1960 1969
1960

Robert Brossé and Liliane Valcke with their firstborn son Dirk Remi Gustaaf Brossé

1962

Dirk as a toddler with his loving mother Liliane

1964

As a young child, already musically active with a little drum

1966

Portrait

1970 1979
1970

Interested in science

1972

Playing the trumpet for the family

 

1972

Playing in the soccer team KFC Heusden

 

1975

Singing in the Saint – Barbara Men’s Choir in Heusden

1976

Graduation Day at the music school in Heusden

1976

Playing with his father and younger brother in the local windband (Kon. Oude Gemeente Harmonie Heusden)

1977

Playing in the brass ensemble of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Ghent

1977

Dirk Brossé at 17

1978

Jamming with violinist Guido Schiffer and bass player Maarten Weyler at Jazz Summerclass, Destelheide – Dworp

1978

Dirk plays with The Lazy River Big Band. At the piano Marc Matthys, his later friend for life

1979

Dirk Brossé at 19

1979

Concert tour in America with Antwerp Youth Orchestra -(Jeugd en Muziek orkest Antwerpen)

1979

With Raf Caramin and Ivo Hendricks at the Blue Lake International Music Camp, Interlochen Center for the Arts Michigan

 

1980 1989
1980

Flying to America…

1981

Selected as trumpet player in the World Youth Orchestra – Jeunesses Musicales. Performing Brahms Double concerto op. 102, at the Philharmonie Berlin with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and cellist Felix Schmidt. Orchestra conducted by Spanish Maestro Cristóbal Halffter

1981

Inspiring moment, chatting with one of the greatest violinists of all time, Yehudi Menuhin

1982

Appointed Music Director and principal conductor of the Brussels International Youth Orchestra. Conducting first public concert

1982

Enjoying the sun at the peaceful and beautiful Lincoln Center in New York

1982

First collaboration with composer and pianist Peter Ritzen

1982

Musica Barocca per Tromba e Organo, release of the first album as a trumpet player

 

1984

4 conductors taking a break during conducting masterclasses at Nice Summer Academy, France with Maestro Pierre Dervaux

1984

Portrait

1986

Release first album as a composer

1986

Manuscript of Dirk’s first recorded symphonic work 7 Inch Framed

1986

Release of Dirks first soundtrack for the film Springen

 

1987

The Brossé Family (fltr: Angelique, Danny, Sandra, Robert, Liliane, Dirk, Lucrèce)

1987

Dirk is giving a masterclass conducting to American actor Mel Brooks at Ghent Film Festival

1988

Conducting the Belgian National Youth Orchestra J&M in Japan

1988

Dirk proudly presents his score for the silent movie Visages d’Enfants by Jacques Feyder (1925)

1989

The national breakthrough as a composer came with his soundtrack for the film Boerenpsalm by Belgian film director Roland Verhavert. Here you see Dirk playing accordion at the filmset

1989

Debut concert at Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam,  conducting Belgian National Youth Orchestra Jeunesses Musicales

1990 1999
1990

With Japanese conducting mentor Hiroyuki Iwaki

1990

Coverpage of Dirk’s score for the most successful Belgian film ever Koko Flanel. With some never shared information on the Main Theme

1991

Dirk loves to chat and discuss musical issues with fellow composers. Here with Luc Brewaeys, Claude Coppens and Boudewijn Buckings

1992

Conducting the world premiere of his symphonic poem La Soledad de America Latina at the world exhibition in Seville, Spain

1992

Manuscript of Dirk’s filmscore for the ‘Academy Award’ nominated film Daens by Stijn Coninx

1992

With Belgian director Stijn Coninx at the film set of Daens

 

1993

Collaboration with American singer Randy Crawford. They have their birthday on the same day

1993

Recording the soundtrack for the Academy nominated film Daens by Belgian director Stijn Coninx. The score for Daens was the first international succes for Dirk Brossé. The movie and the music are a milestone in the history the Belgian cinema

1993

Portrait

1995

Manuscript of Dirk’s symphony no. 1 Artesia

1995

The first large scale concert, conducting at the Heizel in Brussel for the 50th memorial anniversary of D-Day

1996

First collaboration with Frank Van Laecke for the musical Sacco and Vanzetti. This first endeavor was the beginning for a lifetime of friendship and artistic symbiose, resulting in many collaborations until today

 

1997

The first concert in Latin America. Conducting the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra at Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela

1999

Recording the album ‘The London Philharmonic orchestra plays Brossé’ at Henry Wood Hall, London

1999

Conducting his first symphony Artesia with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

2000 2009
2000

Conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam

2000

Meeting with Ennio Morricone at Ghent Film Festival

2001

Conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall London

2001

Dirk’s sketches for his 2nd violin concerto Sophia

2002

The new millennium started for Dirk Brossé with a bang. He was appointed Music Director and conductor of the official inauguration concert of the EURO in Brussels. This concert was broadcasted all over the world

2002

Dirks first encounter with Africa was in 2002. His collaboration with the African Children’s Choir turned into a magic concert with Belgian National Orchestra at BOZAR Brussels, featuring Ibernice MacBean, Jean Bosco Safari and Jemimah Nasanga

2003

Time for leasure with his partner Claire Tillekaerts. Enjoying a breathtaking view at the Grand Canyon in Arizona

