Suzy Vanderheiden

Saxophonist Suzy Vanderheiden (b.1968) took her first steps in music education at the age of 8. Apart from her high school education, where her major subjects were Latin, Greek and modern languages, she took lessons in music theory, saxophone and piano in a music school in Tessenderlo. She studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp where she graduated for saxophone (1991) in the class of Freddy Vanattenhoven and also for chamber music (1991) in the class of Theo Mertens. She took singing lessons in the class of Rachel Fabry and composition in the class of Gilbert de Greeve. In 1992 she received her pedagogical diploma to teach saxophone.

She has been active as a soprano in a number of choirs: she sang in the children’s choir de Nachtegaaltjes and, during her time in Antwerp, in the chamber choir Pratum Musicum led by Marcel Oncia and Musica Nova led by Roger Leens.

As a saxophonist she has played in several harmonie orchestras: the Royal Harmony Orchestra St. Lutgardis of Hulst-Tessenderlo, the Royal Harmony Orchestra De Kristene Gildebroeders of Val-Meer, Freddy Couche’s Big Band, and also the Talking Saxes: a saxophone quartet of 4 women which originated in the chamber music class of Theo Mertens. This ensemble played regularly around Belgium and between 1993 and 1994 developed their performance in the chamber music class of Paul Beelaerts at the Lemmensinstituut Leuven.

She is currently a member of the Royal Harmonie Tessenderlo led by Kevin van Giel and the saxophone quartet Sax-o-Fun, which toured across China in the summer of 2019.

Suzy teaches saxophone at the Urban Conservatorium of Hasselt, The Academy of Arts Noord- Limburg (KANL) In Neerpelt and a high school for music (Musart) in Hasselt.

Reviewing Alastair White’s WOAD, Opera Now said “Plaudits to excellent soprano Kelly Poukens, who obviously relishes the incredible vocal trials thrown at her not least having to ping from octave to octave on one word, and to saxophonist Suzy Vanderheiden, who likewise shows mastery of her instrument.”