Koen Rens

 

 

Koen 

Koen Rens, 1965°, took his first violin lessons from European Suzuki Method pioneer Jeanne Janssens at the Music Academy in Turnhout. Later on he studied and obtained the degree of excellence at the Conservatory of Bruges, where he played his debut as a soloist with the West Vlaams Symphony Orchestra, at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels where he obtained first prizes in violin and chamber music and after 15 years of professional activity he studied at the Royal Conservatoire Supérieur de Liège where he studied violin, contemporary chamber music and psyhopedagogy.

He obtained the European Suzuki Associations’ final Diploma in Suzuki pedagogy under the guidance of Jeanne Janssens and in 2000 he was appointed a Teacher Trainer for ESA and in 2014 also for the Asian Region Suzuki Organisation (later ARSA).

 

He directs violin Teacher Training programs in Lithuania, Latvia and Spain and is on the faculty of the Suzuki Violin Teacher Training Postgraduate course of the Antwerp Conservatory. His main activity though, are the students of his flourishing studio in the Academie voor Muziek, Woord en Dans in Turnhout, where the 2021 - 2022 season will celebrate 50 years of Suzuki Method in Belgium. 

 

As an administrator, secretary and later as Chairman he has served on the Board of the Talent Education Suzuki Institute Belgium, for over 15 years he served on the Board of the European Suzuki Association, also for two years as Chairman, as such he also was member of the Board of the International Suzuki Association. He currently serves as chair of the ESA violin committee and represents the ESA violin teachers on the International Suzuki Associations violin committee.

 

Koen has been invited as a guest teacher to Universities and Conservatories, has taught and performed all over Europe, in the USA and Mexico, in Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Japan.

 

He is delighted and honored to be part of this course and is very much looking forward to a weekend of music and magic with all of you!