SPECTRA

SPECTRA, curious for new music. From 1993 onwards the ensemble developed a remarkable musical coherence and a unique, refined sound starting from a fixed nucleus. Dirigent Filip Rathé en violist Pieter Jansen nemen samen de artistieke leiding op zich.

SPECTRA bouwt tal van trajecten uit met in Vlaanderen levende componisten en promoot hun werk in internationale en historische context. Het ensemble creëert vele opdrachtwerken in constante dialoog met referentiewerken uit het recente verleden.


SPECTRA explores a wide array of presentation forms and collaborates with composers, theater makers, artists and writers when constructing it’s non-dogmatic programs and idiosyncratic performances, leading to collaborations with a.o. Luca Francesconi, Stefano Gervasoni, Philippe Hurel, Guy Cassiers, Fabrice Murgia, Philippe Blasband, Peter Verhelst,...


SPECTRA performs within and outside Europe at festivals like Ars Musica (BE), Transit (BE), Festival Musica Nova (BRA), November Music Festival (NL), Musica Sacra (NL), OEROL Festival (NL), Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK), Traiettorie Festival (IT), Biennale Venezia (IT), World Music Days 2010 Sydney (AU), Gaida Festival (IT), Musica Strasbourg (FR) and Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires (ARG).


Furthermore, SPECTRA shares its expertise in the Master after Master Contemporary Music in collaboration with the School of Arts Ghent.

MUSICIANS

Musicians

Pieter Jansen

Violin/ Artistic Direction

Bram Bossier

Viola/ Production/ Communication

Francis Mourey

Cello

Tille Van Gastel

Flute/ Artistic Promotion

Julien Bénéteau

Clarinet

Lukas Huisman

Piano

Frank Van Eycken

Percussion

Filip Rathé

Conductor/ Artistic Direction

Greet Swinnen

Business Management

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Pieter Jansen

Violinist Pieter Jansen graduated with the highest distinction from the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp in the class of Guido De Neve, and then continued his studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.


He is concertmaster of BOHO Strings and principal player with Le Concert Olympique, as well as regularly appearing as a guest leader with the Symphony Orchestra of La Monnaie and the Belgian National Orchestra.


Hij is violist bij Trio Khaldei, primarius bij I Justiniani en speelt hedendaagse muziek bij SPECTRA - waarvan hij sinds kort ook co-artistiek leider is - en bij het Franse Ensemble Multilatérale.


Pieter played concerts in Europe, Asia, South America, North America and Australia at important stages and festivals such as Musica Strasbourg, World Music Days in Sydney, Traiettorie Festival in Parma, Festivals of Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorium of the Louvre in Paris, the Biennale of Venice, Donostia Festival in San Sebastian, Ravello Festival in Naples, Spectrum Festival in Ljubljana , Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires,...


Pieter is a teacher and coordinator of chamber music at KASK & Conservatory, school of arts of University College Ghent (HOGENT).

Bram Bossier

Bram Bossier obtained his master's degree as a violinist at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, after which he continued his higher studies as a violist at the conservatories of Maastricht (Michael Kugel) and Rotterdam (Vladimir Mendelssohn and Ron Ephrat).

 

Hij speelde in het ‘European Youth Orchestra’ o.l.v. Yakov Kreisberg en in het ‘Nationaal Jeugdorkest van Nederland’ met dirigenten als Reinbert de Leeuw en Victor Lieberman.

 

As a freelance musician, he worked with Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the Beethoven Academy, I Fiamminghi, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Brussels Philharmonic, l'Opéra Royal de Wallonie and the Belgian National Orchestra under conductors such as Yuri Simonov, Lorin Maazel, Sigiswald Kuyken, Christophe Rousset, Ivan Meylemans and Rudolf Werthen.

 

Als solist speelde hij de ‘Prologue’ van Gérard Grisey in het Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ (Amsterdam), ‘Jelek en Jatekok’ van György Kurtag voor het Festival van Vlaanderen (Gent), de ‘Sequenza’ en ‘Chemins II’ van Luciano Berio in de Tonhalle (Düsseldorf) en de Nederlandse première van het altvioolconcerto van Kees Schoonenbeek in de concertzaal van Tilburg. 

Together with An Raskin, he forms Agartha, a music ensemble with the colorful bayan and warm viola as basic ingredients. Agartha enjoys coloring outside the lines, engaging in dialogue with other artists, and embracing every challenge.

 

Since 2004 he has been associated as a violist with SPECTRA, curious for new music and also played in the Ictus ensemble (Brussels), the Sonemus ensemble (Sarajevo), Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (Amsterdam), Sturm und Klang (Brussels) and the notabu.ensemble (Düsseldorf) at international festivals in Berlin, Paris, Huddersfield, Venice, Donaueschingen, Sarajevo, Zagreb but also all the way to Buenos Aires, Sydney and Japan.

Francis Mourey

Francis Mourey is a versatile musician. He is a member of SPECTRA, Trio Khaldei and the principal cellist of Boho Strings.

 

As an orchestral musician, he regularly performs as a solo cellist in various formations, from large orchestras such as the Belgian National Orchestra and the Brussels Philharmonic to more specific ensembles like Les Métamorphoses orchestra.

