Many students get to know each other through their passion for music: in the student choir or orchestra. But as soon as you graduate, this musical journey stops. Or doesn't it? Today alumni and staff have a choice of three musical alumni associations: Continuo, Clangent and Aeolus Ganda.
Continuo, orchestra for Ghent University staff and alumni
Violinist Naomi Hoornaert is Continuo’s chairwoman. “I joined Continuo two years ago and I recently took over as chairwoman. When I was at uni I played the violin in the Ghent University Symphonic Orchestra (GUSO), where I made lots of friends. But when you graduate, that’s it. My former housemate and good friend Hanna had been a member of Continuo for quite some time and in recent years she asked me to join on several occasions. I held off because I had a full plate with my work and hobbies, and I don’t like to do things by halves. She won me ever eventually with the exciting repertoire, the high standard and the chance to play with my music friends again.
On Friday evenings we rehearse in a hall at Campus Sterre that Ghent University lets us use for free. We can also store our instruments there. We have the support of professor Isabel Van Driessche, dean of the Faculty of Science, and rector Rik Van de Walle. As it happens, I played with the rector in an orchestra in Eeklo from the age of twelve but I don’t think he remembers me because I was way at the back at first and I didn’t play a single note. Trying to follow the sheet music was challenging enough (laughs).
Continuo follows the academic calendar, with concerts in January and June. We have some 50 to 60 musicians and we perform a varied repertoire ranging from classical music to opera and contemporary compositions. With Continuo Ma Non Troppo, a smaller version of the orchestra, we regularly play at graduation ceremonies. It’s a fun way to strengthen our ties with Ghent University.”
Clangent, choir for Ghent University staff and alumni
Bob Oeyen studied physics and astronomy and is currently completing his doctoral dissertation at Ghent University. He is also co-chairman of Clangent, the staff and alumni choir of Ghent University. “Clangent was founded by several former members of the student choir. After all those years singing together - I was first tenor for ten years - we were eager to keep it going. As Ghent University was the common denominator between us, an alumni choir seemed like the logical next step.
In September 2023 we started recruiting members via an open choir day and auditions. The choir currently consists of some 50 members, mainly alumni and a handful of Ghent University staff. Last January we gave our first concert in the Aula, a hall with wonderful acoustics. To our surprise the concert sold out in one week so we organised a second one right away (laughs).
We rehearse on Mondays at Campus Sterre. We have a varied repertoire ranging from renaissance-era choral works to contemporary compositions. Our conductor selects the programme but as choir members we also have a say. Personally I’d like to sing a major work like Carmina Burana, with an orchestra.
Although we’ve only been going for a year our group is tight-knit. Organising auditions keeps the difference in level limited, which helps to sound good together quickly. Within five years we’d like to take part in a choir festival or competition.
To me, choral singing is not just special because of the friendships that develop but also because of the unique sense of togetherness. Singing together means breathing together, having a feel for each other and melting into a single organism. The result is pure magic. It’s beyond words.”
Aeolus Ganda, harmonic orchestra for Ghent University staff and alumni
Sander Verdonck, business analyst and vice-chairman of Aeolus Ganda, talks about his love of music: “I’ve been playing the saxophone since elementary school. During my master’s studies in civil engineering: computer sciences, I joined the Ghent University Wind Ensemble (GUHO). Sadly, after graduation in 2020, my friends and I had to leave the orchestra. It was such a shame because we felt we had built something together in those few short years. That’s why in January 2023 we decided to found a harmonic orchestra linked to Ghent University’s alumni programme.
Once our application was approved, our new alumni association was able to share its call for musicians through Ghent University’s channels for staff and alumni. The response was overwhelming: some 90 musicians showed up. Our orchestra now consists of 55 musicians in a mix of alumni and Ghent University personnel but new members are more than welcome!
Our orchestra goes beyond music: I’m making new friends here and also expanding my professional network. After rehearsals we often chat in the bar and that strengthens our bond. We rehearse on Sunday evenings in a hall at Campus Sterre that Ghent University lets us use for free. Our repertoire mainly consists of challenging harmonic orchestra music and every once in a while we’ll dip our toes in exciting arrangements from popular music.
One of the highlights was our first concert in March of this year. The venue was sold out and our performance was greeted with great enthusiasm. It was also wonderful to see that the audience could tell how much we were enjoying ourselves because that’s extremely important to us: we do this as a hobby, we are not professionals so the main thing is to have fun.
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