Music Theatre Transparant - Artists

In memoriam Wim Henderickx
On Sunday afternoon, 18 December 2022, composer Wim Henderickx died unexpectedly at home at the age of 60.

Besides being a gifted composer, Wim was also a percussionist and conductor and taught composition at the conservatories of Antwerp and Amsterdam. Above all, he was probably the most enthusiastic artist Flanders ever had - his commitment to the various communities, to young artists and his open view of the world made him unique.

With his far too early passing in December 2022, the Flemish and international cultural world will lose a figurehead. However, his impact and vision will not be lost and he will remain an inspiration for generations to come.

Wim Henderickx studied composition and percussion at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp (AP Hogeschool) and sonology at IRCAM in Paris and at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

In his compositions, Wim drew inspiration from many cultures. He wrote works for opera, music theatre, orchestra, choir, wind orchestra and chamber music. Electronics often have an important place in his work. Between 2004 and 2010, he worked on his TANTRIC CYCLE. Commissioned by the Queen Elisabeth Competition, he composed CANZONE for voice and piano, for the semi-finals in 2008.

He composed several operas and music theatre works commissioned by Muziektheater Transparant, in co-production with the major Belgian cultural houses, for which he received great international recognition. Such as his first opera TRIUMPH OF SPIRIT OVER MATTER, his youth opera ACHILLEUS, the music theatre work VOID, which he himself conducted during an international tour, and DE KONINGIN ZONDER LAND, a winning production at the international 'Music Theatre Now' in New York. He also wrote two symphonies, the first for the Belgian National Orchestra and the second for the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Claron McFadden.

REQUIEM he created for Opera Ballet Flanders in 2017 in collaboration with choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. CELLO CONCERTO (Sangita) was premiered with Jean-Guihen Queyras and the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra at the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam, and ENIGMA VII for orchestra was premiered at the BBC Proms in 2019, conducted by Martyn Brabbins. SONGS OF NATURE received an online world premiere at the 2021 Klara Festival, a live premiere in Shanghai in China, and in 2022 this production won the Chinese GanLan Art Award. His CLARINET CONCERTO (Sutra) premiered in Glasgow in 2022 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Annelien Van Wauwe and was recorded with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover conducted by Andrew Manze.

In May 2022, his Opus Magnum, the opera DE BEKEERLINGE (THE CONVERT) premiered at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen in Antwerp and it became the most successful contemporary production at this opera house in more than 20 years. The full production could be seen on OperaVision.eu and the opera also received a German premiere in Bielefeld in 2024.

He was still working on the major music theatre work INNER LIFE, which will premiere in September 2024 at De Singel conducted by Diederik Glorieux, Wim's long-time musical assistant.

Wim Henderickx was house composer at Muziektheater Transparant since 1996 and in 2013 he became artist in residence with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He was also in residence at HERMESensemble for many years. He was the inspirer of SoundMine, the summer course for young composers at Musica Impulscentrum.