Vlaams Radiokoor, Aïda Gabriëls & Adja Fassa

Welcome to the 20th Klarafestival!

Under the title We Are Now, this special anniversary edition pays tribute to the here and now. No one embraces the magic of the moment more fearlessly than festival artist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Wherever and whatever she plays, this Moldovan violinist and composer sets the stage alight. For her, every concert is a new beginning, a full moment in which anything can happen. Klarafestival 2025 paints a multifaceted portrait of Patricia Kopatchinskaja as a violinist, composer and inspiring presence.

In honour of our 20th anniversary, we are launching a new tradition: for one day, Mont des Arts will be transformed into the Muziekberg /Mont des Musiques. Alongside concerts and performances at various venues, a new ensemble will also see the light. Sound of Brussels Orchestra goes in search of the exceptional sound of our capital.

We live in challenging times, and some of the festival projects reflect on this. At the same time, they demonstrate how much hope can lurk between the notes of a Stabat Mater or a Dies Irae. How music can move and inspire us. For Patricia Kopatchinskaja, music is no abstract matter: ‘Music is there for us to do something with it. Even when it has no concrete message or function, it appeals to us. It wants to be heard. I don't believe in absolute music. Not really.'

Let the celebration begin!

Joost Fonteyne, intendant
Jan Raes, chairman
Chantal Pattyn, network manager

Listening guide 

Polyphonies: a concert experiment. We invite you to join in!

• Explore the space: settle into the foam seats or meander through the space. Does the music sound different as you move?

• Music in motion: walk a few steps and experience how the acoustics change around you. What do you notice?

• Listen closely: close your eyes and concentrate on a single voice or a cloud of sounds. How does it shift as you listen?

• Polyphony: observe how the voices come together. Do they blend into one sound, or do they maintain their individuality? Do certain voices stand out?

• Observe: take a look at how the choir and conductor communicate with each other and how you, too, interact with them.

Polyphony: here and now, in music and society

Polyphonies is not a traditional concert but a concert experiment: a different way of listening and a spatial musical experience. Together with the singers of the Flemish Radio Choir, conductor Kaspars Putniņš, and Adja Fassa, the audience moves freely through the space. The whole forms a living soundscape. Voices converge and disperse – and the music travels with them. As a spectator, you are part of this whole. You can choose a spot within the vibrant scenery, sitting or leaning, or move through the Hortahal. Follow the music and let yourself be guided by curiosity and wonder. 

Listening: to music and to each other

‘How can we truly listen?’, director Aïda Gabriëls asks, ‘not only to music but also to one another?’ This question is the starting point of Polyphonies. In keeping with her artistic practice, she breaks with classical concert conventions. No stage, no plush seats, but an open space with seating and leaning elements, where singers and audience move freely. How you experience the voices of the choir and Adja Fassa and how they blend depends on your position. Every step or shift alters the music, both for yourself and for others. ‘We are collectively writing a new story where everyone steps outside their comfort zone for a moment. The audience plays a fundamental role in this,’ Aïda explains.

It is an experiment not only for the audience but also for the artists. Where a choir usually sings as a group, hearing each other closely and communicating constantly through body language and eye contact, that familiar framework is absent here. Spread throughout the space, individual singers are compelled to redefine themselves. Adja Fassa also seeks her place in this constellation, as she introduces a different artistic practice with her improvisational singing and original compositions. 

The whole becomes a living organism, says Aïda, much like society itself. There, too, ‘being together’ is an ongoing search: finding a place for oneself while relating to others. This idea resonates in several of the texts, such as in the mass by Guillaume de Machaut and the work of Caroline Shaw. ‘These are religious texts, but at their core, they are about seeking direction and finding one’s place.’ In this way, Polyphonies becomes a reflection on community, individuality, and collectivity.

Foam scenery
Like the music, the scenery also takes up a temporary space. The colourful seating and reclining elements, made from large pieces of foam, are bound together for the concert and later returned to the factory they came from. The foam furniture is spread throughout the space, inviting spectators to explore. The otherwise monumental Hortahal thus becomes a flexible, ever-changing environment.

A musical swamplands

The title refers to polyphony or multi-voiced music: a compositional technique where different voices form a whole without losing their individuality. The musical programme connects polyphony from past to present, beginning with a 14th-century landmark: the Messe de Nostre Dame by Guillaume de Machaut. Here, voices intertwine in an architectural interplay of lines, whereas in the contemporary work Nuits, Adieux by Kaija Saariaho, polyphony evolves into an undulating sonic tapestry. No structured counterpoint, but ‘a musical swamplands,’ as Aïda describes it, ‘an unpredictable landscape where sounds merge and dissolve.’ Between these works, compositions by Julia Wolfe, Caroline Shaw, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Patricia Van Ness are interwoven with a cappella interventions by Alexis Nootens. Adja Fassa improvises on the choral music and also presents her own composition. In this way, polyphony appears in various forms and genres, from the Middle Ages to the present.

Jenske Vanhaelemeersch 

Translation: Catherine Grady

Vlaams Radiokoor

Founded in 1937 as a professional chamber choir by the national broadcaster, the Flemish Radio Choir has since become a leading name in vocal music in Flanders and Europe, consistently ranking among the finest ensembles at home and abroad. Under the musical direction of Bart Van Reyn, its 32 singers rehearse in Studio 1 of the iconic Flagey building in Brussels. The ensemble is united by a shared passion for contemporary repertoire, a belief in the voice as the ultimate vehicle of human emotion, and a commitment to making vocal heritage accessible to both singers and audiences. The Flemish Radio Choir is an institution of the Flemish Community.

