Koninklijk Conservatorium (Ghent)

Geschiedenis

The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered musical institution, founded in 1835 under Leopold I of Belgium, and now part of the University College Ghent.The conservatory's founding director was Martin-Joseph Mengal, in 1835, who served as director until 1851. Other directors have included Émile Mathieu, from 1898.Notable students and faculty at the conservatory have included François-Auguste Gevaert, who studied directly under Mengal in 1841, Paul-Henri-Joseph Lebrun, who studied here and became a professor, and Edouard Potjes, who served as professor of piano for 22 years.In 1995 the Royal Conservatory was one of sixteen Belgian institutions merged into the University College Ghent. It provides training for about 480 students, with master's programs for drama and for music. The school traditionally attaches great importance to the practice of chamber music. Since 2006, the school has mounted an annual opera production.The school offers an English Master's in Music programme.The Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Conservatory together constitute the School of Arts of University College Ghent.The current department head of the Royal Conservatory of Ghent is Maarten Weyler.Notable alumni Julien Paul Blitz François-Auguste Gevaert Lucien Goethals Walter Hus Karel Miry Annelies Van Parys