BELGIAN MUSIC FOR TRUMPET AND PIANO

First trumpet of the Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Norway, Roeland Henkens has a prominent reputation as an orchestral and chamber musician and as a soloist. He has performed in some famous historical venues around the world, such as the Acropolis Museum in Athens, as well as in the most important concert halls in Europe.

He received the first prize and the "Prix Coup de coeur" at the "8ème Concours International de Musique de Chambre de Lyon" with the Belgian Brass Quintet Eburon Quintet in 2014.Besides winning competitions in his native Belgium, Roeland has received awards at international competitions. In September 2016 he became the winner of the Trumpet category in the renowned Aeolus International Competition for Winds in Germany. He also received the "Belgian Culture Prize" by the city of Beringen.

Roeland is the current assistant conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he was assistant conductor at Den Norske Opera & Ballett, where he conducted the choir, soloists, and orchestra in productions such as Anne Petersdotter, Hänsel und Gretel and Tchaikovsky’s Onegin. In 2020 he was granted a place as a participant in the Norwegian Conductor Forum.

In 2015 Roeland completed his studies in Trumpet Performance with the "Highest Distinction" at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main with Professor Klaus Schuhwerk. He is currently completing his Master Graduate at the Norwegian Academy of Music under the tutelage of Ole Kristian Ruud and Sigmund Thorp. Roeland is a Yamaha artist.

Erik Desimpelaere obtained a master’s degree in piano from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels with Prof. Piet Kuijken and a master’s degree in composition from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Wim Henderickx and Luc Van Hove. He studied orchestral conducting at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Ed Spanjaard and Lucas Vis. 

Erik Desimpelaere composes music for various ensembles: symphonic works, music theater, wind band, chamber music and solo repertoire. Erik has a regular duo with his brother David Desimpelaere, double bass player. In 2013 they released their first CD "Reflections on a song" (Phaedra Classics) with Belgian repertoire for double bass and piano. In March 2018 they released their second album ‘Smile’ (Dynamic Records). Erik Desimpelaere is chief conductor of the Royal Symphonic Wind Band Vooruit Harelbeke. He has worked several times with the Dutch National Opera Academy (2015 to 2018). In 2018 he conducted a concert performance of Britten’s "The Turn of the Screw". He is also curator of the International Composition Competition Harelbeke (ICCH), which focuses on the use of the 21st century musical language for wind band. Erik has been director of the Kortrijk Conservatory since 2020. (www.erikdesimpelaere.com)