Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of European music with Casco Phil's captivating series, exploring the harmonious blend of historical and cultural melodies. From the rhythmic echoes of Hungarian folk to the serene notes of Arvo Pärt, embark on a musical journey that transcends time. Experience the vibrant connections between music and culture in 'Summer Concerts: Europe', find tranquility in 'Spiegel Im Spiegel', and awaken your senses with 'Winter Morning Walks'. These events promise to deliver a symphony of emotions and musical exploration.

Harmonies Across Europe: A Journey Through Music and Time with Casco Phil

Felix Mendelssohn composed his monumental oratorio Elijah in 1846, at the height of his career. The work combines the grandeur of Handel and Bach with Mendelssohn’s Romantic refinement. Dramatic choral passages, intimate arias, and virtuosic ensembles alternate in a score that vividly portrays the struggles and spirituality of the prophet Elijah.

[Mendelssohn’s Elijah]

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Music that brings stillness. It may sound paradoxical, but that’s exactly the goal of Casco Phil’s INKEER concerts. Together with a professional meditation specialist, Casco Phil’s string quartet offers a counterbalance to our hectic, digital, hyper-fast daily lives. The quest for inner peace is timeless. From the intricate vocal weavings of Palestrina, Allegri and Mechelen-born Philippus de Monte to the impressionistic colour palettes of Ravel and Debussy: old and new meet in a search for inner calm that makes you forget time—even if just for a moment.

[inkeer]

Mechelen Public Library Het Predikheren

The Eleven O’Clock Mass is a compelling concept by De VELINX and B-Classic, where classical music in its broadest sense enters into dialogue with sharp, contemporary reflections – call it a sermon for the soul.

Eleven O’Clock Mass – In Paradisum

The Velinx

Voces Intimae – literally “inner voices” – is a programme where strings speak the language of the soul. Since the early Romantic era, composers have considered the string quartet the ideal medium for their most personal confessions. Beethoven, for example, composed his Eleventh String Quartet during a time of unrequited love and increasing deafness. The result is a deeply introspective and expressive work. Samuel Barber, decades later, rose to fame with his heartbreaking Adagio for Strings, originally the slow movement of his own quartet – now a timeless 20th-century classic.

Voces Intimae

Cinema Walburg

The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo is a leading hub for young international talent. Musicians from top conservatories choose to refine their artistry at this prestigious private institution, and their excellence was once again proven during the 2025 Queen Elisabeth Competition.

EPSG:4326

MuCH – Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel

Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel

“Les extrèmes se touchent” — a motto composer Luc Brewaeys lived by. Ten years after his passing, Casco Phil and fellow ensembles pay tribute to one of Flanders’ most striking composers.

Brewaeys meets Zappa

The formula behind Casco Phil’s annual Summer Concerts has become well-known: in an informal open-air setting, the orchestra presents a surprising repertoire, featuring an equally surprising soloist.

Summer concerts – Baroque around the World

Park Sorghvliedt

Following their success in 2024, Casco Phil returns to the Léman Bouquet Festival in 2025 — a vibrant multi-day celebration of classical music and jazz along the scenic shores of Lake Geneva.

Summer Tour: Léman Bouquet Festival

Port d'Yvoire

As a socially engaged cultural organisation, Casco Phil gladly seizes every opportunity to support good causes. This year, the orchestra will perform at the eighth edition of the Spring Concert by Aentwerk, a non-profit dedicated to charitable projects.

Spring Concert Aentwerk vzw

Gebouw K - Aula Rector Dhanis - Stadscampus UAntwerpen

Is there a better way to wake up than with a fresh morning walk? We think so. If you are then served music in combination with poetry, a nice hot cup of coffee and a pastry, your Sunday will not be ruined... Winter Morning Walks will take you for a walk on Sunday, December 8, at 8 a.m. in Mariekerke (near Bornem). . The Casco Phil string quartet put together a warm and soothing program to warm up your winter toes. The meditative Third String Quartet by minimalist Philip Glass is linked to several other masterpieces that achieve maximum expression with minimal means. For example, Japanese pianist Gen Tomuro pays tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto, the recently deceased Japanese 'king of minimalism'. Arvo Pärt's captivating Für Alina completes the search for beauty in simplicity. 

