Biography

Martin started to play the violin at the age of 3 years old, taught by his mother. Later, he started to follow lessons in the music school in his native village, Oostkamp (near Bruges). When he was 8 years old, he replaced the violin by cello, and he went to the conservatory of Bruges, where his teacher is Jan Van Kelst. Recorder is his second instrument, and harpsichord his third. After his schooling as snare drummer in the local wind orchestra in Oostkamp, his passion for the percussion was born: in 2007, he started to play the timpani in the Youth Orchestra of East Flanders. In 2008-2009, he became the leading percussionist of the Youth Orchestra (JeMOO). They played works like Carmina Burana, Les Préludes, Enigma Variations, Academic Festival Ouverture, Carmen,... .

In 2008 an orchestra in Bruges, Artis Dulcedo, asked him to play the percussion in a production of the piano concerto by Maurice Ravel. 
Martin stopped playing the recorder and also gave his position as leading percussionist of the JeMOO to his colleague, Chistrophe Ponsard.

He has also won a few competitions. In 2007, he won the first prize on cello in the lower grade, of the competition "Young Talents at the Sea"; as well as in 2008, then he won the second prize for recorder, also in the lower grade. He won twice the "performance prize" of a composition competition with his compositions "The Days go By" and "A future Waltz".

He is the proud conductor of "Dieveliedoe", his own children's orchestra consisting of his friends. Until May 2011, he was the conductor of the Royal Wind band of Koolskamp.

In summer 2009 he went to England for a conducting course in Bridgwater with Laszlo Marosi and Guy Woolfenden. He conducted the South West Symphonic Wind Orchestra for "Proms in the Park", at Bicton Gardens; in front of a audience of more than 1000 people.
Since December, he has his High School (secondary school) diploma. This with four year secondary school in Bruges, where he studied Latin and Greek, and two years via an high school commission.

His big dream is to become a professional conductor, and he hopes that all he has done in the past will help to make his dream reality.