Prayer For Peace

This album came to be due to the huge respect that Eddy Vanoosthuyse has for both of the Roeselaarse composers. He came to know them throughout different time periods of his career. He met Raymond Ducancq at a young age as a conductor and composer and immediately they developed a strong mutual respect for each other. Raymond dedicated a number of pieces to him and conducted a number of his works for Harmony Orchestra’s both at home and abroad. Vanoosthuyse came in contact with Willy Soenen through a common friend (Guido Six). It goes without saying that the two developed great respect for each other. Vanoosthuyse conducted a number of pieces for clarinet choir and harmony orchestra composed by Soenen. Willy dedicated ‘Concertino for Eddy’ to him after which he created ‘Midwest Clinic’ in Chicago.

The International Clarinets was founded in 1998 by Eddy Vanoosthuyse, the group is exclusively comprised of students and former students from this Belgian clarinet virtuoso. Throughout the years the ensemble has been comprised of musicians from Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Lithuania, Italy, Poland, Norway, Iceland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Algeria, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Thailand, China, Japan, South-Africa, Venezuela, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Chili, Peru, Cuba, Argentina, USA and Australia. Many of these musicians currently hold prominent functions in international orchestras, universities, conservatories and higher music institutions spread across five continents. The group has performed in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy and the US. The International Clarinets have worked together with soloists such as François Glorieux, jazz legend Eddie Daniels, Wenzel Fuchs, Larry Combs, and Philippe Cuper, and they are also focused on coaching young talent. Initially the ensemble was founded to provide a platform for students to play together, however the group has now grown to be one of the leading clarinet choirs in the world, with a repertory which is being internationally covered. The programming includes arrangements of the works of Weber, Rossini, Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi and others, as well as original works from mainly Belgian composers (Brossé, Laporte, Brewaeys, Van der Roost, Crepin, Soenen, Decancq and Goddaer).