A Belgian conductor of international renown, acclaimed for his exceptional performances of 18th-century and early Romantic music. He is also a respected interpreter of Baroque and contemporary music.
After completing his studies in violin and music theory at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, he embarked on a solo career and served as concertmaster of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders. However, in 1985, he decided to fully dedicate himself to conducting. In 1991, he founded the chamber orchestra Prima La Musica, which soon became recognized as one of Belgium’s leading ensembles. He also collaborated with Frans Brüggen, resulting in numerous performances with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century.
In addition to conducting major Belgian orchestras, Dirk Vermeulen has appeared as a guest conductor in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Iceland, Israel, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland. He has performed in renowned concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Musikverein in Vienna, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Philharmonie in Berlin, and Harpa in Reykjavik.
He has worked with many leading soloists, including Maria João Pires, José van Dam, Barbara Hendricks, Barbara Hannigan, Sabine Meyer, Janine Jansen, Isabelle Faust, Isabelle Van Keulen, Eliane Rodrigues, Ronald Brautigam, Jaap van Zweden, and Pieter Wispelwey, as well as jazz legends such as Toots Thielemans, Wayne Shorter, and Diane Reeves. Vermeulen is highly regarded for his interpretations of operatic works, particularly those of Mozart. He has conducted Così fan tutte at the Kraków Opera and two productions of The Magic Flute at the Hagen Opera (Germany) and Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz. During a tour in the Netherlands, he led 15 performances of Mozart’s Zaide with Prima La Musica. He also directed two other Mozart operas: Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute.
Vermeulen has led new productions of Orpheus and Eurydice by Gluck at l’Opéra de Rennes (France) and The Marriage of Figaro at Opera Zuid and Het Brabants Orkest (Eindhoven).
His discography as a conductor includes over 30 CDs released by labels such as EMI, Vanguard Classics, Discover, Eufoda, Et’cetera, Brilliant Classics, and Tactus, with recent releases from Polish Radio. In 2019, Polish Radio released an album conducted by Dirk Vermeulen, Stanisław Moniuszko: Crimean Sonnets, featuring a historically informed performance of Moniuszko’s masterpiece, with tenor Aleksander Kunach, the Polish Radio Choir in Kraków, and the {oh!} Historical Orchestra.
From 2000 to 2017, Dirk Vermeulen was also a professor of chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
In the artistic season 2024/25, the conductor will perform with the National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice (NOSPR), the Warsaw Chamber Opera, tour with the European Union Baroque Orchestra, and the Polish Radio Choir.
“I can warmly recommend the conductor Dirk Vermeulen. He has replaced me several times, to great acclaim, at top orchestras in Holland, Portugal and Norway.”
Frans Brüggen
“A fantastic conductor who earned himself a great reputation in Belgium and far beyond.”
Eindhovens Dagblad
“In the hands of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth-Century under the baton of Dirk Vermeulen, the London Symphony by Haydn made a vital, modern and impetuous impression. Dirk Vermeulen conducted an ‘Eroica’ with powerful colours, full of accents and sforzando.”
Giornale di Brescia