The Klankenbos in Pelt is taking a breather. After years of intensive use, wind, rain, and the seasons have left their mark on the sound installations. That is why Musica is now taking the time to thoroughly renovate the trail.
We will be working hard over the coming period: some installations will be renewed, others will be replaced, and the signage will also be updated. This will ensure that you can once again enjoy an optimal sound experience in the forest. Of course, the forest will remain freely accessible for walking and relaxation.
Thank you for your patience. We look forward to welcoming you back soon to a renewed Klankenbos – ready for many years of listening pleasure.
Muziekvakantie CC Mechelen (6+) Musica & Casco Phil
During the summer holidays, we will once again be filling the air with cheerful sounds. Children and young people are welcome to visit CC Mechelen for a musical week accompanied by our enthusiastic educators and the musicians of Casco Phil.
The music holiday will feature a diverse programme. We will experiment with music and sound in a playful way, but there will also be time for cooking, philosophising and exercise. It will be a unique week in which children can create and let their imaginations run wild under the guidance of the professional musicians of Casco Phil and educators from Musica. At the end of the week, there will be a performance.
Age: 6-12 When: 6 – 10 July 2026, 9.30 – 16.30 h. (Daycare available from 8 – 18h) Where: CC Mechelen – Minderbroedersgang 5, 2800 Mechelen Price: 165 euro per week, lunch & snack included Verlaagd tarief: Children from low-income families in Mechelen pay only 25 euros. If you wish to apply for this, please indicate this on the registration form.
For more information or questions, please mail to: info@musica.be
OPEN CALL: Cappella Pratensis Summer School 2026 Musica, AMUZ & Cappella Pratensis
Course for amateur singers and young professionals
Are you ready to immerse yourself in the secret world of polyphony?
The Summer School offers amateur singers and young professional singers a unique opportunity to be part of a special musical adventure. From August 23 to 28, singing enthusiasts will gather in Antwerp for an intensive week of polyphonic music under the professional guidance of Cappella Pratensis teachers Tim Braithwaite, Stratton Bull, and Peter de Laurentiis. The highlight? A showcase on August 29 during the prestigious Laus Polyphoniae festival, where you will share the results of your collaboration with the general public.
Forbidden music in Elizabethan England
Quomodo Cantabimus in Terra Aliena: Forbidden music in Elizabethan England ‘How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?’ laments Psalm 136, recounting the anguish of the Jewish exiles during their captivity in Babylon as they are asked to sing by their captors. By the time Elizabeth I took the English throne in 1558, England was in the grip of profound religious turmoil, with the state religion having changed repeatedly since the initial zeal of Henry VIII’s Reformation. By the year 1600, with the supremacy of the Church of England having been firmly established, those who remained faithful to the church of Rome were suffering frequent persecution in the form of state-sanctioned torture and execution. In the midst of this oppressive political landscape, devout Catholics continued to meet in secret all over the country; some to celebrate mass, some to conspire against the crown, and some to make forbidden Catholic music together.
This year’s edition of the Cappella Pratensis Summer School explores such secret musical events and the role that music-making played in political and religious resistance. Particular focus is on the contents of a single surviving music manuscript, which likely passed between the recusant households of Sir John Petre and Edward Paston in the 1590s. This manuscript, like others owned by such households, contains not just the newest sacred polyphony of the day, but also music from earlier composers such as Thomas Crecquillon, Nicolas Gombert, Thomas Tallis, and John Taverner.
Under the guidance of the Gramophone Award-winning ensemble Cappella Pratensis, participants will be immersed in both the theory and practice of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Highlights include historical solfège, the Guidonian Hand, and singing directly from original notation. The week concludes with an unforgettable concert together with members of Cappella Pratensis, as part of the festival programme.
Festival focus
The essence of Laus Polyphoniae 2026: the portrait of a many-voiced Europe where music simultaneously reaches the full height of its powers and descends into decadence. Where Venice echoes in Prague, Seville resounds in Lisbon, Naples whispers to London and Munich is an undertone in the north and the south. Where music printing opens the floodgates of new ideas, where composers migrate, scores travel around the world, and ‘old’ and ‘new’ constantly spur each other on. Read more
Concerts & Lecture (included in the Summer School)
Participants in Cappella Pratensis’ Summer School 2026 will have the unique opportunity to attend a series of four afternoon concerts and one lecture at AMUZ.
