When I was a kid I always listend to music. My sister played the violin too, I also remember being very intrigued by it. Although I don't come from a musical background. The violin got my attention. I went to private lessons for about 4 or 5 years and then went to my local music school. By that time I was 9 years old. I was getting more interested in music and started playing jazz tunes on the violin with my brother. The real magic happened when I listened to a complete classical piece, for the first time. I was really mesmerised. From then on, I started practicing regularly. I then went on to study with a famous teacher when I was 13. Unfortunately, after that (when I was about 14 years old), I got sick and almost quit the violin... Until I realised that there wasn't anything else that I was doing more than listening to classical music and reading about it. Weirdly enough I saw some improvement in my playing quite quickly and decided to go to conservatory and give this violin thing a second chance! Now I'm here. Why is that weird? Well it's the time of my life where I practiced the least amount of hours, but still, I was practicing.

In my short 18 years of life on this planet, I have yet to discover many things. 

In my first bachelor year I really wanted to gain more concert experience, so I accepted a lot of gigs from other musicians in the conservatory. I also dabbled into other genres, such as pop music.

Well, if we're talking about concert experience. I think it's the most logical to put them in order here:

2012 until 2016

• I gave concerts about once a month, every month, but not during summer break.

2016- 2025

• 2-4 yearly concerts with my music school in Ninove; nothing much

2025 - in conservatory

• Violin recital in a classroom by me and my fellow students who play the violin. (As part of the subject Violin 1)

Every now and then, we get a class concert with other musicians on the same/ different instrument to see where we’re at. This was a concert on November 8th in classroom 1.9 in the Biezekapel. I played Prokofiev sonata for solo violin, first movement. I really liked playing this piece and had a fun time practicing it. I knew this little concert was a great way to motivate me to keep practicing. It’s nice to perform a piece you’ve been working on for a few weeks.

• Barber violin concerto, Beethoven Symphony no.2 and Mozart: Ouverture, Die Entführung aus dem Serail as second violinist in the orchestra. (As part of the subject orchestra 1)

I was really happy to be able to participate in this orchestra by KASK & Conservatory. I really liked this opportunity, because I didn’t have much experience in orchestras. I learned a lot there; I learned about orchestral etiquette that I didn’t know about before. This could be for example always coming to the rehearsal prepared, always bringing a pencil with you or the left stand partner needs to always turn the page – never the right stand partner. These little things may seem obvious but were new to me. Ultimately, this orchestral experience is one of the best so far. The conductor was also nice to us. I did find it difficult to concentrate on my own music, when there is so much going on (musically) around me. I wasn't good at keeping my attention to my own part.

• 'Stilte' by producer Gust Lemahieu, in a recording session (gig)

I was asked by a friend if I wanted to participate in a recording of a student producer at the KASK. I have never played in a recording and thought that it would be useful to try some time. The music was not that difficult to play, but recording the music takes a lot of time. It needs to be absolutely perfect. I played the first and second violin part together with a cellist and violist. When you play in a recording (especially for pop), the musicians are often categorised in groups to record the music, so I never played with the singers or other musicians in the song. It was difficult to get together, but the end result was very good. I know recording music is despised by many musicians, but I liked this as my first experience.

• Opera Pygmalion by J.P. Rameau as second violinist in the orchestra, conducted by Bart Naessens (As part of the subject Orchestra 1)

I really liked the orchestral experience of the first semester, so I was very happy to be able to play in this orchestra. It’s a very niche baroque opera that is quite difficult. It is very different than for example Beethoven, there are a lot of details that I didn’t know about in baroque music that I am now discovering. Here I learned the most about baroque music in all of my years of playing the violin. Bart Naessens was also an incredible conductor with a big musical temperament. There were a few things I didn't like about the experience, such as the score that was completely transposed 2 weeks before the concert. The staging had a modern touch to it, I would've liked it more if there was more cohesion with the baroque music of the orchestra and the staging itself; e.g. at the end of the concert they play a rock song, right after we finished our last chord. This was very out of character for an opera, where the singing and music is more important than the acting. The singing of the singers was very professional and beautiful, as well as the orchestra. I also liked meeting new people at the rehearsals. Overall I had a good experience playing there.

