BIOGRAPHY

Organist Johan Hermans has cultivated an exceptionally active international concert career. Acclaimed performances in cathedrals, monasteries, and concert halls in cities such as Paris, New York, Melbourne, London, Hong Kong, Brussels, Adelaide, Erfurt, Osaka, Rio de Janeiro, Seattle, Singapore, St. Petersburg, Sydney, and Washington, D.C. have firmly established his reputation as an artist of distinction.

Masterclasses and lectures at universities, as well as recordings for radio and television stations worldwide, frequently complement his concert engagements.

Hermans commands a vast repertoire and has given numerous world premieres of new organ compositions, several of which were dedicated to him.

He pursued his studies at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven and at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium. He completed his academic training with a thesis on “Rhetoric and Affect in the Music of J. S. Bach” and earned the Diplôme Supérieur (equivalent to the Prix d’Excellence) in the art of organ performance. Both the Flemish and Walloon governments awarded him scholarships for advanced studies with renowned organists in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy.

At the Municipal Conservatory of Hasselt and the Municipal Academy of Music in Genk, Belgium, Hermans teaches artistic and liturgical organ performance, chamber music, and practical harmony. Since October 2006, he has served as Cathedral Organist of St. Quintinus Cathedral in Hasselt, and since January 2009 as City Organist.

Moreover, Hermans is the founder and director of the International Organ Festival of Hasselt and artistic director of several organ concert series in his region. He also serves as Dean of the European Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO).

Hermans has been honored twice by the Académie des Arts, Sciences et Lettres in Paris.