Adja Fassa

Adja Fassa is a singer, theatre-maker, composer, and performer. She studied theatre at KASK in Ghent (2012–2015) before traveling to India and Nepal to explore ritualistic practices. Upon returning to Belgium, she pursued jazz studies at LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, where she decided to make the voice her central artistic instrument, integrating theatrical and ceremonial elements. During her studies, Fassa presented her first compositions at the prestigious Sound Track music competition for young talent in Flanders, ultimately winning the finals in 2021 on the stage of Ancienne Belgique.

Kaspars Putniņš

Lithuanian choral conductor Kaspars Putniņš has been chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Choir since 2020 and artistic director of the Latvian Radio Choir since 2024. Previously, he served as chief conductor of the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir from 2014 to 2021. He regularly collaborates with ensembles such as RIAS Kammerchor, SWR Vokalensemble, NDR Vokalensemble, Collegium Vocale Gent, and the Polish Chamber Choir. His repertoire spans from Renaissance polyphony to Romanticism, with a particular focus on contemporary choral music that pushes the boundaries of vocal expression. He has worked with composers including Maija Einfelde, Toivo Tulev, Lasse Thoresen, and Gavin Bryars.

Aïda Gabriëls

Director Aïda Gabriëls forges a transdisciplinary artistic language, weaving together elements of theatre, dance, contemporary music, and opera. Her work frequently engages with societal themes. Since 2023, she has been artist-in-residence at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, where she created the site-specific project Passages. Her recent works include the music theatre production The Wild Stage (2022) and Ethereal Realms (2024), a solo performance for French-Swiss artist Marie Delprat. Together with dramaturge Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze, she co-founded the collective oester, which is an artist-in-residence at Muziektheater Transparant. Gabriëls is also the artistic coordinator of the global network Music Theatre NOW.

Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze

Tessa Vannieuwenhuyze is a dramaturge at oester, the performance collective led by Aïda Gabriëls. As a doctoral researcher at Ghent University, she studies the public persona of popular music artists in the contemporary landscape of new technologies. Drawing from this theoretical foundation, with oester she explores the evolving role of opera in the age of social media. Vannieuwenhuyze holds master’s degrees in Art History, Musicology, and Theatre Studies (Ghent University) as well as in Literary Studies (KU Leuven). Beyond oester, she brings her dramaturgical expertise to artistic projects and platforms such as the Brussels-based community radio The Word.

Lena Meyskens

Dramaturge Lena Meyskens studied classical singing under Axel Everaert at the Conservatorium Maastricht. During her studies, she was a member of the theatre collective Karmijnrood Podiumkunst and performed in numerous chanson concerts. She later pursued studies in French and English literature at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and completed dramaturgy internships, including with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen and Toneelgroep Maastricht. In recent years, Meyskens has worked as a dramaturge for Liesa van der Aa, Timo Tembuyser, and Aïda Gabriëls. She also delivers guest lectures and workshops on drag at institutions including the International Opera Academy and VUB and teaches opera history and music theory at the Toneelschool Maastricht.

Anne Van Es

Anne van Es is a Dutch stage manager and lighting designer. She began her career in 2003 at Het Nationale Toneel in The Hague and has contributed to productions by Paardenkathedraal (the theatre company of Theater Utrecht), Het Lab, and the street theatre company Close-Act. She later spent several years working at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. Since 2007, she has been primarily based in Belgium, collaborating with various organisations and production houses, including Behoud de Begeerte, Ensemble Leporello, and Muziektheater Transparant. At Muziektheater Transparant, she has played a crucial role in the technical and production aspects of numerous creations over the years.

Matteo Sedda

Matteo Sedda is an Italian movement artist, choreographer, and dancer. Over the past years, he has worked with various artists, including Enzo Cosimi, Armando Lulaj, and Igor x Moreno. Since 2015, he has been a performer with the company Troubleyn/Jan Fabre, contributing to productions such as Mount Olympus/24h, the solo The Generosity of Dorcas, and The Fluid Force of Love. In 2019, he co-founded Vitamina with Alessandra Ferreri and Joshua Vanhaverbeke, a collective that explores a hybrid language of dance, visual arts, and performance. With the performance collective oester, he has collaborated on The Wild Stage (2022) and Passages (2024).

Maarten Van Mulken

Maarten Van Mulken is a fashion and costume designer based in Amsterdam. While his primary focus is fashion design, he is also active in costume design for dance, opera, and theatre productions. His work extends into performance, film, design, and the visual arts. Van Mulken seeks to disrupt the ordinary by blending contemporary social themes with various artistic disciplines. His style is dark and distorted, rich with references to the visual arts, and always driven by grand, theatrical gestures.

Alexis Nootens

Alexis Nootens is a Brussels-based guitarist, arranger, and composer. He obtained a master’s degree in jazz guitar from LUCA School of Arts in Leuven in 2021, following a brief period at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Currently, he primarily works as an arranger and guitarist for soul and jazz artist Adja Fassa. He also leads the Cari-Jazz 8tet, a tribute to the Caribbean jazz scene, for which he arranges the music. Nootens has played guitar for a variety of artists, including L’Or du Commun (hip-hop), Saudade Experiment (soul-jazz), and Azmari (Ethio-jazz). As an arranger, he has contributed to Adja’s EP IRONEYE and to the Waspy Funky Crew.