2004

Conducting London Symphony Orchestra while fighting with Darth Vater at Barbican Center London

2008

Conducting an open air concert during ‘Gentse Feesten’ in his lovely hometown Ghent

2009

Dirk was selected by John Williams to conduct the Star Wars in Concert World Tour. Travelling all over the US in the hotelbus of the Rolling Stones was very hard…

2009

With Star Wars actor R2D2 (Anthony Daniels) at O2 Arena London

2009

Conducting the music of Gabriel Yared with the Budapest Concert Orchestra (MAV Symphony Orchestra) at the Beiteddine Festival in Lebanon

2010 2019
2010

Conducting the world premiere of the The Hallow-e’en Dances with the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in Hong Kong

2010

Manuscript of Dirk’s composition The Hallow-e’en Dances, written for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

2010

Recording his violin concerto Echoes of silent Voices with Leonard Schreiber and the London Symphony Orchestra

2010

Appointed Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

2010

America unrolls the red carpet for Maestro Brossé. Cartoon by Karl Meersman in Trends, referring to Dirk’s appointment in Philadelphia

2011

John Williams attending Star Wars in Concert @ Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles

2011

Star Wars in Concert @ Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles

2011

World premiere of Haiku Cycle 1 at European Parliament, Brussels. With European President and Haiku poet Herman Van Rompuy and American pianist Daniel Blumenthal

2012

Creative cast of the BBC/HBO series Parade’s End, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall. The music Dirk composed was nominated for an Emmy Award

2012

Conducting the TV trailer Sing for Climate, an initiative by Nic Balthazar to raise awareness about the risks and effects of climate change

2012

With Jessye Norman @ Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia Gala

2013

In 2013 Dirk received the ‘Award for Excellence in Cultural Creativity’ of the Global Thinkers Forum

2013

Recording with South African Opera singer Pumeza Matshikiza and the African Children’s Choir at Abbey Road Studios, London

2013

Ghent-based artist Octave Landuyt was one of Dirk’s first supporters. They remained friends for life

2013

In 2013 Dirk was elevated to Belgium’s hereditary nobility, with the personal title of Ridder (Sir). Dirk receiving letters patent of nobility from H.R.H. King Filip of Belgium and H.R.H. Queen Mathilde

2013

Coat of arms of Sir Dirk Brossé 

2013

World premiere of the film ‘Brossé, a Destiny in Music’ at Ghent Film Festival. A portrait of composer and conductor Dirk Brossé by Jacques Servaes

2014

Recording Dirk’s score for the hit musical 14-18, produced by Studio 100. Dirk with writer Allard Blom, stage director Frank Van Laecke and singer Free Souffriau at Galaxy Studios, Mol

2015

Recording his Cello Concerto (aka Concerto for Isabelle) with cellist Marie Hallynck and the London Symphony Orchestra at Air Lyndhurst Studio, London

2015

Conducting his Cello Concerto (aka Concerto for Isabelle), performed by Lviv Academic Orchestra at Kiev Opera House

2015

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia celebrating three generations of Maestros. Fltr: Dirk Brossé, Marc Mostovoy and Ignat Solzhenitsyn

 

 

2016

Dirk conducts the New York premiere of his violin concerto Black, White and in Between at Carnegie Hall, New York. Dirk with Italian violinist Irene Abrigo and the Chamber Orchestra of New York

2016

With Roman Polanski and Alexandre Desplat. Conducting Scoring for Polanski, performed by the National Polish Radio Orchestra at Krakau Film Festival

2016

With Noble Prize winner Sir Paul Nurse, talking about Dirk’s new composition DNA in Music

2017

Conducting the New York premiere of his work Pictures at an Exhibition, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall.

2017

Conducting Distortion, a Hymn to Liberty, performed by the Chamber Orchestra New York at the United Nations Head Quarters, New York. Dirk having a great time with soprano Hanne Roos, pianist Jef Neve and singer Sioen

2018

CD release The Genius of Film Music, recorded by London Philharmonic Orchestra

2018

Replacing and conducting John Williams at the Royal Albert Hall London with the London Symphony Orchestra

2019

In Kuala Lumpur, conducting the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra

2019

Dirk is considered as the numero uno in conducting cross over projects. Here with the Metropole Academy Orchestra at Tomorrowland, the largest EDM festival in the world

2019

Conducting Gabriel Yared’s 70th birthday concert in Beirut, Lebanon. With soulmates and friends for life Marcel Khalife, Rami Khalife and Gabriel Yared

2020 2029
2020

Conducting ‘Avicii in Concert’ with Noord Nederlands Orkest in Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam

2020

World premiere ‘Daens The Musical 2.0’

2020

Celebrating 60th birthday with some close friends

2020

March 13: complete lock down thanks to Covid 19. Time for introspection, meditation and composition

2021

Conducting a farewell concert for Angela Merkel @ BOZAR Brussels

2021

Conducting the 1ste Genshin Impact anniversary concert for 40 million fans

2021

My 11th season as Music Director of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

2021

Conducting the album MULTITUDE by Stromae with Belgian National Orchestra at Studio DADA Brussels

2022

Celebrating ‘40 years in Music’ with Brussels Philharmonic at De Bijloke Gent

2022

Dirk and Claire receiving the ‘Gulden Spoor Award’ at Gent city hall