ABOUT

Obe Vermeulen (2001) is a Belgian composer and conductor living in New York. His repertoire consists of a wide range of styles, from contemporary concert works to film, theatre & dance music and even exhibition soundtracks. Recent collaborations include Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Londen Musical Theatre Orchestra, English National Ballet School, Flemish Radio Choir, HERMESensemble, I SOLISTI ensemble, Camerata Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and many others. Obe participated in masterclasses led by world-renowned composers and conductors, such as Harry Gregson-Williams, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Wim Henderickx, Frederik Neyrinck, David Hill, Angel Velez and Dirk De Caluwé.

The composer studied at some of Europe’s finest institutions for classical music. At age 15, a new composition department was created at the Lemmens Institute, especially for him. He studied here for two years with Geert Callaert. Obe received his bachelor’s degree at the Royal Conservatory, School of Arts in Ghent, where he studied with Dirk Brossé and Daan Janssens. He graduated in composition, composition for screen and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London in 2024, where he studied with Errollyn Wallen, Mike Ladouceur and Howard Williams. Here, he was the inaugural recipient of the Andrew Downes Award. in 2025, Obe earned his second master's degree, in Writing & Production for Musical Theatre, from Berklee NYC.

For the premieres of Obe’s music, he worked together with internationally acclaimed conductors, among them Martijn Dendievel, Graham Ross, Benjamin Haemhouts, Filip Rathé, Wim Henderickx, Dimitri Bracke, Bart Picqueur & Bart Naessens.

ISCM-Flanders (Matrix) comments on Vermeulen’s piece ‘J’ai perdu mon corps’: “This young composer handles orchestral colours and textures with skill and a remarkable natural flair, and is not afraid of a ‘big’ sound, thanks to his intelligent use of percussion.”. The Guardian described Obe’s rap-infused song ‘One of Our Own’ as “an anarchic delight”.

In 2021, Obe released his first album with solo music, 'Cadenzas'. For this album, he worked with some of Flanders’ most prominent musicians, such as Inge Smedts, Anthony Devriendt, Stijn Saveniers, Pieter Nuytten and Marc Tooten. His composition ‘Explore’ premiered on Belgian national TV on 16 April 2021, performed by the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Wim Henderickx. Several of his other compositions were played on the Belgian classical radio station Klara.

The composer continues to search for unique ways to tell stories with music, deviating from the classical concert hall idea. He collaborated with Wim van den Driessche on ‘Enigma, the Story of Alan Turing’ in 2022. A 50-minute concert work for a symphony orchestra and narrator, telling the story of British mathematician Alan Turing (1912-1954). 'Enigma' has been performed several times since its premiere, by Symphonic Wind Band Zele and Brass Band Ghent. In March 2024, 'from the EARTH to the MOON' premiered in London and had a successful run of 5 concerts. At this family concert, a narrator surrounded by a live orchestra brought this moving story, inspired by Jules Verne's book (1865), to life. The concert had a Dutch production in Ghent in the summer of 2025, running for 7 sold-out concerts at the Belvedère at De Boekentoren.

Commissioned by Young Belgian Talent, Vermeulen created a brand-new double violin concerto that premiered in 2024, performed by Vilmos Csikos and Sarah Bayens. A new version for two violins and orchestra is set to premiere in 2026. Simultaneously, Obe is working on a trumpet concerto in collaboration with the organization, composed especially for Simon Binon.

Vermeulen composed the soundtrack for the short films ‘Un monsieur qui a du souffle’ (2020), ‘The Long Expected’ (2020), ‘Young’ (2021) and ‘Are You In There?’ (2023). He conducted the recording sessions for the short films ‘The Long Expected’ (2020), ‘Young’ (2021), ‘Duet’ (2022), ‘A Man Buys His Wife A Plant’ (2023), ‘Reunify’ (2023) and 'Atomic No.85' (2023).

Obe is a composition, harmony and orchestration teacher at the music school Lochristi & De Pinte and still fulfils the role of arranger and orchestrator for Brass Party.