Since his sudden death in December 2022, a core group of close friends and associates of Wim Henderickx has been working to preserve, document and further promote his legacy. They are looking at the past, the present and the future. The Foundation wants to ensure that forty years of expertise is preserved and made accessible to future generations, that Wim's work as an artist, educator and inspirer remains in the spotlight, and it wants to initiate and support specific projects in the future.
The Wim Henderickx Foundation, together with a number of important players in the cultural field, wishes to continue promoting Wim's oeuvre and legacy.
Shortly after Wim's sudden death, his widow Bea Steylaerts gathered a number of people with whom he had worked closely and developed plans for the future. Guy Coolen, director of Muziektheater Transparant, Koen Kessels, director of HERMESensemble, Kevin Voets, head of research at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, Jorrit Tamminga, head of the composition department at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam, Diederik Glorieux, his musical assistant for 17 years, Wilfried Van den Brande, close friend, singer and teacher at the Brussels Conservatory, Frank Henderickx, Wim's brother, and his three sons Ruben, Milan and Lennart Henderickx were closely involved from the start in January 2023.
There were a number of almost finished scores on Wim's desk. It was agreed with the composition commissioners that Wim's musical assistant, Diederik Glorieux, would make these scores ready for performance. This resulted in several posthumous world premieres in 2024 and 2025: Inner Life for music theatre, Rejoice! for orchestra, Sutra for clarinet and musical ensemble, Spielerei for carillon, Babelut@Astra for young children, Accordion Concerto and Timpani Concerto.
A number of posthumous world premieres were realised with major cultural institutions, and the Flemish Community's Pilot Project on Legacies was signed up to.
Mission Foundation
- preserving and bringing to life the work of Wim Henderickx (artistic section)
- inspiring young people and musicians through his methodology, including through publications (educational section)
- Wim as an inspirer and connector, involving various groups from society (social aspect)
Board of Directors
Guy Coolen, chairperson
Bea Steylaerts, vice chairperson
Koen Kessels
Esther Ursem
Jorrit Tamminga
Fiorenzo Van Steenlandt
Frank Henderickx
General Assembly
Diederik Glorieux
Kevin Voets
Wilfried Van den Brande
Aïda Gabriëls
Ann Andries
Ruben Henderickx
Lennart Henderickx
Milan Henderickx
Estate project
In 2023, artists and cultural organisations were given the opportunity by Jan Jambon, Minister of Culture for the Flemish Community, to sign up for a Pilot Project on Legacies. Bea Steylaerts, Diederik Glorieux and his right-hand man Hannes Vanlancker decided to take the plunge, with the support of Kevin Voets from the HERMESensemble. They were awarded a grant to inventory and digitise the oeuvre and legacy of Wim Henderickx over the course of a year.
Diederik Glorieux, Bea Steylaerts, and Hannes Vanlancker worked intensively for a year to map out Wim's oeuvre and legacy
First call for proposals for the Pilot Projects on Legacies in 2023: vlaanderen.be
The application was approved along with 11 other projects.
A database was developed that could later be used to develop Wim Henderickx's current website. The physical and digital archive was largely catalogued, including his extensive oeuvre of more than 200 compositions, sketches and notes, his large collection of percussion instruments from around the world, his extensive collection of books and scores, teaching materials and a collection of final projects by his students at the Conservatories of Antwerp and Amsterdam.
With HERMESensemble, CEMPER vzw, the Heritage Library of the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, the LABO XIX&XX research group and Huniyāgar v.z.w., they received broad and substantial support to get this project off the ground.
HERMESensemble is driven by curiosity about the present. It promotes a focused and meditative approach to time. HERMESensemble researches, interprets, and creates. The ensemble tells the musical story from 1950 to 2050 and studies recent developments in musical performance practice. It also acts as a creative and innovative force for new music.
CEMPER v.z.w is the Center for Music and Performing Arts Heritage. CEMPER informs, advises, and supports anyone who comes into contact with music and performing arts heritage: from amateurs to professionals, from hobbyists to academics, from heirs to collectors.
The Heritage Library of the Royal Antwerp Conservatoire (AP University College Antwerp) is the largest library for music and performing arts in Flanders and supports education, research, and performance practice both within and outside the Conservatoire. It is recognized by the Flemish government as a heritage library of supra-local importance.
LABO XIX&XX, the research group of the Royal Antwerp Conservatoire, focuses on music culture in Antwerp and, by extension, Belgium. An important source of inspiration for this is the rich collection of the Royal Antwerp Conservatoire's heritage library.
Huniyāgar v.z.w. promotes music creation and specializes in digitizing musical heritage, with great attention to musical typography and meticulous music engraving. Historically documented and with respect for the composer's hand, Huniyāgar prepares critical editions, adaptations, instrumentations, and orchestrations.
CEMPER vzw used the Wim Henderickx project as a case study for several publications.
Link to cemper.be
Wim Henderickx's studio, in his home in Antwerp