SoundMine is an annual international composition course dedicated to the development of young composers. Under the guidance of experienced coaches, participants hone their skills by exploring new styles and experimenting with improvisation and notation. The connection between acoustic instruments and electronics is explored with a view to developing their own composition. The course deliberately has an international focus, allowing participants to expand their professional network and test their creative perspective in an international setting.
The participants are guided by a team of teachers, including Diederik Glorieux (composition), Jorrit Tamminga (composition & electronics), Annelies Van Parys (composition), Hannes Vanlancker (music engraving) and Saskia Venegas Aernouts.
SoundMine is a project by Musica, in collaboration with the Flemish Radio Choir, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, HERMESensemble and Diederik Glorieux. The focus alternates between creation for choir, ensemble or symphony orchestra.
SoundMine is realised with support from Flanders, in memory of composer Wim Henderickx, the inspiring force behind SoundMine.
Blog
SoundMine 2026 | day 1 (July 6, 2026)
SoundMine 2026 has started!
Today, 10 young composers began their journey at a new location: DE Studio, in the heart of Antwerp. It is an inspiring place with a rich history, as the building was once home to the former Studio Herman Teirlinck. For SoundMine, Antwerp also feels like a particularly meaningful setting. Until his passing in 2022, Wim Henderickx was the driving force and artistic heart of this composition course. He was deeply connected to the city, as an alumnus and teacher at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, and as artist-in-residence with Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
This year’s participants form a truly international group, with young makers connected to, among others, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Kosovo, Korea, Germany, Italy and China. Their different backgrounds, sound worlds and artistic interests make this edition especially rich.
Throughout this intensive week, the participants will develop their own concepts and creations, guided by Diederik Glorieux and guest tutors Annelies Van Parys (composition), Jorrit Tamminga (electronics) and Hannes Vanlancker (engraving).
In May 2027, they will also have the opportunity to further develop their work in collaboration with Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, leading towards a special showcase of their compositions.
Curious to discover the participants?
Read more about these 10 young creators here:
https://www.musica.be/nl/soundmine-2026-deelnemers/
SoundMine 2026 | day 2 (July 7, 2026)
From first ideas to orchestral imagination…
On day 2 of SoundMine 2026, Annelies Van Parys and Jorrit Tamminga joined the young composers at DE Studio in Antwerp.
Annelies worked with the participants on composition, form, colour and the many choices that slowly turn an artistic idea into a musical work. Jorrit opened up the world of electronic composition, exploring how sound, space, texture and technology can become part of the creative process.
Meanwhile, everyone is fully immersed in sketching, searching, questioning, testing and shaping the first outlines of a new composition for Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Some ideas are already becoming more concrete, while others are still unfolding… and that is exactly where the richness of this week lies.
SoundMine is not only about writing music. It is also about listening, analysing, questioning, discussing and discovering. Through group sessions on analysis, orchestration, listening, artistic choices and many open questions, the participants receive a wide range of input that feeds directly into their own creative process.
A beautiful second day, full of energy, concentration, curiosity and exchange.
SoundMine 2026 | day 3 (July 8, 2026)
Today began with a special moment: Diederik’s birthday! The participants had brought a card, a cake and a few beers for the birthday boy.
After that, the focus returned fully to composing. Day 3 was very much about writing, sketching, reworking and further shaping the compositions for Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. The first ideas are gradually becoming more defined, while many questions remain open: what is the core of the piece, how does a musical idea grow, which sound world belongs to it, and how can it be translated into orchestral writing?
Before noon, Diederik gave a group session on orchestration, taking, among other things, the work of Toru Takemitsu as a starting point. This was not only about instrumentation or colour, but also about listening to space, transparency, movement and tension within the orchestra.
He also introduced the participants to working in co-creation, through the posthumous realisations of works by Wim Henderickx. We concluded with the Timpani Concerto, the most recent posthumous realisation of a work by Wim Henderickx, on which Diederik, Hannes and Jorrit worked intensively. It was a special moment, not only as a listening experience, but also as an insight into a complex and carefully considered artistic process.
