The Lemmensinstituut The Lemmensinstituut (Lemmens Institute) is a Belgian conservatory of music. It was founded in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

, in 1879, by the Belgian bishops as the ''École de musique religieuse'' (School of Religious Music). It was later renamed after its first director,

Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens Jacques-Nicolas (Jaak-Nicolaas) Lemmens (3 January 1823 – 30 January 1881), was an organist, music teacher, and composer for his instrument. Biography Born at Zoerle-Parwijs, near Westerlo, Belgium, Lemmens took lessons from François-Josep ...

. Although its programs were greatly expanded over the years, it remained in essence a school of religious music until the 1960s and 1970s, when major changes occurred. It moved to

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

in 1968, and its programs were aligned on those of Belgium's conservatories of music, such that in 1971 its "laureate" diploma was considered legally equivalent to a "First Prize" of a conservatory. It also added a teacher's training course (a "Music Pedagogy" course of study), and a high school specializing in music. Nowadays the Lemmensinstituut has a reputation for offering one of Europe's finest Music Therapy degree programs. The institute's Music Pedagogy course of study is also well known in Europe and in its history the Lemmens Institute has trained many famous composers including Jan van der Roost and

Piet Swerts Piet may refer to: People *Piet (given name), a common name in the Netherlands and South Africa *Henri Piet (1888–1915), French lightweight boxer *Tony Piet (1906–1981), American Major League Baseball player Schools *Purushottam Institute of ...

. In addition to the Music Education degree programs, the institute also offers a teaching degree in Drama. The Music Department has been led by the following directors: * 1879–1881:

* 1881–1909:

Edgar Tinel Edgar Pierre Joseph Tinel (27 March 185428 October 1912) was a Belgian composer and pianist. He was born in Sinaai, today part of Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders, Belgium, and died in Brussels. After studies at the Brussels Conservatory with Lou ...

* 1909–1917: Aloys Desmet * 1918–1952:

Jules Van Nuffel Jules Van Nuffel (21 March 1883 – 25 June 1953) was a Belgian priest, musicologist, composer, and a renowned expert on religious music. Biography Born on 21 March 1883 in Hemiksem, Belgium, Van Nuffel studied at the Grand Seminary of Mechele ...

* 1953–1962: Jules Vyverman * 1962–1988: Jozef Joris Van Heeswijck * 1988–2005: Paul Schollaert * since 2005: Marc Erkens

External links

* * Music schools in Belgium 1879 establishments in Belgium {{Belgium-stub