Bernard Carlier

From an early age, Bernard Carlier has been passionate about music. Born in Nivelles in 1958, he was only five when he took his first piano lessons. At 12, he was already a parish organist. At the end of his high school studies, he chose to pursue music and joined the Higher Institute of Church Music and Pedagogy of Namur for three years. He then joined the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels and won the first year organ awards within the space of a year, for written and practical harmony. He obtained an advanced organ diploma two years later. First a professor, he then became director of the Academy of Music of Mont-sur-Marchienne. Bernard Carlier frequently performed at Maredsous Abbey and through a competitive application process, he ended up being appointed principle player of the great organ of the Collegiate Church of St Waltrude, aged 34. He has performed as soloist in most large churches in Belgium but also in France and Spain. Moreover, he has held several concerts as a member of the National Orchestra of Belgium. Also a board member of the Walloon Union of Organists, he promotes the (re)discovery of unknown Belgian writers. His repertoire ranges from baroque to modern, but the Belgian and French Romantic-Symphonic schools are particularly close to his heart. Finally, he is considered an expert in 19th and 20th century organ building.