Flanders Music Centre is now Kunstenpunt / Flanders Arts Institute.

Peter Swinnen

Composer and researcher who wants to professionalize
and internationalize the musical landscape of Flanders with boundless energy. His works range from solo and chamber music to orchestral pieces, including film scores, ballets, theatre pieces and multimedia.

"The most important aspect of all my compositions? I want to appeal to the listener’s creativity. Hence the use of my often very enigmatic titles: they are mostly anagrams of the main ideas on which the piece has been conceived. Whatever source of inspiration I use, be it musical, narrative, typographic, visual, a specific experience or even a scientific model (algorithm), its main purpose has always been: to enable me to create a consistent musical universe that is characteristic enough to be recognised, yet that contains enough ambiguity to stimulate the listener’s imagination." (Peter Swinnen)

• Education : Royal Conservatory of Brussels (1983 - 1992) : "Premier Prix" for, among others, "History of Music", "Cello", "Chamber Music", "Practical Harmony" and "Composition"; Queen Elisabeth College of Music in Waterloo (Belgium) : master degree for Composition with Mr. A. Laporte (1989 - 1992); Master Classes with Mr. M. Finnissy (1993) and Mr. B. Ferneyhough (1998); VUB (2008-2009) : "Doctor in the Arts" with Dr J.P. Van Bendegem.
• Teaches Cello at Music Schools in the period 1990 - 1997. Since 1992, teaches Analysis, later also Music Technology (2002) and Composition (2004) at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Head of Department since 2008. Involved in a project on software developping for eartraining at the Leuven University 1997-2004, and on musical analysis with the Brussels University since 2004. Free-lance activities for the VRT-television (= dutch speaking Belgian television). Frequently asked by several ensembles to perform Live Electronics in contemporary pieces and/or as sound producer for CD recordings.
• Member of the Union of Belgian Composers since 1993 and vice president of the Componisten Archipel Vlaanderen since 2004. Founding member and president of ISCM-Vlaanderen since 2005. Member of the ISCM Executive Committee since 2007, vice-president since 2008.
• Compositions include soloworks and chamber music pieces for diverse instruments (incl. electronic ), lieder, tone poems for large orchestra, symphonies, concerti, cantatas, ballets, films and music theatre. Many of them are recorded (radio, TV and CD). First performances in Festival of Flanders, Ars Musica, Wien Modern, International Frederyk Chopin Festival, World Carillon Congres, SMCQ...
• Honours : the "Prijs CERA - Jeugd en Muziek Vlaanderen 1991" for his complete works and the "Provinciale Prijs voor Muziekcompositie 1992 van de provincie Antwerpen" for his opera "The petrifying Blue". He also wrote original music for the BRTN-film "Andres", realised by Dirk Greyspeirt, on a choreography of José Besprosvany, that won the "Premio Choreografo Elettronico 1993" in Naples and the "34e Prijs Bert Leysen" in 1995. In 1997 his piece "Quar'l" is awarded the "Prix de Musique Contemporaine" de Québec and "Canzone" wins the "National Composition Contest" of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium, a honor which "Ciaccona" repeats in 2001. In 2005 "Laureaat van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten".
• 2010 Peter Swinnen becomes principal of the Royal Consevatorium Brussels.

Since 2008 Head of Department of the Conservatory of Brussels.

Selectieve discografie als componist

	Fingerprints - Signaturen van componerend Vlaanderen (2011) 20th century, 21st century / contemporary Bert Van Herck, Filip Rathé, Spectra Ensemble, Simon De Poorter, Annelies Van Parys, Klaas Coulembier, Stéphane Vande Ginste, Noor Sommereyns (...)		Souvenir Festival Servais 2007 (2008) 21st century / contemporary, romanticism Viviane Spanoghe, André De Groote, Seeli Toivio, Kalle Toivio, Alexander Hülshoff, Stéphane De May, Adrien-François Servais, Peter Swinnen (...)
	En hij schiep... 7 culturen (2005) 20th century De Tweede Adem, Maarten Van Ingelgem, Lucien Posman, Peter Swinnen, Filip Rathé, Petra Vermote, Natalie Goossens, Nicolas De Cock (...)		Archive Series n°01 - Piano Interieur (2004) 21st century / contemporary ChampdAction, Peter Swinnen, Stefan Prins
	Les lauréats Prix Québec - Flandre (1988 - 2003) (2002) 20th century Annelies Van Parys, Peter Swinnen, Wim Henderickx		Miniaturen voor archipel (2000) 20th century Kris Matthynssens, Pieter Stas, Goeyvaerts Strijktrio, Jan Van Landeghem, Bart Meynckens, Stefaan De Bruyne, Bart Van Kerchove, Boudewijn Buckinx (...)
	Een jong geluid (1992) romanticism, 20th century Dirk Herten, Filip Martens, Peter Verhoyen, Dimitri Baeteman, Steven Kolacny, Piet Van Bockstal, Katrijn Friant, Guido De Neve (...)		Vlaamse Hedendaagse Muziek 20th century, 21st century / contemporary Claude Coppens, ChampdAction, Rolande Van der Paal, Vlaams Radio Orkest, HERMESensemble, Apsara, Vlaams Radiokoor (VRK), Jan Michiels (...)
	Peter Swinnen 20th century, 21st century / contemporary Peter Swinnen		La Vieille Dame et la Fille Nomade 20th century Françoise Vanhecke, Quatuor Danel (strijkkwartet), Peter Swinnen

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