Winter Morning Walks

Music that can provide tranquility. It may sound contradictory, but that is precisely the goal of Casco Phil's INKEER concerts. Together with a professional meditation specialist, Casco Phil's string quartet offers a counterbalance to our hectic, digital, hyper-fast daily lives. The search for inner peace is timeless, and Casco Phil's string quartet combines music by Johann Sebastian Bach with other greats who get maximum expression from minimal means. In this way, Casco Phil draws a common thread through three centuries of musical tranquility. The crowning glory is the enchanting Spiegel im Spiegel; not only the most performed work by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, but also one of the top hits in the Klara Top 100 for years. Together with violinist Elise Bertrand, Casco Phil invites his audience on a meditative journey through history, in search of inner peace and beauty.

Spiegel Im Spiegel (inwardness)

Casco Phil is present for an accessible concert packed with beloved classics. A few highlights have been selected from the heyday of symphonic music, which together form an anthology of the best that orchestral literature has to offer. From the enchanting Morgenstimmung by Grieg and Pavane by Fauré, to the Spanish fire of De Falla's Danza Ritual del Fuego, to the lurid Intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Casco Phil traverses almost the entire emotional spectrum in a bird's eye view. In addition, we are looking forward to two solo works: the beautiful Romance No. 2 by Beethoven and the devilishly difficult Polonaise de Concert by Wieniawski. Rino Yoshimoto, a Japanese violinist from the ranks of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, invites her audience to an evening full of memorable melodies, intimate lyricism and symphonic splendor. 

Festival Of Zeeuwsch-vlaanderen

Scheldetheater

He was barely 35, this Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis. He received little recognition in his far too short life. But today everyone wholeheartedly agrees that he was one of the most important Lithuanian artists of all time. A painter who pressed his brush on symbolism and laid the foundation for later European abstraction; a composer who, because of his progressiveness, was programmed in St. Petersburg alongside Medtner and Scriabin; a self-declared synesthete who heard colors and gave colors to sounds, which is why his canvases are often given musical titles and his compositions are so colorful.

String Quartet By Ciurlionis With Kurt Van Eeghem

Cultuurcentrum Hasselt

On the occasion of the James Ensor year, Casco Phil is browsing through the colorful repertoire for woodwind quintet. Ensor himself prided himself on the fact that many contemporaries shared his sensitivity to colors with none other than Claude Debussy, the founder of musical impressionism. The interweaving of sound and color turned out to be a sign of the times: just as Ensor was inspired by shades of color and light, a whole generation of French composers became fascinated by the contrast between light and dark. Milhaud and Taffanel, among others, managed to utilize the wide sound diversity of a woodwind collective. The trend was also picked up on the Flemish side: Frédéric Devreese composed his James Ensor Suite as the ultimate tribute to the Ostend master. From delicate melodies to richly varied textures, be moved by the splendor of this enchanting music in the intimate setting of the Predikherenkerk. 

In The Shadow Of Ensor

To the sounds of atmospheric music, dozens of illuminated drones dance in synchrony in the starry sky, forming breathtaking figures and patterns that symbolize the beauty and dynamism of water. Can you imagine it? 

As a festive conclusion to the Mechelen city festival Construct Europe, Casco Phil makes this dream come true, in collaboration with Drones AndLights. The starting point for this free spectacle is Georg Friedrich Handel's iconic Water Music , one of the cornerstones of the Baroque repertoire. In addition, Casco Phil put together a richly varied program around the theme of 'water', including The Moldau by Smetana, the enchanting Syrinx by Claude Debussy, and The Swan from the Animal Carnival by Camille Saint-Saëns. 

