Mathieu Roskam

After his musical studies at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles (clarinet in 2008), the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Charles Neidich (clarinet 2010) and the Conservatoire Royal de Liège (saxophone in 2011), Mathieu Roskam joined the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides in 2011.

One of the very few artists playing professionally both clarinet and saxophone, he has won several prizes at music competitions, such as the 5th prize of the 2nd Beijing International Music Competition in 2009.

His orchestral experience includes concerts and opera productions with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Opera Ballet Van Vlaaderen, the Opera Royal de Liège, a tour with the World Orchestra in China and Spain and guest clarinettist with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has performed musicals both as clarinet and saxophone player produced by the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Charleroi/Ars Lyrica since 2012: Hairspray, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, The Fiddler on the Roof, Les parapluies de Cherbourg and recently Singin' in the Rain.

As a soloist, he has played with the Orchestre de Chambre de Nivelles, Orchestre de chambre Arpeggio, the China Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jiangsu Symphony Orchestra, and as a winner of the concerto competition at the Manhattan School of Music, he played in February 2011 the Jean Françaix' clarinet concerto with the Manhattan Philharmonia Orchestra.

Very active in chamber music, he founded in 2003 the Quatuor Clarias (www.quatuorclarias.be) and joinded in 2011 the Ensemble Quartz (www.ensemblequartz.be). He has made several arrangements for clarinet quartet (Vivaldi piccolo concerto, Marcello oboe concerto…).

Roskam teaches both clarinet and saxophone at the Académie de Musique d'Anderlecht since 2014 and Reading and Transposition at the Royal Conservatory of Liège since 2017.

He has made over 30 recordings with the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides, the Ensemble Quartz, the Quatuor Clarias, with jazz saxophone player Fabrice Alleman and recorded music for movies with General Score Productions.

A Selmer artist since 2012, Roskam equally plays Eb clarinet, basset horn, bass clarinet and soprano, alto, tenor and baryton saxophones.

Photo credit: Bernard De Keyzer