Jorrit also gave the participants an extensive overview of compositions for orchestra and electronics. From Maderna, Xenakis, Saariaho, Boulez, Neuwirth and Manoury to Mason Bates, Michel van der Aa, Anna Clyne and Wim Henderickx: a broad space for listening and reflection, where orchestral sound, technology, live electronics and imagination come together in many different ways.
SoundMine 2026 | day 4 (July 9, 2026)
Last night, a small group of participants went for a walk through the city with Annelies, Diederik and Hannes. Their route took them past the Boerentoren and the Groenplaats to the cathedral, the Scheldt, Wandelterras Zuid and the Sint-Anna Tunnel, there and back, eventually ending up at the Zuid. On one of the façades, a sentence appeared that captured the atmosphere of this week beautifully: “Can I stay a little longer, I’m so happy here.”
After a refreshing night, day 4 began in a very special place: the house and workspace of Wim Henderickx, the driving spirit behind SoundMine. His widow Bea and Diederik, Wim’s long-time assistant, guided the participants through the archive that is being carefully preserved through the legacy project and the Wim Henderickx Foundation.
We saw acid-free folders with scores and sketches, his extensive collection of books and percussion instruments, theses by students that he had kept, early compositions, the score of the opera The Convert with Wim’s annotations, and so much more. It was not a classical archive visit, but a glimpse into a life full of music, study, imagination and generosity. A moment in which the history behind SoundMine became very tangible.
Later in the day, Peter Merckx and Marc Tooten from HERMESensemble joined us for an introduction to clarinet, bass clarinet and viola. The participants were given a broad insight into sound possibilities, playing techniques, textures and colours, not only as technical information, but above all as material to think and compose with.
In the afternoon, this input was immediately put into practice. The participants could experiment, improvise, listen, adjust and test electronics together with the musicians. Ideas that until now had mainly existed on paper or in the mind suddenly gained a sound, a breath, a resistance, a direction.
Tomorrow at 2 pm, the participants will present the intermediate result of five days of intensive work during a short showcase. Not an endpoint, but an important step in their journey towards a new orchestral work for Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. Later this year, they will continue to receive intensive guidance in the process towards a final score.
An intense fourth day, between city and archive, memory and experiment, instrumental discovery and new musical imagination.
SoundMine 2026 | day 5 (July 10, 2026)
After five intensive days, the participants had the opportunity to present their process, sketches and first ideas to each other and to a small group of listeners. During a short showcase, they shared their concepts, formal sketches, orchestral beginnings and, where possible, first audio demos of the orchestration and electronics.
It was particularly fascinating to step into each composer’s world of thought: how a first intuition took shape, how material developed, which choices had already been made and which questions still remain open. Some works already found a clear direction, while others are still very much in the process of searching and exploring. That is precisely what made this presentation so valuable: not as an endpoint, but as a glimpse into a living artistic process. The showcase included sketches of The End of the World, Achensee, Exhaust, Reflets - Fragments Symphoniques I and Prewant, alongside projects that are still looking for their final title. The enthusiasm and eagerness to continue working were clearly present.
Among the visitors to the showcase were former SoundMine participant Umut Eldem, Bea Steylaerts, widow of Wim Henderickx, Wouter Van Looy, general and artistic director of Musica Impulscentrum vzw, and Nathalie De Boelpaep, managing director of Musica. It was wonderful to have them with us.
A big thank you to Musica Impulscentrum vzw for the organisation and for continuing to carry the spirit of SoundMine, to De Studio for the welcoming location in Antwerp, to Antwerp Symphony Orchestra for the unique opportunity to make this journey towards an orchestral creation possible, and to HERMESensemble for the inspiring instrumental input during this week.
Thanks also to the coaching team of this edition: Diederik Glorieux, Annelies Van Parys, Jorrit Tamminga and Hannes Vanlancker. And, of course, to all the participants, who shared their ideas, questions, sketches and imagination with such openness throughout the week.
On 4 May 2027, this trajectory will continue on the stage of the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. There, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Filip Rathé, will bring the participants’ new works to life. (Free tickets: https://www.antwerpsymphonyorchestra.be/.../soundmine-zpd3)
And after that, we are already looking ahead: the 28th edition of SoundMine will take place from 5 to 9 July 2027 and will be a collaboration between Musica, Vlaams Radiokoor and HERMESensemble. More info will follow later.