Visit of the Shanghai Conservatoire to KCB

The academic year 2025-2026 of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Department of Music,
began in a remarkable way with an official visit from a large delegation of professors and students
of the Shanghai Conservatoire.
The visit took place on Monday the 22nd and Tuesday the 23rd of September 2025, on our
Kleine Zavel campus.

A bridge between Brussels and Shanghai

This encounter was made possible thanks to an initiative of our percussion alumnus Liang Dong, who created a bridge between our percussion professors Gert François and Bart Quartier and their colleagues at this prestigious Chinese institution. In 2019, KCB already visited the Shanghai Conservatoire, followed by another exchange this past summer. The visit in Brussels built further upon these earlier contacts.

The delegation from Shanghai was led by Mrs Pei, Director of the Administrative Council of the conservatoire. During their stay, board members, professors and students from both institutions engaged with each other and laid the foundations for future collaborations.

Opportunities for the Future

As the Shanghai Conservatoire offers, alongside Music, a highly regarded programme in Musical Theatre, this partnership opens up promising opportunities for both our departments. International exchanges and joint projects will further enrich and strengthen our programmes.

Both director Jan D’haene, who transferred his mandate on the 1st of October 2025, and his successor Lulu Aertgeerts were present at the visit. Their joint involvement added significant value to the exchange of contacts and to the orientation towards future collaboration. KCB was also represented by head of programme Peter Swinnen and percussion professors Bart Quartier and Gert François.

International harmony at KCB

A particularly memorable and powerful moment during the two-day programme was the concert prepared and performed by KCB, under the guidance of professor Bart Bouckaert. With more than sixty nationalities represented among our student community, including a significant number of Chinese students, both Belgian and Chinese students at KCB came together to present a rich and multifaceted programme. It was heartwarming to witness how music transcends all language barriers and succeeds in uniting people from diverse backgrounds.

The visit from the Shanghai Conservatoire is a vivid example of KCB’s mission: to foster international collaboration, elevate music and culture worldwide and open our study programmes to talent from across the globe. It marks the beginning of promising future projects and partnerships, not only with China but with international institutions everywhere. Together, we are building a future in which music, education and culture surpass borders and are shared universally.