Water Music

Casco Phil trekt opnieuw naar het buitenland! In het kleine Rheda-Wiedenbrück pakken we het groots aan. De naam van Bryce Dessner staat in het collectieve geheugen gegrift als de gitarist en componist voor rockband The National, maar zijn carrière als ‘klassiek’ componist ontwikkelt zich in razendsnel tempo. In zijn Aheym blikt hij melancholisch terug op zijn leven, als een reiziger die terugdenkt aan zijn eerste thuis. Ook Mendelssohn droomde van ander oorden, toen hij zijn Vierde symfonie, de ‘Italiaanse’, componeerde. In zijn bekendste symfonie laat hij de terugkerende muzikale thema’s met elkaar wedijveren in de klassieke vierdelige vorm van de symfonie. Zo kleurde Mendelssohn de Mozartiaanse symfonische traditie bij met de typisch romantische beeldenrijkdom. Het resultaat is een voortreffelijke symfonie die bruist van energie en levenslust. Ook Tsjaikovski beschouwde Mozart als zijn idool. In zijn spectaculaire Rococovariaties zingt de Russische componist een veelkleurige lofzang op de cello. De virtuositeit van de solist, hier de straffe cellist Pierre Fontenelle, wordt ingebed in een transparante en haast lichtvoetige orkestpartituur die van deze variatiereeks een absolute lieveling van het publiek maakt.

Dessner Meets Mendelssohn

Music transcends today's actual boundaries, echoes the natural, musical boundaries of yesteryear, and above all shows how much music is the connecting factor between different cultural regions. Casco Phil takes you on a journey that began hundreds of years ago and introduces you to folk music from Hungary, stirring Klezmer from Romania, festive French music at the Court of Louis XIV, and much more. You will hear beautiful music from all corners of Europe as we take you on a complete 'tour musicale', from Western Europe to Central Europe and Northern Europe, and then via Eastern Europe to Southern Europe. The program takes a journey through Europe, taking as its starting point the current members of the European Union. At the same time we also take a journey in time. Music from the 16th century is discussed (by the Mechelen Philippus De Monte), but also baroque music, music from classicism and romanticism, a significant portion of folk music arranged for orchestra, and of course also a touch of accessible modern music. In this way, cultural regions are musically highlighted through the different epochs that have molded Europe into what it is today.

Summer Concerts: Europe

Château Cleydael

Welcome to the music holiday All Go Rhythm, the ultimate sound adventure that you should not miss! Discover the enchanting world of rhythm, sound and creativity together with 2 experienced teachers from Musica and 5 talented musicians from Casco Phil. Located in the beautiful domain of Landcommanderij Alden Biesen, this 5-day music holiday promises to be an unforgettable experience.

During the music holiday we delve deeper into the rhythm that surrounds us, and that we ourselves are. Discover the temple of rhythm that your body builds, from breathing to heartbeat, from blinking your eyes to swallowing your throat. This is no ordinary music holiday; this is a journey to the core of music, movement, sound, film and philosophy.

Crokant Music Holiday – Bilzen (waiting List)

Grand Commandery Alden Biesen

For all young creatives  between 6 and 12 years old, a surprising, tasty and fascinating program  is  on the menu from 19 to 23 August  as part of the Ghent Festival of Flanders. During Roezemoes we serve a harmonious mix of melodies, delicious ingredients and a pinch of philosophy. Together with teachers from Musica, our musicians and the philosophers from Ghent University, we teach your children to experiment with sounds and music, we explore Ghent (even by boat!), we dig deeper into the wonderful world of philosophy and go we cook together.

Roezemoes Music Holiday – Ghent Festival

Music Center De Bijloke

Welcome to the exciting world of rhythm and music, where sounds and movements merge into a unique experience! Rhythm is all around us, from our breathing to the beating of our heart. Discover the magic of rhythm together with our experienced teachers from Musica and five musicians from Casco Phil. During the Music Holiday Mechelen we explore not only music, but also movement, sound, film and philosophy. The program adapts to the dynamics of the group, making every day a new sound adventure full of creativity and fun.

Crokant Music Holiday – Mechelen

Mechelen Cultural Center

Summer tour: Open Air Schlossplatz Coburg

Schlossplatz

Casco Phil has long performed on concert stages at home and abroad. But in 2024, for the first time we will take our musicians on a long-term concert trip across national borders. We will tour the Baltic states and proudly fly the Belgian tricolour in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Musically, anyway. Because with Luc Van Hove’s Diabelli Veränderung and Wim Henderickx’ Only Darkness and Shadows, this will be a concert with some (entirely justified) compositional chauvinism.

