Presentation concert
On Sunday, June 21, you can enjoy two special concerts in the Ryelandtzaal in Bruges!
At 6 PM, the new CD Colori Della Primavera will be presented.
This CD features new compositions for piccolo combined with harp, guitar and electric guitar, tenor horn, and piano. All works were written by Flemish composers Maarten De Splenter, Eric Desimpelaere, Robert Groslot, Jan Huylebroeck, Frederik Neyrinck, and Rudi Tas.
This concert will be a presentation featuring music, video projection, animations, live performances, and illustrations.
Gitte Bongaers (master student in piccolo at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp) and Laurine Califano (student at the Kunstuniversität Graz) have been selected for the semi-finals of the National Flute Association Piccolo Artist Competition, which will take place this summer in Portland, USA. At 3 PM, they will present a piccolo recital with pianist Pieter-Jan Verhoyen.
This presentation concert has been realized thanks to the support of the Flemish Government and the City of Bruges, Culturral Department.
The compositions by Maarten De Splenter and Frederik Neyrinck have been realized thanks to the support of Sabam for Culture.
A combo ticket for these two unique concerts costs 15 euros and can be reserved via the button below.
NEW ! CD Colori della Primavera
The piccolo tends to be cast as a team player, an orchestral sidekick. An extension of colour, an effects machine. Place it in a smaller ensemble and that narrative shifts.
In the selection of works, written by Flemish composers Maarten De Splenter, Erik Desimpelaere, Robert Groslot, Jan Huylebroeck, Frederik Neyrinck en Rudi Tas, the relationships between the piccolo and its partners – meeting en petit comité – are anything but straightforward. Throughout the program, the piccolo reveals a surprising range of identities. That is the premise of this album: the piccolo as an instigator and conversational partner.
Peter Verhoyen – piccolo
Peter Maertens – tenor horn
Nico Couck – acoustic and electric guitar
Ann-Sofie Verhoyen – harp
Stefan De Schepper – piano
The CD ‘Colori di Primavera’ has been realized thanks to the support of the Flemish Government.
The compositions by Maarten De Splenter and Frederik Neyrinck have been realized thanks to the support of Sabam for Culture.
NEW ! Peter’s Piccolo World Exercise Book
Ready to put your piccolo knowledge into practice?
Or are you simply looking for useful exercises to add to your piccolo warm-up routine?
This book is the for anyone who wishes to continue their adventures on the piccolo!
It contains exercises specific to the piccolo, based on well-known excerpts from the orchestral repertoire, as well as hints and tips, accompanying recordings and some important illustrated characters who wished to make an appearance.
Topics cover the realms of sound, vibrato, articulation and finger technique, and there are helpful references to Books One and Two throughout.
Welcome to Peter’s Piccolo World, the Exercise Book!
Peter’s Piccolo World
This books delve into the worlds of articulation, breathing, piccolo sound, vibrato, and much more. Discover what flying saucers, sausages and mouse trampolines have in common with your piccolo playing. Explore the effect that diverse languages and speech patterns have on articulation. Uncover the seven secrets to playing high notes softly on the piccolo. Investigate the vibrato types and sound shapes that create the most beautiful piccolo sound. Develop your finger and posture technique with additional in-depth daily exercises.
Order 1 or 2 separately and get your PPW Christmas Card Package for free.
Or buy both books for only € 55
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About this video
Recently recorded Halvorsen’s Passacaglia on two piccolos with Anke Lauwers. See more of my videos on my YouTube channel!
Biography
As piccolo solo at the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Peter has built up an excellent reputation as a specialist on his instrument. Since 2006 he has developed various concert programs for piccolo and piano together with pianist Stefan De Schepper. With these projects he demonstrates that the piccolo earns a spot on the concert stage as a recital instrument. For a contemporary touch, Peter asked several Flemish composers to write new works for his instrument. The next step was the realization of a series of CDs (Piccolo Tunes, The Birds!, Piccolo Polkas, La Gazza Ladra, Ma Mère l’Oye, Mighty Metamorphoses) in which the piccolo is the central instrument. For his dedication to contemporary Flemish music, Peter has been awarded the Fuga Trofee from the Union of Belgian composers in 2017. Since 2025 he has been appointed as a member of the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten (Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts)
News
KCA Master Students Meadhbh O’Rourke, Giulia Bellotti, former master students Erica Vogel and Oihana Giminez Infante and KUG Graz student Laurine Califano are selected for the semi-finals of the NFA Piccolo Artist Competition in Portland, USA
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp master student Fernanda Baeza Vergarda has been selected as one of the five semi-finalists of the Australian Flute Festival Piccolo Competition.
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp master students Gitte Bongaers, Maria Leiva Sepulveda and Meadhbh Ni Ruairc jave been selected for the final round of the Concorso Severino Gazzelloni in Napel
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo master student Itay Shamir won a temporary contract as solo piccolo with the Dortmunder Philharmoniker (2025)
Sarah Miller, alumnus of the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo class, has been appointed as the new solo piccolo at the Orchestra of La Monnaie Opera House (Belgium)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo master students Itay Shamir and Gitte Bongaers won 1st and 2nd prize in the Dutch International Piccolo Competition (2025)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo master student Patricia López Yago has selected as piccolo player for the Lutoslawski Youth Orchestra (2025)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo master students Bea Sánchez, Itay Shamir and Andrea Moby Røreng won the first, second and third prize at the Kujala International Piccolo Competition organized by the Chicago Flute Club (2025)
Kunstuniversität Graz student Anna Lydia Podmenik won the audition for second flute/piccolo with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra (2024)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo masters Elizabeth Salerno, Erica Vogel and Ana Mondéjar Amat obtained the first, second and third place at the NFA Piccolo Artist Competition 2024 (San Antonio)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp alumnus Erica Vogel won first prize in the NFA Piccolo Orchestral Audition and Masterclass Competition 2023 (Phoenix)
Royal Conservatoire Antwerp students Bea Sánchez, Ana Mondéjar Amat and Maria Leiva Sepúlveda and Kunstuniversität Graz student Maïa Huet have been selected as semi-finalists for the Gazzelloni Piccolo Competition 2023 (Italy)
Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp student Elizabeth Salerno won second prize in the Tampere Flute Fest Piccolo Competition 2023.
Ester Esteban Solana, alumnus of Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp piccolo class, won the first prize at the Nordic Piccolo Artist Competition and won the second prize at the Gazzelloni Piccolo Artist Competition.
Four students of the piccolo master program @ KCA were selected as semi-finalist for the NFA Piccolo Artist Competition 2022 (Chicago) Three of them went to the finals.
Prize winners were Ester Esteban Solana (first prize) Sarah Miller (second prize) Erica Vogel (third prize) Maria Leiva Sepúlveda showed wat a terrific piccolo player she is during the semi-finals.
Mar Sala Romagosa, alumnus of the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo class, has been appointed as piccolo solo at the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic Orchestra (Poland)
Erica Vogel, student of the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp piccolo class, has been appointed as the new piccolo player at the Koninklijke Marinierskapel (The Netherlands)
Upcoming Events
May 24, 2026
ASO Family Concert ‘De Ruimtereizigers’
Freek De Craecker and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Lisanne Soeterbroek invite you on a captivating journey through space.
Location : AMUZ, Antwerp (Belgium)
Info & tickets : www.antwerpsymphonyorchestra.be
June 6, 2026
Huiskamerconcert
• Peter Verhoyen – piccolo
• Ann-Sofie Verhoyen – harp
Location : Ten huize Frank Hendrickx en Daniëlla Leleu, Opwijk (Belgium)
Info & tickets : www.opwijk.be/huiskamerconcert-peter-en-ann-sofie-verhoyen-piccolo-en-harp
July 10-15, 2026
International Flute Seminar Bruges
Masterclasses, individual lessons, workshops, audition training, Alexander technique, flute and piccolo intensive course, concerts
St-Lodewijkscollege, Bruges (Belgium)
Info & tickets: www.ifsb.be
July 21-24, 2026
International Flute and Piano Forum
Masterclasses (flute, piccolo, piano) chamber music, lectures, concerts
Diekirch (Luxembourg)
Info & tickets: www.forumflutepiano.com
August 6-9, 2026
NFA Flute Convention
Concerts, masterclasses, workshops, lectures, competitions
Oregon Convention Center, Portland (USA)
Info & tickets: www.nfaonline.org/convention/HomePage
September 17-20, 2026
Belgrade Piccolo Weekend
Concerts, masterclasses, workshops, lectures, competitions
Location : Belgrade Philharmonic, Belgrade (Serbia)
Info & tickets: www.belgradepiccoloweekend.rs
September 26-29, 2026
Internationales Flöten Festival Deutsche Gesellschaft für Flöte
Concerts, masterclasses, workshops, lectures, competitions
Location : Folkwang Universität der Kunste, Essen (Germany)
Info & tickets: www.floete.net
November 21-22, 2026
Flötenfest 2026
Masterclasses, concerts, workshops, competitions
Location : Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität Klagenfurt (Austria)
Info & tickets: www.oefg.net/aktuelles/floetenfest-2026-save-the-date-2517.html
April 23-25, 2027
AFE Flute Convention
Concert and masterclasses
Location : Valladolid (Spain)
Info & tickets: afeflauta.org
This post is also available in: Dutch