Youth Orchestra Flanders is the Flemish symphonic youth orchestra that was launched in 2019 in partnership with Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, three of the major Flemish arts institutions.
With support from the Flemish government, Youth Orchestra Flanders offers the up-and-coming generation of young talents (15-26 years old) a flying start in the professional orchestral circuit. Youth Orchestra Flanders is a unique partnership between the major Flemish orchestras, the four conservatories of Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven and the concert halls of Concertgebouw Brugge, deSingel, Flagey and De Bijloke.
Youth Orchestra Flanders has in recent years shared the stage with Stéphane Denève, Edwin Outwater, Camille Thomas, Lorenzo Gatto, Yi-Chen Lin, Anu Tali, Yoel Levi and Nuno Coelho, collaborating with Sylvia Huang, Victor Julien-Laferrière and Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort.
In March 2024, Youth Orchestra Flanders, under the baton of Martijn Dendievel, performed Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, Titan, in celebration of its five-year anniversary. The concert also featured Myriad, a composition by Belgian composer Jeroen D’hœ.
In February 2025, our orchestra collaborated with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen to present a production of Maurice Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Under the direction of conductor Karel Deseure and stage director Maëlle Dequiedt, the performances took place at Opera Antwerp from February 20 to 23, 2025.