We combine these works from our own country with music from our Baltic neighbours like Arvo Pärt and Peter Vähi and the timeless works of Beethoven.

We reach yet another milestone for our ensemble with this international tour. Thus, we are not only reaching higher and higher, but also spreading our wings further and further.

Summer Tour: Tour of the Baltics

Mītava Open-Air Concert Hall

Pažaislis Music Festival

Rapla Church Music Festival

St. John Church Tartu

Summer Tour: Beethoven Meets Pärt

With Acoustic Power, Casco Phil and Concertgebouw Bruges bring classical music into the classroom. We completely immerse third-grade students in this wondrous repertoire. We do so far from the academic and instead adopt a sophisticated trajectory from first steps to final chord.

Acoustic Power

Concertgebouw Brugge

Not many will disagree: Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the greatest composers of all time. He single-handedly pushed the boundaries of orchestral work. There is an untenably progressive evolution in his nine symphonies. The ‘Eroica’, the ‘Pastorale’, the massive Ninth … all were ground-breaking in their own way. There is a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ Beethoven in the symphonic repertoire. That is how influential he has been.

Beethoven Connotations | Antwerp Spring Festival

Handelsbeurs Antwerpen

La Mer: an endless source of inspiration for artists from Claude Debussy to Charles Trenet. It really doesn’t have to be the Côte d’Azur or the Mediterranean coasts. Ostend was Europe’s leading seaside town in the late 19th century. A place where you could enjoy sun, sea and beach. Where one could parade among the beau monde. Where you could simultaneously listen and be seen at the Kursaal’s renowned concerts and recitals. They had the very greatest conductors and composers on the rostrum and the largest stars in classical music were visiting… and one James Sidney Edouard Ensor was in the loyal audience. The quirky painter was a loyal guest at the Théâtre Royale d’Ostende.

Elgar & Friends | Ensor Festival

Kursaal Oostende

After more than 20 years on stage, Ozark Henry has become a piece of Belpop history. He was praised by David Bowie, picked up by Chantal Pattyn and has several platinum records in his pocket. Starting out as an avant-garde experimentalist, he evolved into a compelling symphonic songwriter. Someone who can masterfully paint with orchestral colours both in his own music and as a producer or arranger for other artists. Piet Goddaer is someone who perfectly understands what it is like to work with classical musicians – for example, he was ambassador of the Belgian National Orchestra in 2012.

Ozark Henry

The rising sun, fresh winter air, a leisurely walk and a peaceful concert to conclude: those are the ingredients of Winter Morning Walks. With the Scheldedijk and the picturesque setting of The Chapel as a backdrop, Casco Phil provides the perfect start to the day.

Kurt Van Eeghem and conductor Benjamin Haemhouts have selected an appropriate and atmospheric programme for the occasion with music and wintery poetry.

Start your day in a special way and join Winter Morning Walks!

Winter Morning Walks!

The Chapel

Chris Potter is a phenomenon on the sax. Whether he is pulling solo angular melody lines out of his sleeve or creating soft harmonies with his ensembles, it is always an impressive performance. At the request of the leading San Francisco Jazz Festival – where Potter since last year has been artistic director-in-residence – he wrote a new work Generations. “A meditation on the links between people through time, and on the relationships between events in the past, present and future,” this is how the saxophonist describes his creation.

Chris Potter: Generations

BOZAR

De Doelen

Caruso & Friends | Ensor Festival

Naples is a metropolis that captures the imagination.

All the great Italian opera composers passed through: Rossini as director and Donizetti with several premieres. Domenico Cimarosa received his training and later rose to prominence there. But Bellini and Verdi are also strongly associated with the southern Italian port city.

New Year in Napoli!

Cultuurcentrum Ter Dilft

De Velinx

cc Het Bolwerk

Ensor & Friends | Ensor Festival

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis only lived to 35. In his far too short of a life, he hardly knew recognition. But today, everyone agrees wholeheartedly that he was one of the most important Lithuanian artists of all time. A painter who pressed his brush on symbolism and laid the foundations for later European abstraction; a composer whose forward thinking put him on the programme alongside Medtner and Scriabin in St Petersburg; a self-proclaimed synesthete who heard colours and gave colour to sounds, which is why his canvases are often given musical titles and why his compositions are so colourful.

