Orchestra in residence in Ghent

“A cultural institution that dares to call itself ‘Music centre’ should be brimming with musical activity and energy. A good concert hall brings artists and audiences – the two reasons for our existence – together. Many of those meetings are inspiring, enriching, fascinating, instructive, touching, relaxing, enlightening or confusing and even confrontational. Often they are also ephemeral and unique, because a concert hall wants to bring musicians into contact with as large an audience as possible, to the extent possible. (...) Other artistic relationships are enduring and intense. If it clicks, there are plenty of advantages. Production and presentation suddenly come effortlessly together. Performers are no longer guests, but come ‘home’.”

Geert Riem, General director of De Bijloke Music Centre.

 © Tom De Visscher

"So far, the Music Centre had never been a home for a symphonic orchestra, a place where more than sixty musicians rehearse, work and perform on a regular basis. The arrival of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra changed all that. Without any doubt, having an orchestra in residence is an asset for every concert hall, and – by extension – for every city. By means of its numerous inspiring concerts, its presence at various smaller and bigger events and festivals, the joint development of new formats, and last but not least by means of its participative and social and artistic initiatives, an orchestra finds its way into the artistic heart of a hall and into the cultural and social tissue of a city."

The Flanders Symphony Orchestra is orchestra in residence in De Bijloke Music Centre in Ghent