The Brussels chamber music ensemble CAROUSEL brings together twelve young, outstanding musicians around the award-winning Belgian clarinettist Annelien Van Wauwe. The musicians come from France, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania and are all active chamber musicians and soloists. CAROUSEL members are prize winners of renowned competitions such as the Internationaler Musikwettbewerb der ARD in Munich, the Borletti Buitoni Trust Award, the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the USA International Harp Competition, the Opus Klassik, the Klara Award, the Aeolus Wettbewerb Düsseldorf, the Bottesini Competition and the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb.

Founded in 2019 by Annelien Van Wauwe, the CAROUSEL Chamber Music Ensemble played its debut concert at Klara in the Singel 2020. Since then, the ensemble has built an impressive international reputation and has been a guest at prestigious venues and festivals such as the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Wigmore Hall London, de Vereeniging Nijmegen, Concertzaal Tilburg, Concertgebouw Brugge, the Bijloke Ghent, the Singel Antwerp, Festival van Vlaanderen, Festival 20/21, Lunalia, Musica Divina, cc Hasselt, the Hindsgavl Chamber Music Festival and the Brucknerhaus Linz.

The ensemble regularly commits itself to charities and organises concerts and master classes to benefit organisations such as Kom op Tegen Kanker. During the Covid-19 pandemic, CAROUSEL took matters into its own hands and organised a successful - coronaproof - concert series in Leuven.

Supporting and training young talent remains an essential part of CAROUSEL's mission. Every year, the ensemble organises the International CAROUSEL Masterclasses in Kortrijk, Belgium, where young musicians take individual masterclasses, chamber music and workshops around yoga and meditation.

CAROUSEL's approach is modern and creative, with a repertoire that includes both traditional and contemporary. The ensemble has the privilege of premiering new music and commissioned compositions for this purpose. It performed works by Wim Henderickx, Jelle Tassyns and Jeroen D'hoe, among others. In the 2021-22 season, CAROUSEL created three compositions under the title They have waited long enough by composers Annelies Van Parys, Aftab Darvishi and Calliope Tsoupaki.

CAROUSEL's programmes are flexible, range from quartet to octet and offer a wide repertoire. The ensemble aims to bring its audiences closer to its core philosophy: togetherness and transcending cultural boundaries through the universal language of music. This is expressed, among other things, in the ‘Very Important Passenger’ events, where CAROUSEL strives to establish a close and personal connection with its audience.

With CAROUSEL, you step into a lively, inspiring and passionate musical journey!