The Royal Conservatory of Ghent (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: Koninklijk Conservatorium Gent) is a royally chartered musical institution. It is now a part of the University College Ghent.

History

The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered musical institution, founded in 1835 under

Leopold I of Belgium * nl, Leopold Joris Christiaan Frederik * en, Leopold George Christian Frederick , image = NICAISE Leopold ANV.jpg , caption = Portrait by Nicaise de Keyser, 1856 , reign = 21 July 1831 – , predecessor = Erasme Lou ...

. The conservatory's founding director was Martin-Joseph Mengal. Other directors have included well known Belgian composers such as Adolphe Samuel and Émile Mathieu. The current dean is Filip Rathé. It is one of four conservatories in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and eight in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. In addition to classical instrumental and vocal studies, it offers degrees in jazz, pop, music production, composition and instrument building. The Royal Conservatory offers Bachelor's and Master's degrees (including an English Master's degree in music), and an Advanced Master of Contemporary Music. The school also offers post-graduate degrees in music as well as a European Postgraduate in Arts in Sound. The school traditionally attaches great importance to the practice of chamber music. Since 2006, the school has mounted an annual opera production. The school has two main performance venues, the Miry Concert Hall and Club Telex. In 1995, the Royal Conservatory was one of sixteen Belgian institutions merged into the University College Ghent. It provides training for about 480 students, with master's programs for drama and for music. Since 2011, together with the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) The Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent ( nl, Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Gent, KASK) is an art school that is one of the oldest art schools in Belgium. It is now part of the Hogeschool Gent. History The Academy was founded in 174 ...

it forms part of the ''School of Arts'' of the University College Ghent. Notable students and faculty at the conservatory have included

François-Auguste Gevaert François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 in Huysse, near Oudenaarde – 24 December 1908 in Brussels) was a Belgian musicologist and composer.N. Slonimsky, Ed., ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, NY Li ...

, who studied directly under Mengal in 1841, Paul-Henri-Joseph Lebrun, who studied here and became a professor, and Edouard Potjes, who served as professor of piano for 22 years.

Notable alumni

* Julien Paul Blitz *

Dirk Brossé Dirk, Knight BrosséEtat présent de la noblesse belge 2015, p. 20 (born 18 February 1960, Ghent) is a Belgian conductor and composer. He has composed over 200 works, including concerti, oratorios, lieder, chamber music and symphonic works. B ...

Lucien Goethals Lucien Goethals (26 June 1931 – 12 December 2006) was a Belgian composer. Life Lucien Goethals was born in Ghent, but spent his formative years in Argentina, where he studied at the Dima Conservatory of Buenos Aires. When he returned to ...

Walter Hus Walter Hus (born 2 July 1959) is a Belgian composer and musician. He studied at the music conservatories in Ghent and Brussels. In 1984, he graduated with excellence (''Diplôme supérieur'') for piano with Prof. Dr. Robert Steyaert and soon b ...

* Karel Miry *

Karel Paukert Karel Paukert (pronounced Karl Poukert) (January 1, 1935 in Skuteč in the Czech Republic) is a Czech-American organist, choir director and educator. He graduated from the Prague Conservatory, and the Ghent Conservatory, Belgium. He studied un ...

Annelies Van Parys Annelies Van Parys (born 5 June 1975) is a Belgian classical composer of chamber music, symphonic music, music for theatre productions and opera. Life Born in Bruges, Van Parys studied at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent, piano with Johan Duijck ...

* Jane Vignery

Directors

* Martin-Joseph Mengal 1835-1851 * Jean Andries 1798-1872 * Adolphe Samuel 1871-1898 * Emile Mathieu 1898-1924 *

Martin Lunssens Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

1924-1936 * Jules-Toussaint de Sutter 1936-1954 *

Léon Torck Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

1954-1968 *

Gabriël Verschraegen Gabriël is the Dutch spelling of Gabriel. People with this name include: * Gabriël van België (born 2003), Belgian prince *Gabriël Grupello Gabriël Grupello (also Gabriël de Grupello or Gabriël Reppeli; 22 May 1644 – 20 June 1730) was ...

1968-1981 * Johan Huys 1981-1997 * Jan Rispens 1997-2009 * Maarten Weyler 2009-2011

Assistant Directors

* Karel Miry 1871-1889

Supervisors

* Victor Van den Hecke de Lembeke 1855-1870 * Gustave Louis Marie De Burbure De Wesembeek 1870-1871

Deans of the School of Arts, University College Ghent

* Wim de Temmerman 2011-2019 * Lars Kwakkenbos 2019-2020 * Filip Rathé 2021-

References

External links

KASK & Conservatory
{{authority control Education in Ghent Drama schools in Belgium Music schools in Belgium Educational institutions established in 1835 Culture of Ghent Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage 1835 establishments in Belgium