Peter Verhoyen, piccolo
As piccolo solo of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Peter has built up an excellent reputation as a specialist on his instrument. Since 2006 he has developed various concert programs for piccolo and piano together with pianist Stefan De Schepper. With these projects he demonstrates that the piccolo earns a spot on the concert stage as a recital instrument. For a contemporary touch, Peter asked several Flemish composers to write new works for his instrument. The next step was the realization of a series of CDs (Piccolo Tunes, The Birds!, Piccolo Polkas, La Gazza Ladra, Ma Mère l’Oye, Mighty Metamorphoses, Piccolo Sonatas) in which the piccolo is the central instrument.
In 2020 Peter Verhoyen started a prestigious project commissioning and recording three piccolo concertos by Flemish composers Erik Desimpelaere, Robert Groslot and Bart Watté. To finish this project, Peter asked Hungarian composer Levente Gyöngyösi to write a new piccolo concerto.
As a piccolo specialist Peter is regularly invited to give masterclasses and piccolo recitals in conservatories and universities worldwide and flute and piccolo festivals in Europe, North and South America and Australia.
Peter currently teaches piccolo at his private flute studio in Bruges, at the Universität für Musik and darstellende Kunst in Graz and at the Royal Conservatoire in Antwerp, where he developed, as the first in Europe, a piccolo master program. This unique piccolo training program has a great international reputation with students of various countries, from Belgium to Australia. Peter’s piccolo master students profile themselves by winning prizes at international piccolo competitions and working in national and international orchestras.
During his lessons, masterclasses and workshops, Peter shares his own experience he built up over the last decade. In 2022 he published the book Peter’s Piccolo World, a piccolo inspiration book for intermediate to advanced players.
In cooperation with Aldo Baerten, Peter is the organizer and driving force of the International Flute Seminar Bruges, where flute and piccolo players of all ages and different levels, education and ambition are inspired and motivated through individual lessons, workshops, masterclasses and chamber music.
Peter is a prize-winner in the Belfius Classics competition and the Concours International UFAM in Paris. He was also a semi-finalist in the NFA Orlando Young Artists' Competition in 1995. For his dedication to contemporary Flemish music, Peter has been awarded the Fuga Trophy from the Union of Belgian composers in 2017.