Education

Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels (KCB Choir)

Based on its rich international tradition, the Royal Conservatory Brussels (KCB) trains talented students to become excellent musicians with an inquisitive attitude, who, through their openness and competence, offer artistic reflection from and for the society. The KCB wants to make its own contribution to bigger well-being by spreading beauty and art. Music is extremely suitable for this because it addresses directly and integrates the human cognitive and emotional dimensions. Implanted in the heart of cultural Brussels, the Conservatory is intensely linked to the social and cultural fabric of the capital: we mention collaborations with manifestations and institutions such as the Queen Elisabeth Competition, La Monnaie, the Festival of Flanders, the KunstenfestivaldesArts, Ars Musica, the Instrument museum, the Goethe Institute, Flagey and BOZAR.

The KCB pays attention to artistic group participation. The Choir course is an inseparable part of the student’s curriculum. Since the restart of the Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels in October 2013, with David De Geest as conductor, the Conservatory has been trying to further expand this path. A first performance of the new SATB formation took place in December 2014 when the KCB Choir performed live the original soundtrack of the film ‘Gladiator’ at Brussels Expo. In March 2015, the KCB Choir performed Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ in collaboration with students from the vocal and instrumental departments from KCB and with the Choir of the Kunsthumaniora Brussels. Concerts were given in the Concert Hall of the KCB and Aula Q of the VUB.

In 2016, attention was given to romantic choral repertoire by programming Franz Schubert’s ‘Mirjam’s Siegesgesang’ and Johannes Brahms’ ‘Liebeslieder Walzer’, performed at BOZAR in a re-edited version by David for the KCB Choir, soloist quartet and 4-hand piano. In March 2017, the KCB Choir performed works by a.o. Tomaso Albinoni, Samuel Barber, Carl Orff, Antonín Dvořák, Bob Chilcott and Hans Zimmer. In December 2017, the KCB Choir performed successful Christmas concerts in cooperation with the brass quintet ‘In Corde Musicae’ in a.o. Saint Peter’s Church Ghent. In March 2018, the KCB Choir sang compositions by Ola Gjeilo, Ēriks Ešenvalds, John Barry and Andrew Lloyd Webber. At the end of 2018, the KCB Choir collaborated with the Symphonic Orchestra of the KCB and the Choir of the Erasmushogeschool Brussels for the performance of Philippe Lamouris’ opera ‘Leedberg’ conducted by David De Geest and directed by Hildegard De Vuyst. In the same academic year, Antonin Dvořák’s Mass in D major was subsequently performed in cooperation with the KCB Wind Ensemble (March 2019).

The KCB Choir performs the original soundtrack from the film ‘Gladiator’ (2000)
live to projection at Brussels Expo, Palais 12, December 2014

The KCB Choir sings compositions by Ola Gjeilo
in the KCB Concert Hall, March 2018

Past projects of the KCB Choir

Late and neo romanticism for choir and organ, March 2020
Church of Our Lady of Grace ‘Chant d’Oiseau’ Woluwe-Saint-Pierre
Choir and Organ Concert with English and Flemish choral music by a.o. Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten, August De Boeck and Jules Van Nuffel
Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David with the cooperation of Edward De Geest, Nicolas De Troyer and Roel Peeters
(Concert cancelled last minute due to Covid-19)

Dvořák’s Mass in D major, March 2019
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels
Performance of Antonin Dvořák’s Mass in D major
Choir and Wind Ensemble of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David in cooperation with Emma Posman, Tina Drole, Wanting Li and Xavier Devillers

Community Opera ‘Leedberg’, December 2018
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels
Organization: Erasmushogeschool Brussels on the occasion of the international Urban Challenge week
Performance of Philippe Lamouris’ Community Opera ‘Leedberg’ directed by Hildegard De Vuyst
EhB Choir and Choir & Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David with the cooperation of Myriam Gilson, Bruno De Jonghe, Joris Bosman, Jens De Geyter and Oriana Mangala

Barry - Ešenvalds - Webber - Gjeilo, March 2018
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels
Performance of original choral music by Ola Gjeilo, John Barry, Ēriks Ešenvalds and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Choir and String Quartet of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David in cooperation with Anna Szentes, Zara Chung and Ivo Piscevic

Christmas Concerts, December 2017
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church Etterbeek, St. Peter’s Church Ghent
Performance of choral music by a.o. Heinrich Schütz, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Mozart and Camille Saint-Saëns as well as traditional European Christmas carols
Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels and brass quintet ‘In Cordae Musicae’ conducted by David with the cooperation of Yucheng Lu, Edward De Geest and Michael De Geest
Video compilation of the Christmas Concert in Ghent

Albinoni - Dvořák - Orff - Barber - Chilcott - Zimmer, March 2017
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels
Varied program with a.o. Carl Orff’s ‘Fremde sind wir’, Bob Chilcott's ‘Songs and Cries of London Town’ and Japanese choral music as ‘Sakura’ arranged by David
Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David with the cooperation of Chiara Alaimo and Fiona Alaimo

Schubert and Brahms in BOZAR, March 2016
BOZAR Brussels
Performance of Franz Schubert’s ‘Mirjam’s Siegesgesang’ and Johannes Brahms’ ‘Liebeslieder Walzer’ arranged by David
Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David with the cooperation of Clara Legros, Wei-Lian Huang, Eurydice Novak, Ekaterina Romanova, Kanako Ninomiya and Valentina Tóth

Carmina Burana, March 2015
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels, Aula Q VUB
Performance of Carl Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’
Choirs of the Royal Conservatory Brussels and the Kunsthumaniora Brussels with the KCB percussion ensemble conducted by David with the cooperation of Esther Kouwenhoven, Raphael Freitas, Bruno Ressende, Kanako Ninomiya and Nicholas Van de Velde

Gladiator live, December 2014
Palais 12 Brussels
Live soundtrack with the projection of the film ‘Gladiator’ (2000) – original score by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard
European Philharmonic conducted by Justin Freer and the Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David

The Planets, January 2014
Concert Hall Royal Conservatory Brussels
Performance of Gustav Holst’s ‘The Planets’
Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by Lucas Vis and the Women’s Choir of the Royal Conservatory Brussels conducted by David