De Vleeschhouwer, Ward
Ward De Vleeschhouwer began his piano training at the E. Hullebroeck Academy in his hometown of Ghent, Belgium. After graduating from the Academy, he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Ghent, studying piano with Claude Coppens and Daan Vandewalle, composition with Luc Brewaeys and Frank Nuyts, and improvisation with Peter Vermeersch. In addition he took piano masterclasses with Jan Michiels, Daniel Blumenthal, Thomas Rozenkrans and Tae Yoshioka.
Ward likes to embrace different music styles. From contemporary classical music to African folk music to chamber rock music.
He has played with the contemporary chamber group Thelema Trio for more then 10 years. They promote and perform new music from the 21st century, giving many opportunities for contemporary composers. He was also a member of the progressive chamber rock band Aranis and Present.
With these ensembles and as a soloist, Ward has played at prestigious festivals and renowned concert halls in Europe, USA, Japan, Brasil and Peru. In 2013 his released his first solo album 'Chicha Morada', featuring Peruvian piano music.
As a composer, Ward wrote for piano, chamber music, theater and film. Many of his titles have names of African masks such as Boki (2010), Warakun (2014) for piano solo, Goli (2009) for piano four hands and Kono (2016) for violin and piano.
He has received several commissions for theater projects and in 2012 he wrote the soundtrack for the film 'Lucien Hervé, photographer despite himself'. A film about the life and work of Lucien Hervé, one of the most influential photographers of 20th-century architecture. The movie received awards at international film festivals in Portugal, Turkey and Belgium.
Ward has also written for ensembles including Spectra Ensemble, Thelema Trio, Kugoni Trio and Aranis. Several of his works are recorded on CD and some of his piano works are published with HrdScr Editions and Metropolis Music Publishers.
He is currently teaching piano, improvisation and Soundpainting in SAMWD Deinze in Belgium.