Dirk Brossé

Dirk, Knight Brossé (born 18 February 1960) is a Belgian conductor and composer. He has composed over 200 works, including concerti, oratorios, lieder, chamber music and symphonic works. Brossé has composed extensively for stage, cinema, television.

His score for the BBC/HBO series Parade's End (2012) was nominated for an Emmy Award. Brossé is currently music director of the Ghent Film Festival. John Williams chose him as principal conductor of the Star Wars in Concert World Tour. Brossé is also professor of composition and conducting at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.

Brossé has conducted international orchestras including London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic orchestra, Vancouver Opera, Opéra National de Lyon, BBC Concert Orchestra, Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In 2008, he made his first appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London, conducting the LSO. In 2010, at the request of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, he wrote The Hallow-e'en Dances written for traditional Chinese instruments.

He has made more than 70 CD recordings and has collaborated with artists such as José Van Dam, Barbara Hendricks, Julia Migenes, Claron McFadden, Julian Lloyd Webber, Sabine Meyer, Alison Balsom, Salvatore Accardo, John Williams, Toots Thielemans, Hans Zimmer, Elmer Bernstein, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Randy Crawford, Lisa Gerrard, Marcel Khalife, Mel Brooks, Maurane, Sinéad O'Connor, Maurice Jarre, Michel Legrand and Youssou N'Dour.

Brossé has worked with directors Stijn Coninx, Frank Van Laecke, Susanna White and Roland Joffé, and with writers Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Seth Gaaikema and Didier Van Cauwelaert. Brossé has been awarded the title Cultural Ambassador of Flanders, the Flemish Parliament's gold medal for Merit, the Achille Van Acker Prize, the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award and the Global Thinkers Forum Award for Excellence in Cultural Creativity. In 2010, Brossé was made an honorary citizen of Destelbergen. In 2013, he was elevated to Belgium's hereditary nobility, with the personal title of Ridder.