Dr. Gilbert De Greeve Teacher Parent Seminar & Piano Masterclass Series 2026

Qualifications

Performance and Composition, Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp (Belgium)

Diplôme Supérieure, Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp (Belgium)

Peabody Institute of Music, USA

Biography

Dr Gilbert De Greeve was born in Sint Truiden (Belgium) and got his first music lessons from his father Jos De Greeve, a professional musician, violinist and composer, with whom he did numerous performances. In 1958, at the age of 13, he was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp (Belgium) where he studied piano and chamber music, a.o. with Eugène Traey and Jef Alpaerts, and composition, a.o. with Jacqueline Fontyn and Jan Decadt. Dr. Gilbert De Greeve graduated in both Performance and Composition with (following the French Conservatory of Paris System) 7 Premier Prix (Solfeggio, Harmony, Counterpoint, Fugue, Music Analysis, Piano, Chamber Music) and a Diplôme Supérieure (Chamber Music).  Dr. Gilbert De Greeve went on studying in the USA, based at the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore and being a.o. privately with Rudolf Serkin, Eugene Ormandy and Leonard Paerlman.

In 1963 he became a teacher at the Municipal Academy of Music in Genk (Belgium) and in 1970 Director of the newly founded Rijksmuziekacademie (State Music Academy) of Antwerp. In the same year Dr. Gilbert De Greeve was appointed Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp. Dr. Gilbert De Greeve is one of the great protagonists of the so-called active methodologies for music education in particular for children. In that frame he launched a very successful project based upon the educational vision of Hungarian composer, Ethnomusicologist and educator Zoltán Kodály. In connection with this project he worked closely together with many Hungarian Master Teachers, such as Professor Erzsébet Szőnyi, Dr. László Eősze, Dr. László Vikár, Professor Miklós Szabó and others.

For over 50 years he is world-wide active as performer and composer. Besides of the concerts and masterclasses, he regularly gives lectures and workshops about various topics. Among his compositions are the Lieder Cycle Chamber Music (36 songs on poems by James Joyce), solo pieces for different instruments, pieces for various chamber music ensembles, choir and orchestra works. In 2016, on demand of Music Maestro, an Indonesian organization, he wrote 3 Books with piano 2-hands and 4-hands arrangements of Indonesian Folksongs, and a Book with 10 Concert Pieces Inspired by Indonesian Folksongs. A few years later, Dr. Ramona Tahir, then head of the Music Education Department of UiTM University in Shah Alam, Malaysia, asked him whether he could do a similar project with Malaysian folksongs. It resulted in 4 Books: (1) Art Song Arrangements, (2) Piano 2-hands, (3) Piano 4-hands, (4) Beginners. In both cases, in Indonesia and in Malaysia, he donated the income from selling the books to the local organizations, which resulted in Malaysia, to the creation of a Foundation in his name.

Dr. Gilbert De Greeve is also the author of many articles, an adjudicator in demand and often asked to Chair important meetings. In that capacity he and the late Professor Dr. Alexander Ringer Co-chaired two International European Fora organized by the Ravnsborg Center in Denmark. For several years, Dr. Gilbert De Greeve also chaired a project at the Silver Lake College, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA.

On demand of the late Professor Denijs Dille (Founder and first Director of the Bartók Archives in Budapest, Hungary) Dr. Gilbert De Greeve is co-founder and member of the Curatorium of the Béla Bartók Archives Belgium – Foundation Denijs Dille, a non-profit organization connected to the Albertina, the Royal Library of Belgium.

Dr. Gilbert De Greeve received a number of important awards, among them the Pro Cultura Hungarica, given by the Hungarian State during his Presidency of the International Kodály Society, the Commemorative Medal for the Kodály Centenary, as well as Honorary Membership of a number of International Societies.

Dr. Gilbert De Greeve continues to be active as performer, composer and teacher of masterclasses, is Honorary Director of the State Music Academy of Antwerp and Honorary Professor of the Royal Conservatory of Music of Antwerp. He is a Charter Member of the International Kodály Society and was actively involved in the Board of the IKS since 1983 (when he organized the 6th International Kodály Symposium in Antwerp Belgium), first as Vice-President (3 terms) and from 1999 to 2011 as President.

From the very beginning, audiences world-wide have enjoyed his performances as a soloist, in Chamber Music and as an accompanist. To mention just a few press releases: “maître concertiste du clavier, mais surtout poète du piano exceptionnel”... (Le Dauphiné libéré, Grenoble France), “Clarity and true musicality”... (The Mail Star, Halifax, Canada), “Clarity, precision and a fine sense of phrasing”... (The London Times, East London, South Africa), “His sparkling enthusiasm results in masterly interpretations”... (Gazet van Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium)