Octopus is a versatile ensemble that performs in varying line-ups of between 24 and 80 singers, in the form of the Octopus Chamber Choir and the Octopus Symphonic Choir.
Octopus
Choir
Since its foundation by conductor Bart Van Reyn, Octopus has operated on a project basis and has quickly established itself as a leading ensemble in Flanders. The ensemble comprises a mix of passionate semi-professional and professional singers, and offers vocal students at music colleges a pathway to a professional career.
Their repertoire ranges from the late Baroque to the 21st century. In addition to numerous a cappella programmes, they also perform oratorios and symphonic choral works from Bach to MacMillan.
They have collaborated with orchestras such as the Brussels Philharmonic, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Vlaanderen Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the Bochumer Symphoniker, and the Baroque orchestras B’Rock and Le Concert d’Anvers.
Alongside Bart Van Reyn, the choir has worked with conductors such as Kazushi Ono, Hugh Wolff, Edo De Waart, Martyn Brabbins, Leif Segerstam, James MacMillan, Laurence Equilbey, Richard Egarr, Ottavio Dantone, Stéphane Denève and Philippe Herreweghe.
Octopus has appeared at festivals including the Klarafestival, Laus Polyphoniae, Festival van Vlaanderen Gent, La Chaise-Dieu (F) and Kloster Eberbach (D). They have performed in major Belgian venues such as Bozar, Flagey, De Singel, Elisabethzaal, De Bijloke, Concertgebouw Brugge and Salle Philharmonique de Liège, as well as international venues including the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, L’Arsenal in Metz and Cité de la Musique in Paris. Several radio recordings were made for Klara, Radio 4 NL and Radio France. In 2022, they were guests at the Royal Palace for the Royal Christmas Concert.