The Belgian conductor Dirk Vermeulen enjoys an international reputation, due to his remarkable performances of 18th century and early Romantic music. But he is equally at home with early, baroque and contemporary music, having commissioned and performed many new works. His strong personality and insistence on acquiring the highest standards, have gained him general acclaim. Recently he was hailed by the press as “a great musician“ and a ‘highly sensitive conductor.”
He has been much championed by Frans Brüggen and has assisted him on numerous occasions with the Orchestra of the 18th Century.

As a violinist he toured throughout Europe, playing as a soloist with leading conductors. He was also concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders for several years. In 1985 he decided to devote himself to a conducting career, studying with Julius Kalmar in Vienna. In 1991 he founded the chamber orchestra "Prima La Musica", which was soon considered to be one of the leading Belgian ensembles.

Dirk Vermeulen appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Spain, Portugal and Israël. He has collaborated with many leading soloists such as Maria João Pires, José van Dam, Barbara Hendricks and Sabine Meyer.

Recently he conducted Mozart’s Così fan tutte with the Krakow Opera, as well as The Magic Flute at La Monnaie (Brussels, Belgium), Hagen (Germany) and with the Bydgoszcz Opera (Poland), again on tour in Holland and Belgium.

Dirk Vermeulen’s discography includes over 25 CD’s. He is a Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

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Copyright Musica Intermedia o Date Last Edited: 20 August 2006