LES BALLETS C. DE LA B.

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Album : Import Export

Steve Dugardin °1964, Oostende (BE)
He took up musical studies at age 15 with Aimée Thonon and singing lessons with Marie-Thérèse Maesen, who works as an assistant to Lucienne Van Dijck. He was awarded a First Prize in Music Theory at the Royal Conservatory Ghent and a First Prize as a singer at the Royal Musical Conservatory in Antwerp. Here is where he came into contact with Erik Van Nevel, who roused his interest in Early Music. Passionate about his chosen profession, Steve Dugardin is today training with famed English male counter tenor Ashley Stafford as well as Ingrid Voermans.

Having worked on productions staged by Sigiswald Kuijken, Jos Van Immerseel, Ton Koopman, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen and Philippe Herreweghe, Steve Dugardin currently finds himself being increasingly invited to perform as a soloist (by Ricercar Consort, Clemencic Consort, Tragicomedia (Stephen Stubbs), Il Seminario (Gerard Lesne), Les Arts Florissants (William Christie), Il Fondamento (Paul Dombrecht), Huelgas Ensemble (Paul Van Nevel), Choeur de Chambre de Namur, Currende (Erik Van Nevel), Ex Tempore, La Petite Bande, Musica Antiqua Köln, De Nederlandse Bachvereniging and the Bach Ensemble (Joshua Rifkin) as just a few. Which in turn has led to several CD recordings.

He has starred in operas by Scarlatti (with Opera Mobile), Händel (with Transparant) and in Ercole Amante by Cavalli (performing in Boston and at the Utrecht Music Festival). In addition, he has played the lead in Philip Glass' Akhnaten.

He became more familiar with the dance scene when he joined the cast for Iets op Bach by Alain Platel, followed by bâche by Koen Augustijnen where he sang songs by Purcell, as well as playing in Gilles by Hugo Claus where he worked with Jan Decleir.

Early Music is not his sole source of inspiration however. His passion for Contemporary Music has resulted in the founding of Touchant, a male quartet choir specialising in Close Harmony. Steve Dugardin teaches at the Herman Teirlinck Institute.

Bart Vandewege °1962, Gent (BE)
Bart Vandewege works as a singer, conductor and composer. He performs with Collegium Vocale Gent (Philippe Herreweghe), Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Choir (Ton Koopman), Huelgas Ensemble (Paul van Nevel), La Petite Bande (Sigiswald Kuijken), Concerto Köln, Il Giardino Armonico and Freiburger Barockorchester. He sang in productions under Roy Goodman, Thomas Hengelbrock, René Jacobs, Robert King, Eric van Nevel, Jos Van Immerseel, Christopher Hogwood, Peter Rundel, Michael Schneider, Peter Phillips, Monica Huggett and Markus Creed.

He is often engaged as guest conductor and has made various cd recordings that go from forgotten compositions by Fétis and Lemmens (NAXOS 8.555890) up to works by the American composer Elliott Carter (VROK 2002/1).

He is founder and artistic director of La Hispanoflamenca, ensemble of early music that performs Spanish-Flemish music from the 16th and 17th century. Their recordings of music by the forgotten Spanish composer Pedro Rimonte were greatly praised by the general public and the international press.

As a composer he works mainly in the fields of theatre, film and dance; he has received commissions from the Flemish Opera and the VRT (Flemish Radio and Television). Recordings: "Theatrum Chemicum" (Plumage 2002) / "Poèros" (Plumage DVD 1377) / De Tuin van Eden (Universal 982 9131).

Sam Serruys ° 1977, Oostende, (BE)
Sam Serruys is a guitarist/composer who graduated from the Dutch Tilburg-based Rockacademie (1999- 2003). In addition, he attended the Audio engineering training course at the School of Audio Engineering in Rotterdam. He toured Belgium and Holland as a member of Bertus Borgers' band (saxophonist with Herman Brood and Raymond van het Groenewoud).

