Born in 1965, Peter Swinnen entered the Royal Conservatory in Brussels in 1983 where he earned several premiers prix in various disciplines. In 1992, he completed a Master’s degree in composition with André Laporte at the Queen Elisabeth College in Waterloo, and later attended master classes led by Michael Finnissy and Brian Ferneyhough. He has taught analysis at his alma mater since 1992 and has also worked as a freelance artist for several contemporary music ensembles. Peter Swinnen has composed a number of works, the majority of which have been recorded live for radio, television and compact discs, in performances given at a number of festivals including Ars Musica and the International Chopin Festival. Swinnen has been the recipient of a number of national and international prizes, including the 1991 Prijs CERA—Jeugd en Muziek Vlaanderen (a prize for young Flemish musical artists) in recognition of his overall compositional output. He also took home winning honours from the Concours national de composition de la Reine Élisabeth at the Concours international de Belgique in 1997 and 2001, for Canzona and Ciaccona respectively.
Lier (Belgium), 1965
Composer