijloke in Ghent at the end of August and the final performance of Donkie DON QUICHOT Sjot (p. 5) at Bijloke Wonderland with the YoungStars class of 2024-2025, the new YoungStars class of 2025-2026 will begin their journey in September 2025 (following selection during an audition at the end of the Summer School).
During their year-long programme, the YoungStars can look forward to many exciting challenges.
In addition to individual lessons from professional soloists, the YoungStars can participate in various programmes and projects such as:
■ PINOKKIO (p. 21), a music theatre production tailored to the new class.
■ Adem de Stad (p. 22), a collaboration between I SOLISTI and Zuidgeluid with new music by Frederik Neyrinck and texts by Max Greyson.
■ Opmars van ‘t Schijn (p. 24), a project by poet and illustrator Lies Van Gasse and regional composer Peter Pazmany in collaboration with tenor Jan Van Elsacker, accordionist Jef De Haes and actor Robby Cleiren.
They can attend chamber music workshops and will have the opportunity to perform a chamber music programme during Bijloke Wonderland.