Belgian Composer Wim Henderickx Dies at 60 Years Old

 

In the afternoon of Sunday, 18 December 2022, Belgian composer Wim Henderickx died unexpectedly at his home. He was 60 years old.

In addition to being a gifted composer, Wim was also a percussionist and taught at the conservatories in Antwerp and Amsterdam. Above all, he was possibly the most engaging artist Flanders ever had - his dedication to the various communities, his commitment to young artists and his broad and open-minded perspective on the world made him unique.

The sudden passing of this inspiring figure is a tremendous loss to the Flemish and international world of culture. But his impact and his vision will go on, and will continue to be an inspiration for coming generations.

Wim Henderickx studied composition and percussion at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp (AP University College) and sonology at both Ircam in Paris and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

In his compositions, Wim took inspiration from many cultures. He wrote works for opera, musical theatre, choir, symphony orchestra, wind orchestra and chamber orchestra. He was an avid enthusiast of electronics and electronic music, which frequently occupied a central place in his work. Between 2004 and 2010 he produced his TANTRIC CYCLE.

For the semifinal of the 2008 Queen Elizabeth Competition, he composed CANZONE for voice and piano. 2016 saw the première of his work BLOSSOMINGS for choir, trumpet and electronics at LSO St Luke's in London with the BBC Singers, Marco Blaauw, and conductor Martyn Brabbins.

In 2017 his work REQUIEM, in collaboration with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, was performed by Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. His CELLO CONCERTO (Sangita) premièred with Jean-Guihen Queyras and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra at the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam, and his ENIGMA VII for orchestra premièred in 2019 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. SONGS OF NATURE had an online world première at the Klarafestival 2021 followed by a live première in Shanghai, China, and in 2022 this production won China's GanLan Art Award.

Since 1996 Wim had been resident composer at Muziektheater Transparant, where he produced countless musical theatre works to much international acclaim. In 2013 he became artist-in-residence at the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He was also artist-in-residence at the HERMESensemble. He was the inspirer of the Summer School for young composers Soundmine at Musica Impulscentrum.

In May 2022, his opera DE BEKEERLINGE (THE CONVERT) premièred at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp, and quickly became that opera house's most successful contemporary production in over 20 years. This production was available on OperaVision.eu until December 2022, and later this season it will be on stage at Opera de Rouen.