Centre Henri Pousseur

The tension between his activities as a composer and a performer/improviser (prepared piano, live-electronics) is one essential aspect of Stefan Prins’s musical evolution (Belgium, 1979). His interest in contemporary technology and the way it influences the “conditio humana” in today’s society is another one. Through the medium of music he reflects upon technology and its relation to the human by problematizing or recontextualizing certain aspects of it.

After graduating as an engineer at the age of 23, he started to study fulltime piano and composition at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, Belgium, where he obtained his Masters degree in Composition with Luc Van Hove magna cum laude. Concurrently, he studied Technology in Music at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Peter Swinnen and Sonology at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (2004-2005; The Netherlands). Additionally he studied “Philosophy of Culture” and “Philosophy of Technology” at the University of Antwerp, attended masterclasses with a.o. Chaya Czernowin, Steven Tagasuki, Richard Barrett, Enno Poppe, Georges Aperghis, Beat Furrer, Vladimir Tarnopolski, Karlheinz Essl and participated in live-electronics workshops with Gerhard Eckel at the IEM in Graz and with Orm Finnendahl at the Musikhochschule Freiburg.

As a composer he received several important awards in Belgium and abroad, such as the Kranichsteiner Musikpreis 2010 for composition (Darmstadt), a Staubach Honorarium (2009, Darmstadt), the International Impuls Composition Award (Graz, 2009), “Week of the Contemporary Music” (Gent, 2006, 2nd Prize) and “KBC Aquarius Composition Award for Young Composers” (Brussels, 2001), while several of his compositions have been selected by ISCM-Flanders for the ISCM World Music Days. His compositions have been played in Belgium and abroad by a.o. Klangforum Wien, Champ d’Action, Nadar Ensemble, Ictus Ensemble, Nikel Ensemble, Zwerm Electric Guitar-quartet, Agartha, the Ensor String Quartet, collectief reFLEXible, the Belgian Chamber Orchestra, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Frederik Croene, Matthias Koole, Tom Pauwels a.o. on festivals such as Darmstadt Ferienkurse 2010, Festival Musica Strasbourg 2010, Ars Musica 2009, Novembermusic, Transit Festival, Time Canvas & Musica Electronica Nova, Luzerne Festival, Tzlil Meudcan Festival (Tel Aviv), Impuls Festival (Graz). In 2009 and 2010 Stefan toured in Austria & Brasil and performed and lectured in a.o. Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade de Campinas and concertspaces in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Santos.

Besides his regular collaborations with the Flemish ensemble for contemporary music Champ d'Action Stefan Prins is also closely involved with the new Belgian ensemble for contemporary music, Nadar Ensemble, both as a composer, live-electronics-specialist and member of the artistic board.

Together with Thomas Olbrechts & Joachim Devillé he was one of the founders of the long-standing collectief reFLEXible ‚ an ensemble that focuses exclusively on free improvised or instant composed music, often including dance, performance, video, film, installation. With this ensemble and/or musicians such as Richard Barrett, Karlheinz Essl, Peter Jacquemyn, Horacio Curti, Ferran Fages, Ruth Barberan, Alfredo Costa-Monteiro, Zwerm he performs free improvised music in Belgium and abroad.

(Source : http://www.stefanprins.be)