Ciurlionis’ String Quartet & Kurt Van Eeghem

Schouwburg Noord

C.C. Casino Koksijde

As Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lay on his own deathbed, he sketched out the broad outlines of his Requiem in 1791. He still managed to put the work’s phenomenal choral parts and basso continuo accompaniment on paper. Before he can orchestrate the music, the composer died. Yet the requiem has survived Mozart thanks to his former pupil and colleague, Frans Xaver Süßmayr. Indeed, he made sure to complete the work, to the liking of his master. Based on the surviving material and Süßmayr’s knowledge of Mozart’s composing, it is as if he brought him back to life.

Mozart Requiem

Waarschoot Church

Saint Peter and Paul

Sint-Germanuskerk

Cultuurhuis De Warande

1841. At the Brussels Industrial Exhibition, from behind a curtain, a 27-year-old inventor blows the first notes from a home-made musical instrument. His name? Adolphe Sax. In no time, his saxophone becomes famous and established. The clever salesman that he was, Sax entered into a monopoly contract to supply French military music bands with saxes. Befriended composers like Jules Demersseman and Hector Berlioz wrote pieces for this new instrument meaning that the repertoire rapidly grew. Its importance in jazz music can hardly be overestimated. The saxophone is here to stay.

1994. Dinant, the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, hosts the first edition of an international music competition. Anyone who thinks that this will be a small-scale, Belgian-French get-together is sorely mistaken. The list of honours also includes Russians and Japanese musicians, for example. Young saxophonists from all over the world travel to the little city in the Ardennes for the competition.

2023. The eighth edition of the International Adolphe Sax Competition is on the programme. Over three rounds, young musicians give their best. From 13 November, the top six may decide who wins the first prize in a mandatory piece and a programme with orchestra. Casco Phil is a proud partner of this special competition. Following a first successful collaboration in 2019, we are only too happy to return as the final orchestra. Guest conductor David Reiland will be there to support these talents in their symphonic experience.

International Sax Competition

Collégiale Notre Dame de Dinant

Music that can provide stillness. It may sound contradictory, yet that is precisely what we want to do with our INKEER (CONTEMPLATION) concerts.

In a world that never stops and where we limp along from impulse to impulse, we all feel the need to stop every now and then. A concert is already an outstanding reflective moment but what if we enrich that experience further with mindfulness? On each occasion, we put forward an artist who, besides being an excellent performer, is also versed in meditation or yoga. The audience first takes part in a session before immersing yourself in the music.

Inkeer (Contemplation)

Clouseau, Jan Leyers, Marble Sounds, Ozark Henry … our musicians often, and gladly, collaborate with leading Belgian pop and rock artists. We get into the studio with them as session strings for their albums, but we also provide a symphonic foundation to their songs live.

30 Years of Arco: Musical Partners for Years

AFAS Stadion

For 15 years, the paths of Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort and Casco Phil have been intimately entwined. In addition to a musical partnership, a close friendship developed since 2008 thanks to Ludwig van Beethoven. To celebrate that shared path, we will pull out all the stops in 2023 and make the composer the guest of honour at the birthday party. Throughout the year, he will be at the centre of our collaborations. We perform his Seventh Symphony and his Coriolan Overture with Michiel Delanghe as guest conductor and Liebrecht then joins us for his Third Pianoconcerto. A formidable work that draws you right in from the very first notes, thanks to the lightning-fast effort with which the soloist immediately kicks off. Like a rocket, the piano soars into the sky, only to land again, gurgling and full of vibrating ornamentation, passing the baton to the orchestra.

Beethoven complete

Stadsschouwburg Leuven

Sint-Pieter-en-Paulkerk

Manège Tienen

Unexpected music at an unexpected time in an unexpected place. With Late Night Avant-Garde, we throw out all preconceptions about contemporary music. We leave the concert hall and perform a contemporary repertoire in surprising places, such as nightclubs or cocktail bars. Relaxation, conviviality and personal contact are key. You are sitting almost right next to the musicians, and all composers performed are there for a chat about their music. We start late, deliberately keeping the length of the concerts manageable. This makes Late Night Avant-Garde the ideal way to connect a new, young audience with today’s classical music.

