About the Brussels Chamber Ensemble

The Brussels Chamber Ensemble was born in 2022 with the vision to celebrate classical music in Europe and to promote talent, both in Belgium and across the European continent. Since its inception, BCE has performed in some of Brussels’ most exquisite concert halls such as BOZAR and Conservatoire Royal, always with a unique goal: to promote the music and talent of the Member State hosting the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

BCE’s concerts feature some of the most prominent national composers of the EU Presidency’s region as well as a world première of a contemporary composer. For every concert, BCE sponsors a Composition Competition that encourages all talent from the featured country - whether young or old; professional composers or amateurs - to submit their compositions. We have been blown away by the varied submissions and overall composer talent across Europe. We are particularly proud of our winners, which include the beautiful piece “Espoir” from 16 year-old Belgian composer Ruben van Eldik and an ode to love across cultures from 25 year-old Spaniard Adrián Fuentes Flores.

With about 60 orchestra members representing over 15 nationalities and 20 professions and an age range spanning from 18 to 70+ years, BCE’s is the epitome of what it means to be European. Approximately half of the orchestra consists of very high-level amateur musicians (many of them having a music degree, but having decided to continue their professional careers as lawyers, engineers, translators, often working at, or closely with, the EU institutions), while the other half is made up of music students or young professionals from Belgian conservatoires.

BCE’s three founders- Clio Zois, Ina Söderlund and Despoina Kornilaki - are all lawyers at the EU institutions and classically trained musicians at top European conservatoires. They had a vision to bring an array of worlds together and create an orchestra that unites so many different communities that are living together in Brussels, all united in this orchestra by their love for music-making.  

The Brussels Chamber Ensembles is excited to continue to inspire its audience while promoting talent across Europe and breaking down barriers through music.