Koen Van Assche (°1967) is carillonist of the Belgian cities of Antwerp, Lier, Turnhout and Herentals. His musical education began in the children's choir of the Royal Flemish Opera in Antwerp, as well as with flute lessons. At the age of 14 he started his carillon studies at the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn" in Mechelen, where he graduated in 1986. He later obtained the Master's degree in Carillon at the LUCA School of Arts (Lemmens, Leuven). He has won performance prizes at several international carillon competitions, and has given recitals and masterclasses extensively in Europe, North America, and Australia. He is a noted pedagogue, and is the author of a playing method for the carillon. He teaches carillon at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” of Mechelen and at the Academy of Music in Lier.
Koen is known for his performances of Romantic music, encompassing both original Mechelen Romantic carillon compositions and arrangements of classical Romantic pieces. He is also known for his performances of carillon in ensemble with other instruments, especially with the "Bronzen Piano" (www.bronzenpiano.com), a mobile carillon created by Anna Maria Reverté and himself. Performances with this instrument include a concert with orchestra inside the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona in 2017 for an audience of more than a thousand listeners. He has played concerts with several orchestras, but also with such diverse instrumentations as piano, harpsichord, organ, synthesizer, brass, bassoon, classical accordion, acoustic and rhythmic percussion, choir, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, bagpipes, harp, harp quartet, flute, traverso, cello.
As a promoter of the carillon in local culture, he received cultural prizes and recognitions from the cities of Lier, Turnhout and Herentals. He has recorded 8 CD’s for carillon including “The Four Seasons” of Antonio Vivaldi; the music of Matthias Vanden Gheyn; and the double-CD "Grand Carillons", with piano music of Chopin. He also recorded the CD "Lier in Bronze", with carillon in combination with piano, mezzo-soprano, classical accordion, harp and flute. Koen Van Assche is the current president of the World Carillon Federation.