Late Night Avant-Garde

SMAK - Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art

You can enjoy not only the whistling of birds in the restful greenery of the woods of Waterloo just outside Brussels; for decades music can also be heard here among nature. Indeed, the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel is where the crème de la crème of young international soloists study. After graduating from the world’s most prestigious conservatories, musicians come from all over the world to delve further into the repertoire. With intensive study, practical lessons from a sublime teaching staff and master classes by the world’s most famous performers – here the next generation is prepared for a glittering career in classical music. Consequently, many of them soon end up as laureates of the famous Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Music Chapel Festival

Below the Kiel, pinned inside a bend of the meandering Scheldt, is the Hoboken district. A neighbourhood far from the Antwerp city centre bustle but full of vibrant liveliness. An area where grey clashes with green, where 21st-century modernism clashes with the history of war, where the city clashes with the countryside. There, the picturesque Sorghvliedt Park is our base for a free musical party for, with and by the locals themselves.

Summer Concert – Hoboken

A night at the Opera will be A night to remember, One to cherish and to hold!

A gala concert with the most beautiful arias and melodies from 300 years of opera history!

Summer Concert – Mechelen

Cultuurplein

A night at the Opera will be A night to remember, One to cherish and to hold!

Summer Concert – Cleydael Goes Classic

Cleydael Golf & Country Club

Participate in de Golf Goes Classic contest and initiation, and enjoy a day filled with golf and classical music!

Contest & Initiation – Golf Goes Classic

At the crossroads of art, science, and industry, Casco Phil is working on a project together with the University of Antwerp, energy company Vleemo, and the Port of Antwerp.

On 14 June – not coincidentally also World Wind Day – we will be taking the air currents above the docks and using them to compose a new piece of music. Thanks to an algorithm developed by the University of Antwerp, we will translate the wind’s power and the windmills’ movement into a playable score that our musicians will play live, on sight. An intriguing project bringing together a great deal of expertise to share an important message.

Windmill Symphony

Port House

‘A matchless stylist of pop’, according to the New York times; ‘Hoboken has lost its voice’, wrote The Daily News; ‘Best singer of his generation’ read the headline in the LA Times. The newspapers ran out of superlatives when Frank Sinatra died on 14 May 1998 following a double heart attack.

Sinatra Concerto

Stadsschouwburg Mechelen

Can one ever have enough of Ludwig van Beethoven? For Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort, in any case, the answer is no. During Kursaal Classics, an event that is fast becoming a fixture in our spring calendar, Vanbeckevoort will join Casco Phil in the casino in Ostend to perform Beethoven’s fiendishly difficult and imposing Emperor Concerto. This piece was written at the time when the army of Napoleon Bonaparte was approaching the border, and is thus a perfect companion piece to Beethoven’s equally war-thirsty Seventh Symphony. A work that Richard Wagner dubbed the ‘apotheosis of the dance itself’, but which is a fixture in the canon above all due to its magestic alegretto. This will be our second time this season working together with Michiel Delanghe who, despite all the fighting, will get us home safely with a triumphant ‘allegro con brio’.

Kursaal Classics

You might know Bryce Dessner for his moving work as guitarist and composer for rock outfit The National, but his career as an independent ‘classical’ composer is developing rapidly. The classical path brought Dessner together with icons such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Nico Muhly and Caroline Shaw, but also with pop phenomena in the likes of Bon Iver, Paul Simon and Sufjan Stevens. This Birds of Paradise performance will mark the first-ever programme bringing together three of his concerto’s: Trombone Concerto, St. Carolyn by the Sea and Concerto for two pianos. The event concludes with the world premiere of a suite from the Complete Mountain Almanak: a song cycle from Norwegian singer-songwriter Rebekka Karijord for whom Jessica Dessner wrote the lyrics and Bryce orchestrated the arrangements.

Bryce Dessner

De Singel

TivoliVredenburg

The Chapel in Mariekerke reopens its doors after a thorough renovation, and Casco Phil provides a surprising and adventurous musical programme tailored to this beautiful church.