Transports Publics: Monday, August 24, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. The Coudenberg connection: Richard Dering in Brussels
Près de votre oreille: Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Blessed echoes: Lute songs resound in England around 1600
Lecture by Hans Mulder: Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Europe around 1600: a continent in transition
More Maiorum: Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Floridi virtuosi d’Italia: brilliant virtuosos from Italy
New York Polyphony: Friday, August 28, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. A new wind: Hassler & Regnart
Amateur singers and young professional singers looking for deeper knowledge and artistic growth.
Cost
300 euros, including a selection of concert tickets for Laus Polyphoniae. Accommodation (not included in the participation fee) is available in various price ranges, from an excellent youth hostel nearby to a wide range of hotels.
When
Summer school: Sunday 23 August – Friday 28 August 2026
Concert at AMUZ: Saturday 29 August 2026, at 11:00 a.m.
Where Antwerp: Musica School Stedelijk Basisonderwijs (Lange Ridderstraat 48) and AMUZ (Kammenstraat 81).
Registration The registration deadline has now passed. The selection will be announced mid-April 2026.
Musica, STUK, Q-O2 and C-TAKT present an annual showcase of emerging sound artists in Belgium. The showcase shines a light on the diversity of the Belgian sound art landscape, and gives a boost to an upcoming generation of makers. We are looking for recent, existing sound work in any format: performance, installation, soundwalk, radio piece, intervention or other formats. The selected works will be presented in STUK on Thursday 26 November 2026. Please read the detailed conditions specified below.
For whom?
You are an emerging sound artist. In other words: in training, recently graduated, at the start of a career or still in need of developing a network within the Belgian or international sound art field.
You make sound-based work such as installation, performance, soundwalk, participatory work, radio art or intervention in public space.
You are asked to propose only one existing work or work-in-progress that is not older than 2024. Submissions with more than one work will not be considered.
You have a link to Belgium: either by residence, education or nationality.
What do we offer?
Presentation of the selected work or work-in-progress during the Showcase Emerging Sound 2026 at STUK in Leuven on Thursday 26 November 2026, with two set-up days on 24 and 25 November 2026.
Exchange session at Q-O2 to discuss your work with the organizers and other participants. Period: spring 2026
An optional preparatory residency with overnight stay and technical support at Musica in Pelt (Klankenbos) from 28 September till 2 October 2026.
Visibility and support in terms of communication and documentation towards Belgian and international programmers and the broader professional sector.
Compensation for the presentation of the selected work: €550
The selection does not take the age, gender, ethnicity, religion, cultural background, ability or education into consideration. Selected artists will be informed in March 2026.
Showcase Emerging Sound is a project byMusica, STUK, Q-O2 and C-TAKT
OPEN CALL: International Young Artist’s Presentation (IYAP) 2026 the stage for young ensembles
Does your vocal and/or instrumental ensemble perform music according to the principles of historical performance practice?International Young Artist’s Presentation (IYAP) 2026 offers you a unique platform to shine in front of an international audience and professionals from the sector.
What can you expect? Three days of intensive coaching by renowned artists Peter Van Heyghen & Nicolas Achten, who give you tips on music and stage presence, connecting with the audience, putting together a concert program, and more. Learn how to captivate an audience, tell your story, and strengthen your ensemble. The highlight: a performance during Laus Polyphoniae at AMUZ, Antwerp, for festival audiences, international music critics, and concert programmers. You will receive targeted feedback and practical tools to help your ensemble grow.
Read on and discover the details for your application!
Who is it for? Young vocal and/or instrumental musicians and ensembles with a maximum average age of 35. The ensemble focuses on playing historical instruments or using historical sources (up to 1920).
Cost There is no registration fee; only travel and accommodation costs are covered by the ensembles themselves. If desired, the organization can arrange for a host family to stay with.
Schedule March 1, 2026: Registration deadline End of March – beginning of April: Selection of 6 ensembles announced August 18 (5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.): Reception with host families and private first performance at AMUZ, Antwerp. August 19 to 21 (9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.): Coaching program in Antwerp August 22, 2026 (10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.): Presentation concerts during Laus Polyphoniae & reception with Feedback Committee
A condition for participation is that the entire ensemble must be available and present from August 18 to 22.