•  A piece by a contemporary composer as an extra gig:

'When memories fade away' by Fernando Alexander for piano, bass clarinet, flute and violin

I was asked by a friend (Fernando) to play his piece for his upcoming recital for composition. It's a small piece about memories fading away because of Alzheimers disease. I have never played a piece by a contemporary composer, which is a pitty because there are so many modern composers! I would definitely play more music by modern composers for the rest of my life. As I have said before, I find it important to play all kinds of stuff first and then figure out what you really want to do further. At the concert I did make quite a few mistakes in the beginning, that made me very upset for a while, because I knew I could do better. I was very disappointed in myself for not giving the best concert I could've, even though I did manage to get back up after the first quarter of the piece. I haven't had a bad concert like this in a while, I think the anxiety of performing well got to me, even though I did practice the piece to a good level.

I liked his piece a lot and the message it sent, I also didn't want to let my friend down in a way. He told me he found the concert good, even though there were mistakes in it. Next time, I will try to lower my stage fright. I tend to only get stage fright when the concert is important to me, this was a great lesson for me!

• Violin and (classical) guitar music by Paganini for chamber music 1. (As part of the subject Chamber music 1).

I got very lucky to play with a guitarist for my chamber music exam! The violin and guitar fit very well with each other. I really like Paganini and his music for the violin and guitar. It’s as if my teacher knew this. We got our repertoire very late into the year (in February) so it was stressful at first to play the piece well until the concert on the 13th of March. I really liked the guitarist as a person, I found that we had the same musical ideas about the music. The concert went well overall, even thought we made some mistakes. I had little stress for the concert, because I didn't want it to affect my performance so I prioritised staying calm and collected. Our feedback of our exam was overall good. The teacher pointed out that we didn't always have the virtuosity to play the piece with the phrasing that we wanted. He also said that we really tried to make music instead of playing just notes. I tried to get out of my comfort zone for this piece and focus a lot on phrasing in the Paganini, normally I prioritise to play the piece perfectly. Here I kind of forgot to do that, so this was a great learning lesson.

• Masterclass with B'Rock orchestra, as a second violinist.

In this masterclass we rehearsed the same day we played the concert, it was a nice experience. It was music by Bach and Zanetti (a contemporary of Bach). The experience was very laid back and fun to play. Because of the professionalism of the B'Rock Orchestra I learned a lot about baroque music. It was a short but nice summery day, so I was in a good mood.

In the future:

• Beethoven piano concerto no.2 at the opendeurdag in April, conducted by Georgi Grozev (an extra gig)

As I said before, I like playing in orchestras so this gig was a no brainer to accept. I just need to prepare the concert accordingly and go to the 2 rehearsals and then give the concert. This concert is in April and is conducted by a student Georgi Grozev. I know him personally, since we live on the same floor in our dorm of the university. The rehearsals have yet to start, so I'm looking forward to it.

• 'Groundhog' by Oona Geelen, as first violinist (gig)

I got asked by a friend of mine who also plays the violin if I wanted to participate in a guitarist's exam in the pop and jazz departement. I play as first violinist together with the other violinist and cello, as well as other musicians. I figured that the piece wouldn't be too difficult, since it's pop music so I accepted it. I actually quite like playing pop music as a 'background' musician, although I wouldn't prefer it. There is little to no musical input from my part other than dynamics and the rigth notes and rhythm. I notice that with pop music, playing the right notes in perfect rhythm is essential. There is no room for deviating from the beat. This is quite boring for me, but I do like playing music with my friends!

• Final exam bachelor 1: violin

I am going to play Pierre Rode violin concerto no.8 first movement and Dvorak sonatine op.100.

I wish I could've chosen other repertoire, but since I changed teachers in the second semester I had to adjust to different repertoire. My teacher says that I play quite well for a new student, so I hope I'll be able to play more challening and nice pieces next year.

I tend to like difficulty and challenge.

Over the years I have attended many many many concerts of great artists as well as local artists, especially classical artists. But hey, funky music like Cory Wong's is nice too!

There is this one experience I got in my life that I really admired and liked. I was 16 and went to this music camp in Antwerp for musicians, I got lessons from a violin teacher, whom I learned a lot from. Next to the many awesome masterclasses, I learned a lot more than just violin playing.

I interacted with other fellow musicians, something I had missed a lot on. The only musician-friends I had where on those communities on discord. An app used for game, but quickly spread into many different communities for very different things.

Anyways, I learned that having fellow friends in your interests was very important. But especially to musicians. There is always room for improvement, the best way to learn to become a better musician is not from a teacherrs and from other musicans who are trying the exact same things as you.