Opening The Chapel

The young dancers from Junior Ballet Antwerp will put on their glass pointe shoes for this musical fairy tale set to music by Sergei Prokofiev.

In 2023, for the first time Casco Phil will collaborate with Antwerp’s leading ballet school that trains young dancers from 17 – 21 years old. With their top-level artistic projects, Junior Ballet Antwerp prepares these elite talents to go on to higher education dance training. Our ensemble will bring to life the Russian composer’s incredibly rich, symphonic score in a setting for chamber orchestra. However, this smaller line-up does not mean the sound of the orchestra will be less colourful! Our outstanding musicians working under the expert guidance of conductor Michiel Delanghe will ensure that not one single drop of expressiveness gets lost.

Cinderella

If you have come across our ensemble, you probably already know that our musicians are able and willing to take on an incredibly varied range of repertoire. And we are always glad to cross boundaries between genres when making music. “There are only two sorts of music: good, and bad”, as our artistic director Benjamin Haemhouts puts it. So, in the 2022-23 season we will also continue the successful collaboration between our ensemble and the Belgian indie-pop group Marble Sounds. We have already played with them on their album Tautou, toured with them through Europe, and, the highlight of our collaboration so far, made a live recording of our show in Concertgebouw Brugge. This season, together with frontman Pieter Van Dessel, the band will once again take us with on a small tour through Flanders to promote their new album released later this year.

Marble Sounds

CC De Werft

Cultuurcentrum Strombeek

Schouwburg Kortrijk

Cultuurcentrum Mechelen

Casco Phil will see in the new year with a generous helping of opera: the top arias and harmonious duets from Mozart’s masterpieces Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflöte; Rossini’s hilarious / belly laughs Italian buffa, the lyrical belcanto of Donizetti; the youthful energy of the Fledermaus overture and the coquettish kisses of Franz Lehar’s Giuditta. Together with soloists Hanne Roos and Alberto Martinez, we take you on a journey through repertoire that will move you deeply then have you crying tears of laughter. And while the concert is centred on opera, of course you couldn’t have a January concert without Johann Strauss’ waltzes, polkas and the Radetzky March. A delightful New Year’s letter set to music to start 2023 with a smile.

New Year’s Concert

De Velinx Tongeren

For this holiday season, let Casco Phil take care of the Christmas carols. Together with the childrens’ choir BLOEMFONTEIN we will be offering seasonal cheer and music to help keep you warm in the winter cold! Soloists from our ensemble will present a range of great classics mixed with some less well-known repertoire, with a programme centred on the Estonian mezzo soprano Kadi Jurgens. With their atmospheric choral singing, the pure voices of the children’s choir will add a unique flavour to this wintery music.

Christmas Concert

There is a real sense of purity in the hundred poems that Pulitzer prize winner Ted Kooser wrote on his morning walks while he was undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer And there is also a crystalline beauty in the songs by composer Maria Schneider who set Kooser’s poems for string orchestra, jazz trio, and soprano. The phenomenal interweaving of poetry and music makes Winter Morning Walks an exceptional song cycle which has very rightly won three Grammy awards, and it also lends itself to a slightly unusual concert format.

“German”, and “human” – these are the two adjectives that are often used to describe Brahms’ Requiem. German, of course, due to the language of the texts that the composer selected for the mass, and human due to the piece’s humanist approach and its striking depth of feeling.

Postponed | Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem

Spending a week together making music, immersed in nature, talking, exploring, trying things out, and discovering the city. And, at the end of every day, a delicious, homemade, healthy meal on every plate so that noone’s tummy will be rumbling after all that fun… Casco Phil and Musica ‘impulse centre’ have been collaborating for eight years to organise the CroKant music camps, offering voyages of discovery to delight everyone’s tastebuds and eardrums. An enticing and exciting first step into the wonderful world of music for children from six to twelve years. And you don’t even need to play an instrument to participate, since Casco Phil will also be there to provide music.

Crokant

Alden Biesen

Casco Phil will be accompanying the stars of the Brussels Cello Festival during this festive gala evening.

