Youth Orchestra Flanders is a new youth symphonic orchestra launched in partnership with the Brussels Philharmonic, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, three top cultural institutions. With support from the government of Flanders, Youth Orchestra Flanders is lending a jump start in the professional orchestra circuit to the upcoming generation of young talent (15-26 years). The orchestra works in a project-based manner and in collaboration with the Flemish conservatories and concert halls.

Youth Orchestra Flanders premieres in February 2019 in Flagey and in the Concertgebouw in Bruges. The Belgian composer Wim Henderickx is contributing his exciting Pulses of the Earth to the new orchestra, after which the phenomenal soloist Lorenzo Gatto will perform the Prokofiev Violin Concerto. To conclude, all the stops will be pulled out: Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony is a work that bursts of emotion and humanity.

Conductor Edwin Outwater leads the debute of the orchestra and formulates the importance of this new initiative as follows : “I’m thrilled to be conducting the debut concerts of the Youth Orchestra Flanders. Playing in a orchestra coached by the master musicians of the Brussels Philharmonic and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra will surely be a deeply educational and inspiring experience for these young musicians. Besides the work of perfecting one’s artistry on an instrument, the training of how to play well together is an essential part of musical growth and experience. This new program will surely benefit generations of musicians for years to come.”