His graduation project saw him making a movie documentary about a local brass band in Brazil, while his work training placement was with the Brussels advertising agency "Think and talk". Shortly after, he set up his own studio together with Geoffrey Claeys (Admiral Freebee) where they have been recording their musical ideas for posterity ever since.

In 2005, he started out as sound engineer for Les ballets C. de la B. (bâche/ Koen Augustijnen), then moved to Het Toneelhuis in Antwerp where he worked with Angelique Wilkie (Zap Mama, Deus), Dirk Van Dijck (Marieslijk, Het Eiland), Benny Claessens, Marlies Heuer, Tom Janssen and others. In 2006, he returned to Les ballets C. de la B. where he has since been working with Koen Augustijnen as a sound engineer and composer of electronic music.

Kirke Strijkkwartet
The Kirke String Quarter owes its name to ancient Greek enchantress Kirke, who lived on the paradisiacal island of Ayaya, where delectable food and drink were in abundance. Moreover, she also had magical powers that would enable her to transform unduly enterprising men into bristly pigs. The members of the Kirke String Quartet are: Eva Vermeeren (violin), Saartje De Muynck (violin), Evelien Vandeweerdt (viola) and Herlinde Verheyden (cello).

The four of them, keen musical colleagues/friends from Antwerp, started out by meeting up on a regular basis just to rehearse together, which in turn sparked a close collaboration without much in the way of premeditation. Since then, they have been playing together for well over 4 years. As a quartet, they have since gone on to play at a considerable number of concerts, events and studio recordings.

Having trained at the Orpheus Institute in Ghent, they were tutored by Tony Nys (former violinist for the Danel Quartet), Toon Fret (Oxalys Ensemble), Leo De Neve (Spiegel String Quartet) and France Springuel. The Kirke Quartet's comprehensive repertoire spans anything from classical music to tango and pop.

Eva Vermeeren °1972, Turnhout (BE)
Eva Vermeeren graduated from the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp in 1994 where she won the First Prize for Violin and a Chamber Music honours degree from D. Mijajev. She went on to continue her studies at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels with Ph. Hirshorn and was awarded her Masters Degree in Violin in 1996. Upon completing her studies in Belgium, Eva decided to hone her skills further abroad.

In 1999, she won a Performance Diploma for violin at the Peabody Conservatory of The John Hopkins University in Baltimore (USA) where she studied with V. Melançon. When it comes to Chamber Music, Eva has racked up a wealth of experience, both at home and abroad. In addition, she has also attended master classes with some of the world's greats, including H. Krebbers, P. Vernikov, M. Lubotsky, C. Romano, E. Kawaguti, A. Leon Ara, U. Gorniak, C. Maycomber and M. Fatkulin.

Saartje De Muynck °1979, Gent (BE)
In 1997, Saartje De Muynck attended her first year violin course at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent where she studied with Corrado Bolsi. She continued her studies at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp under Vegard Nilsen. In June 2003, she graduated the Kees Koelmans class at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp. During her time as a student, she attended several summer training placements as a violist with the Jeune Orchestre Atlantique, captained by Philippe Herreweghe, Fabio Bondi, Christophe Coin and Oswald Sallaberger.

Evelien Vandeweerdt °1979, Turnhout (BE)
Evelien Vandeweerdt studied the viola at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp with Leo De Neve, before graduating in June 2003. In September 2002, she found herself invited to take part in a master class in Ferrara (Italy), staged by the Gustav Mahler Accademia with support from Claudio Abbado. There, she was taught by Jürgen Kussmaul, Diemut Poppen and Thomas Brandis to name but a few.

Herlinde Verheyden °1980, Leuven (BE)
In 1998, Herlinde Verheyden was a graduate of the Axion Classics, the national competition for music and the spoken word staged by Dexia. She then entered the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp to study cello with Mirel Iancovici, where she graduated in June 2004 under France Springuel. Subsequently, she attended master classes with I Fiamminghi, Marie Hallynck, Didier Poskin, Marcio Carneiro, Michal Kanka, Alexander Ivashkin, Tilmann Wick and Vladimir Perlin.