In the wonderful acoustic of the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, artistic director Han Bin Yoon organises a biennial festival showcasing the warm tenor tones of the stringed instrument. During this third edition of the festival, Casco Phil will be the musical partner for a varied programme of symphonic cello music. Iconic cellist Gary Hoffman will play Bruch’s masterpiece Kol Nidrei, while the Queen Elisabeth Laureate Hayoung Choi will guide the audience through a less known work, La Muse et le Poète. Anne Gastinel will present a Belgian masterpiece with Ysaÿes’ Meditation while David Cohen – Principal cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra – joins us for the Saint-Saëns’ Concerto in A minor.

Brussels Cello Festival | Gala Concert

Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel

From its rousing opening chords and famous waltz melody to the melancholy funeral march and on to the rapid finale: almost no work is quite as evocative as Beethoven’s Third Symphony. Conductor Benjamin Haemhouts and Casco Phil will together present this musical monument “to the memory of a great man”, as Beethoven himself said after he initially dedicated the symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte, but later changed his mind. And just in case one icon wasn’t enough, the programme will include another hit: Joseph Haydn’s Second Cello concerto.

Stéphanie Huang X Casco Phil

Romantic entanglements with a modern twist – that’s what actors Koen De Graeve & Ariane van Vliet and Peter Van den Begin & Tine Reymer bring, together with the musicians of Casco Phil. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is, alongside Romeo and Juliet, one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. With themes like love at first sight, jealousy, betrayal, and reconciliation – all blended with wit – this classic comedy remains timeless. Felix Mendelssohn composed vibrant music for the play, now brought to life on stage. Director Tom Goossens adapted the original script into a contemporary version, turning the entire venue into a theatrical playground.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A bucket list of favorite travel destinations is truly timeless. In this vibrant New Year's concert, Casco Phil charts a musical Grand Tour through Europe's major cultural capitals. The ensemble follows in the footsteps of generations of young travelers who, between the 17th and 19th centuries, embarked on exclusive journeys through the continent to soak up the best of its art and culture.

New Year's Concerts – The Grand Tour

Sint-Laurentiuskerk

Municipal Theater Mechelen

Is there a better way to wake up than with a crisp morning walk? We think so. Add live music, poetry, a warm cup of coffee and a freshly baked pastry, and your Sunday becomes unforgettable.

Winter Morning Walks – Winterreise

O-L-V-Hemelvaartkerk

Casco Phil shines a light on the early masterpieces of youthful composers who changed the course of music history. Mozart's First Symphony, written at the age of eight, already hints at his genius. Felix Mendelssohn — often dubbed the 'Mozart of the 19th century' — wrote one of the most beloved violin concertos ever, full of melody, brilliance and freshness. His final orchestral work even contains a playful nod to Mozart.

Mendelssohn with Sylvia Huang

Manege Tienen

What makes art authentic? Why do we value a work of art? Is it purely about the aesthetic experience, or does the identity of the creator matter just as much? These are the core questions of Black Box — a concert that offers not only a unique listening experience but also a compelling reflection on authorship and the impact of artificial intelligence in the arts.

Black Box

After the success of previous editions, Casco Phil returns to Concertgebouw Brugge in 2026 for a brand-new edition of Acoustic Power. Together with Concertgebouw Brugge, Casco Phil brings classical music into classrooms through a unique youth project featuring creative workshops and a symphonic concert.

Acoustic Power 2026

Late Night Avant-Garde is a surprising late-night concert by Casco Phil, presenting contemporary classical music in a warm and informal atmosphere. For exactly one hour, the orchestra's woodwind players take you on a musical journey full of premieres, character pieces, and international voices. The composers themselves are present and guide the audience through their works. A perfect opportunity for both newcomers and connoisseurs to experience today's avant-garde up close.

Casco Phil

Jan 8 - May 2, 2026

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

9 - 18 Jan, 2026

New Year's Concerts – The Grand Tour

Feb 8, 2026

Winter Morning Walks – Winterreise

16 - 18 Mar, 2026

Mendelssohn with Sylvia Huang

Apr 3, 2026

Black Box

Dec 13, 2025

[Mendelssohn’s Elijah]

Nov 22, 2025

[inkeer]

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