Francis Mourey is assistent cello aan het “Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles”.

Tille Van Gastel

Tille Van Gastel is from Ghent where she studied flute, cello, and piano. At the age of 16, she continued her flute lessons with both Jan Vercruysse (SPECTRA) and Carlos Bruneel (principal flutist of the Symphony Orchestra of La Monnaie), with whom she also studied at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.

 

In 2009, as part of Erasmus program, she was invited by Sophie Cherrier (Ensemble Intercontemporain) to study at the renowned "CNSM de Paris," where her love for contemporary music was stimulated. She graduated with great distinction in Brussels in 2010 and received the Horlait-Dapsens prize.

 

Ze speelde regelmatig mee met het Symfonieorkest van De Munt, Brussels Philharmonic, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen etc…

In 2011 she won the audition for solo flute in the Royal Navy Music Chapel, a position she held until September 2019.


Since 2015 Tille is flutist at SPECTRA and also took on the role of artistic promoter in 2023. 


Additionally, she runs her own practice as a performance coach helping people of all ages overcome stage fright or fear of failure. 

Julien Bénéteau

Julien Bénéteau studeerde muziek aan de conservatoria van Nantes en Parijs, en daarna aan het CNSMD in Lyon. Daar behaalde hij zijn diploma’s klarinet en kamermuziek met de hoogste onderscheidingen. `


In 2002, he was a finalist in the Prague Spring International Competition and is now the principal clarinetist of the Belgian National Orchestra.


Hij wordt regelmatig uitgenodigd door l' Orchestre National de Lyon, l' Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Lyon, l' Orchestre National de France, Ensemble InterContemporain en Philharmonia Orchestra in Londen.


He has been invited to various chamber music festivals in Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Germany, France, and England.


Julien Bénéteau heeft samengewerkt met eminente componisten als Gilbert Amy, Vinko Globokar, Gérard Grisey, Jonathan Harvey, Pascal Dusapin, Bruno Mantovani en Frédéric Durieux.


Van 2014 tot 2017 was hij muzikaal directeur van het Ensemble Regards in Parijs. In 2019 vormt hij samen met hoornist Emmanuel Bénèche het Winds Art Orchestra. Julien Bénéteau is een Yamaha-artiest.

Lukas Huisman

Lukas is a Belgian pianist and performer, mainly focusing on contemporary classical music, with a great affinity for complex (post)modern repertoire.


He studied jazz for several years, with a recording of Finnissy's Gershwin cycles being a highlight. His interest in Japanese traditional and contemporary classical music led him to rediscover the sound potential of the piano, resulting in recordings of Takemitsu, Hori, Nishimura, and Takahashi (Keitaro).


His aim to be an informed artist has driven him to obtain a doctorate in complex contemporary piano music from KASK & Conservatory, as well as post-doctoral projects on HIP of Brahms' music at Orpheus Institute in Ghent and contemporary Japanese piano music (at KASK & Conservatory).


In addition to performing solo music, he is an experienced ensemble performer, from duos and ensembles to orchestras. He also stays updated on pop, rock, and prog genres and regularly plays in these styles or cross-over settings.

Filip Rathé

Filip Rathé studied piano, music theory and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent. He further honed his conducting skills with Laszlo Heltay and Pierre Cao and studied composition with Lucien Goethals. At Ghent University, he obtained a master's degree in musicology. 


Since 1993, Filip Rathé has been the artistic director and conductor of SPECTRA, the ensemble for contemporary music with which he has performed throughout Europe and South America. He has premiered over 200 new works.


As a conductor, he has been a guest with, among others, the Symphony Orchestra of Flanders, the Flemish Radio Choir, Brussels Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and various ensembles such as I Solisti del Vento, Hermes Ensemble, Musiques Nouvelles, HYOID and others.


As a composer, he focuses mainly on vocal-instrumental chamber music. His work has been performed by, among others, the Flemish Radio Choir, ASKO, SPECTRA, Collegium Instrumentale Brugense, Exaudi, Kremerata Baltica, Neue Vokalsolisten Stuttgart, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, among others.

He shares his experience as a teacher (chamber music, composition, contemporary music and music analysis) at KASK & Conservatory, school of arts of University College Ghent (HOGENT).

Greet Swinnen

Greet grew up in a highly musical family and, after her conservatory studies, she spent years actively performing on stage. She has over 30 years of experience in real-time cueing of multicamera concert and opera recordings for VRT - CANVAS, EXQI, Opera Ballet Flanders, and the Royal Theatre La Monnaie in Brussels, as well as live streaming and video projections.


Highlights undoubtedly include the annual Queen Elisabeth Competition, numerous recordings with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, Pygmalion and Brussels Philharmonic, as well as capturing magnificent operas at La Monnaie and Flemish Opera.


Greet still leads a recording crew through musical waters with great pleasure, but has also found her way in the business operations of cultural organizations. She was connected to the International Opera Academy and manager of Spiegel String Quartet.


Since 2007 she has been a fixed value behind the scenes at SPECTRA and since 2023 she also takes on the business management of Flanders Symphony Orchestra.