The Vlaams JeugdHarmonie Orkest (Flemish Youth Harmony Orchestra) was founded to give young musicians from the greater Leuven area the opportunity to make music with their peers in an umbrella orchestra. Our orchestra now has more than 60 enthusiastic musicians who come together every week to make music, with the ambition of bringing culture closer to a wider audience in an original way.

We lift ourselves and each other to a higher level under our three core values: youth, quality and originality. To promote these values, we develop an original project every year, which is always received with great enthusiasm, both by the musicians and the audience. In addition, we challenge ourselves with some more serious works during our annual concerts. And last but not least, we supplement our schedule with memorable concert tours and competitions at the highest level, both at home and abroad.

Koen Maes (°1993) studied percussion at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp with Carlo Willems and Koen Wilmaers and completed his training as a brass band conductor with Steven Verhaert and Dirk De Caluwé. He also attended various masterclasses with Randy Max, Koen Plaetinckx and Simone Rabella, among others.

As a conductor, Koen has already gained experience in various orchestras, including the Schelle wind orchestra, the Festival Brass Band, the European Youth Brass Band and the Kempisch Youth Fanfare Orchestra. He has also taught at the Municipal Conservatory of Mechelen and the Municipal Academy of the Tienen Region. As a percussionist, he is currently a freelancer with the National Orchestra of Belgium.

Koen has already won several awards. In 2009, he was a laureate in the superior division of the provincial competition for soloists and small ensembles organised by Vlamo. Two years later, in 2011, he won first prize at the WMC in Kerkrade and first prize in the Dexia Classics. In February 2016, he was named best conductor at the International Festival for Wind Orchestras Prague.

The driving force behind our orchestra: the board! A group of enthusiastic young people who, in addition to music, always give their best behind the scenes.

In addition to our monthly meetings, we also use working groups to involve our members more closely in our activities. For example, the creative minds in our orchestra help design the scenery for concerts, maintain our social media, and organise VJHO cafés.

Let us introduce them to you:

Roel Laethem (Chair)

Vincent Goffin (Vice-chair)

Linde Hooyberghs (Support)

Nele Vanhoutte (Support)

Sandra Jacobs (Treasurer)

Sam Brouckmans (Treasurer)

Hanne Van Genechten (Secretary)

Koen Maes (Conductor)

Elise Vansteenwegen (Creative lead)

Hanne Beyens (Social Media)

Belian Callaerts (IT)