Locations: AMUZ (Festival of Flanders Antwerp): Kammenstraat 81, 2000 Antwerp (reception and concert) Musica School, Stedelijk Basisonderwijs, Lange Riddersstraat 48, 2000 Antwerp (coaching and rehearsal rooms)
Registration & Selection
In the application form you’ll be asked to provide:
general contact information
a detailed list of the ensemble members
the following attachments (Note: Provide Google Links unless stated otherwise. They should be immediately accessible, make sure it is open for us to view.)
a letter of motivation & mission statement
a detailed concert program – envision ca. 30’, please add songtexts to the file if applicable
a weblink to a representative video of a live performance of max. 15’ of music and min. 2 different pieces
a curriculum vitae of the ensemble and the CV’s of its individual members.
Continue the party on the Bonkers Kidsrave platform
Still swinging after your experience at our nomadic club Bonkers Kidsrave? Or looking for the perfect place to let your kids shake it all out? Bonkers Kidsrave (5+) has the answer. Discover upcoming party locations or listen to sets from your favourite DJ on the new online platform. Take a look and dance, dance, dance:
In 2025, Musica is proud to be partner of the BIG BANG Festival in DE SINGEL – Antwerp & De Bijloke, Ghent.
BIG BANG is a festive ode to adventurous music and sound art for young audiences.
Every year several major cultural venues in Europe, Brazil and Canada are transformed into an adventurous musical labyrinth. On their exploration, young visitors are presented with a multicoloured musical programme of unforgettable musical performances, intriguing sound installations and rousing concerts. But at BIG BANG, children do not only have to sit still and listen. It is simply a festival to discover.
We thank Herman Baeten [left] for his inexhaustible commitment as founder (1978), director (until 2014) and chairman (until 2025) of Musica. Now we welcome Stef Coninx to that chairman’s role. Stef has already had an extensive and multifaceted career in the music sector. For instance, he was director of Muziekcentrum Vlaanderen and was responsible for international relations and classical music at Kunstenpunt. In addition to his current role as chairman, Stef is also actively involved at Alamire Foundation.
We are expanding our Musica team with two talented new colleagues!
Graciano Dos Santos is an energetic and versatile artist. As the founder of Kleurrijk Entertainment, he connects diverse talent with various organizations. With extensive experience as a youth worker at Habbekrats VZW, a motivational speaker, and a performer, Graciano brings fresh energy and creativity to his role as an artistic collaborator at Musica.
Giulia Vismara, joins us as an experienced sound art expert and electroacoustic composer. She has an impressive background in music, sound, and artistic production, having worked with renowned institutions such as Q-O2, Overtoon, iMAL, and the Luigi Nono Foundation. Giulia is also a lecturer and researcher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and the Conservatory of Mons. Her expertise in sound art and interdisciplinary research will be a valuable addition to our work.
With Graciano and Giulia on board, we look forward to shaping the future of Musica together!
Starting in February, we are excited to welcome Nathalie De Boelpaep as our new Managing Director. Nathalie brings a wealth of experience from the cultural and social sectors. She has previously served as Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Femma, Director of Zinnema, Business Director of NTGent, and Cabinet Secretary for Petra De Sutter. Additionally, she has made her mark as a production manager at Muziektheater Transparant and our sister organization, Zonzo Compagnie.
We look forward to working with Nathalie and shaping the future of Musica together!
Since 1948, all countries have been obliged under international law to help prevent or stop an suspected genocide.
Belgium included.
With this message, we call on the Belgian government to adopt a much more decisive policy against Israel’s flagrant violation of human rights in Gaza and the West Bank. The culture houses themselves will not enter into collaborations with Israeli cultural institutions unless they clearly distance themselves from the Israeli government’s human rights-violating policies. We mobilise to the maximum for demonstrations. We call on the Belgian government to work towards an immediate ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from the illegally occupied territories, to enable massive humanitarian aid for Gaza, to safeguard financial support for UNWRA, to declare national and European economic sanctions against Israel, to suspend the EU association agreement with Israel, to stop importing products from the occupied territories, to have war criminals tried before the International Criminal Court and to recognise the Palestinian State.
We ask the Flemish minister of culture to support the cultural sector in this position and to defend it at the international forum if it is sanctioned (cancelled) because of this position.
AB – Brussel Bijlokesite – Gent Bronks – Brussel BUDA – Kortrijk CAMPO – Gent De Singel – Antwerpen De Studio – Antwerpen Ha Concerts – Gent hetpaleis – Antwerpen Kaap – Brugge & Oostende KASK & Conservatorium – Gent KVS – Brussel Musica – Pelt Muziekcentrum De Bijloke – Gent Nona – Mechelen NTGent Ontroerend Goed – Gent STUK – Leuven Toneelhuis – Antwerpen VIERNULVIER – Gent
