Matthias Van den Brande

Instruments : Tenor saxophone, Soprano saxophone, Composer, Arranger
Date of birth : 30/11/1992

Matthias started playing the saxophone at age 8 under the professional guidance of his teacher Tom Van Dyck. His passion for music grew throughout the years and in 2011 he got accepted at the Conservatory of Antwerp, where he studied with saxophonist and mentor Kurt Van Herck. After earning his bachelor degree in Antwerp, Matthias moved to The Netherlands to continue his studies at the renowned Conservatory of Amsterdam. There he got the amazing opportunity to start his master studies in the U.S. at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he was taught by jazz greats such as Dick Oatts and Terell Stafford. In 2017 he finished his master degree back in Amsterdam with Jasper Blom, Ferdinand Povel, Simon Rigter, Joris Roelofs and Ben Van Gelder as mentors.

Matthias is a hard working and versatile musician, composer and arranger in the jazz scene and beyond, both in small and big groups.

He is also a seasoned big band player. Professional orchestras he played with are the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Bravo Big Band, Belgium Jazz Big Band (Mimi Verderame), Jazz Station Big Band, Dutch Concert Big Band, … In 2014 Matthias was given the opportunity to play on the main stage of the Jazz Middelheim festival with the group "Aletheia".

In 2016 he was asked by the Brussels Jazz Orchestra to join their project "The Future Is Now", in which he was featured as a guest soloist.