From a young age, Raf was drawn to music. His father was a passionate musician who played in no fewer than seven wind orchestras. Music was his life, and he passed that love on to his son.
Raf began studying music theory at the age of six, and a few years later he was already performing with the wind band in his hometown. At fifteen, he took his first steps as a conductor — a passion that soon led him to lead several ensembles. In the following years, he worked with orchestras of various levels and formations, from youth bands to adult harmony and fanfare orchestras.
At the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, he studied clarinet, bass clarinet, church organ, and music analysis, as well as HaFa conducting (harmony/fanfare). As the first student of Dirk Decaluwé, he helped lay the foundations for a rich tradition of wind music at the Antwerp Conservatoire. There, he also served for several years as assistant conductor of the conservatoire’s wind orchestra. After graduating, he continued to lead several projects at this institution.
During his final year of study, he became chief conductor of the wind orchestra Met Moed Vooruit (Opdorp, Belgium), with which he achieved several successful competition results, including promotion to the superior division with an impressive 96% score.
Since 1997, Raf has also been active as a conductor in the Netherlands. In addition to working with several orchestras in North Brabant, he served for more than six years as conductor of Harmonie KNS Woudrichem (first division). He was also chief conductor of Harmonie L’Union Fraternelle in Zeelst (NL) (First division) for over 13 years, leading the ensemble to multiple first prizes and distinctions.
After thirteen years of conducting in Zeelst, he decided to focus primarily on his work as director of the Tilburg Conservatoire. Meanwhile, he was invited as guest conductor with orchestras in China, Japan, France, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. Over the years, he has also conducted numerous play-ins and project orchestras in both Belgium and the Netherlands.
From 2019 Raf is serving as principal conductor of Harmonie Sint-Cecilia Blerick (first division, NL).
Raf is part of the jury team of the Dutch KNMO and the Flemish VLAMO. In this role, you can meet him regularly at regional and national championships.
