Queen Elisabeth College of Music

Queen Elisabeth College of Music

Sitting on an old wooden bench in the dappled shade of a beech tree, I am surrounded by sunshine, birdsong, and the faint sound of a chamber orchestra rehearsing Mozart in the building behind me. On the other side of the pond at my feet, two young musicians are sitting on the grass and studying scores in the shade.

If this scene sounds like a dream to you, then why not consider applying to Belgium's Queen Elisabeth College of Music? Open to students who wish to embark on a period of study before starting a professional career, the college offers intensive tuition in a focused environment, usually for a period of one to three years. And if that's not tempting enough, everything - including tuition, room and board, and meals - is free of charge, with musicians only expected to contribute later in life if they establish a lucrative professional career.

Located in a rural paradise about a 45-minute drive from the centre of Brussels, the Queen Elisabeth College of Music was founded in the 1930s alongside the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition (QEIMC). Originally the college was conceived as a kind of rural retreat where a small number of Belgian violinists and pianists could embark upon three-year residencies. But in the last five years it has started to redefine its role; it is now open to musicians of all nationalities and has started to introduce residencies for singers and chamber musicians as well as a junior division. The college currently offers diplomas at three levels in piano, violin and singing, the latter of which includes an Opera Studio programme in collaboration with Brussels' major opera house La Monnaie. Students work with the college's resident professors, the Artemis Quartet, violinist Augustin Dumay, pianist Abdel Rahman El Bacha and baritone José van Dam.

'If you get in here it opens doors,'

Lien Haegeman, a 30-year-old Belgian mezzo-soprano, has just completed her first year at the college after studying at the Maastricht Conservatory. 'There are a lot of opportunities when you study here,' she says. 'Before I came here I had already sung in some operas professionally in Germany, but nothing major.'

Earlier this year, however, Haegeman appeared as Dorabella in Così Fan Tutte in front of a sold-out audience at La Monnaie as part of the Opera Studio programme. 'If you get in here it opens doors,' she says. 'I've got a lot of freelance work since studying here, and because the timetable is flexible you can always take time off for professional engagements.'

And it's not just the singers who are given access to performing opportunities. The Queen Elisabeth College of Music has links with a number of festivals in Belgium and France, and presents concerts in venues around Brussels - this year, for example, saw a huge 50th anniversary gala concert at La Monnaie involving many of the students. Back in the summer the school collaborated with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas during its European tour, giving two pianists the opportunity to perform as soloists with the orchestra in Belgium, Italy and France.

Plamena Mangova, a 26-year-old Bulgarian pianist, was one of the lucky pair. During her two years at the college, she has also performed at Brussels' main concert venue the Palais des Beaux-Arts and as soloist with the UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra: 'Normally only very, very big stars do that!'

Mangova moved to Belgium after studying at the State Conservatory in Sofia and the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid. 'For a long time I had dreamed of living and making music in Brussels,' she says. 'I was attracted to the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the atmosphere surrounding it. The music community in Belgium is very special. It's a very bohemian lifestyle and a lot of musicians live here - it's very open but also very hard-working mentality.'

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