On the morning of January 27, 2025, Philippe Franck—the founder and director of Transcultures—passed away suddenly. An art historian, a leading thinker on sound arts, a professor in several art schools, and a researcher at Université Paris 8, Philippe was also a deeply committed artist. Through his project “Paradise Now”, he had been developing since the 1990s a distinctive voice—radically multi- and transdisciplinary—bringing together visual arts, performance, voice, dance, theatre and installations, with a constant throughline: the material he cherished most, sound—understood as a space of attention and a catalyst for experience and encounter.
One year to the day after Philippe Franck’s death, Transcultures joins forces with Arsonic and Musiques Nouvelles for a Sound Meditation dedicated entirely to his memory. In Arsonic’s singular acoustic setting, this concert invites a journey of deep listening, moving between works by Arvo Pärt, Samuel Barber and Brian Eno, alongside new creations—echoing the demanding, sensitive universe of the founder of Transcultures, City Sonic and the Transnumériques.
27.01.2026 | Sound Mediation - Musique nouvelle + Gauthier Keyaerts
Rather than a “tribute concert” in the conventional sense, this is a contemplative journey: the artist Gauthier Keyaerts (sound and visual design) and four musicians from Musiques Nouvelles—André Ristic (piano), Hughes Kolp (guitars), Pierre Quiriny (percussion) and Jean-Paul Dessy (cello)—weave, in a single continuous breath, works by Arvo Pärt, Samuel Barber and Brian Eno, alongside original, newly created arrangements. The audience is invited to settle in, to let the sound move through them, to step into that zone where listening becomes a form of active attention—a way of being in the world that Philippe never ceased to advocate through Transcultures, City Sonic and many intermedia projects.
In the work of Transcultures and Philippe, as in that of Arsonic and Musiques Nouvelles, the same horizon emerges: forms that blur the boundaries between concert, installation, performance and shared space. Sound Meditation extends this approach—a suspended moment, both fragile and intensely present, where music does not “illustrate” a path but opens up a common inner field.
27 et 28.01.2026 - Sound Meditation - Satellites
Sound installations with free access will be presented in the Passage des Rumeurs.
- Corps sonores, by Isa*Belle, Stéphane Kozik and Gauthier Keyaerts, will be set within the circle of red velvet curtains in the entrance vestibule.
- Caressing the Cloud, Philippe’s latest album in collaboration with Isa*Belle, will resonate in the Chapelle du Silence, amidst a bed of feathers.
- After the concert, Gauthier Keyaerts will perform a DJ set in the Passage des Rumeurs.
Philippe Franck (Fr/Be)
Under the name Paradise Now, Philippe Franck developed, from the early 1990s onward, a multifaceted artistic trajectory shaped by a forward-looking approach and a strong collaborative ethos. He composed and produced music for choreographic works, exhibitions, interdisciplinary performances and videos (notably for Régis Cotentin, Hanzel & Gretzel and Thomas Israël), as well as multimedia pieces in collaboration with digital artists Philippe Boisnard, Marc Veyrat and art2.network.
In 2014, Philippe Franck co-directed the film Bernard Heidsieck, la poésie en action, which was also released as a book-and-DVD box set titled Variations sur Bernard Heidsieck.
Alongside his collaborations with holistic performer Isa*Belle (several body/sound installations and performances since 2005), Paradise Now also worked with electronic musicians Christophe Bailleau (as part of the duo Pastoral), Gauthier Keyaerts (within Supernova), Stephan Dunkelman, Christian Leroy, Didié Nietzsche, and vocalist/performer Maja Jantar, as well as with several poets including Ira Cohen, Gerard Malanga, Werner Moron, Eric Therer, Catrine Godin and Habiba Sheikh. From 2021, he was part of the hypermedia collective Société i Matériel, where he was responsible for the sound and poetic dimension.
His recordings were released on labels including Transonic, Optical Sound and Sub Rosa. Philippe Franck passed away on January 27, 2025.
Gauthier Keyaerts (Be)
Gauthier Keyaerts questions ‘matter’ through sound and through still or moving images, in an interactive and complementary style. Sonic artist (several albums published on Sub Rosa and Transonic as well as installations and performances broadcast internationally) and interdisciplinary, he bases his work on two essential elements:
a radically materialist approach, a real call to rediscover our senses whether through sound or image
a willingness to communicate with the public, to generate a free and open space of reflection.
His favorite subjects are life, nothingness, the beauty of insignificance, the elements, time, and memory.
Jean-Paul Dessy (Be)
A composer, conductor and cellist, he also holds a master’s degree in philosophy and literature.
He conducted more than 350 world premieres of contemporary works, exploring a wide spectrum of sonic worlds. He has produced over 100 recordings—spanning both classical and contemporary repertories—recognized with numerous awards and distinctions (including *Choc* from *Le Monde de la Musique*, *Diapason d’Or*, the Snepvangers Prize for Best Belgian Recording of the Year, and others).
As music director of the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, he notably recorded the complete works for string orchestra by Giacinto Scelsi, Witold Lutosławski and Jean Rogister. As a cellist, alongside pianist Boyan Vodenitcharov, he also recorded sonatas by Guillaume Lekeu, Claude Debussy and Gabriel Fauré.
His catalogue includes symphonic, chamber, vocal and electronic music, as well as an opera—*Kilda, l’île des hommes-oiseaux*—which he conducted for the opening of the Edinburgh Festival in 2009.
He has also written extensive stage music for directors such as Jacques Lassalle, Denis Marleau, Anne-Laure Liégeois, David Géry, Lorent Wanson and Frédéric Dussenne, as well as for choreographers including Carolyn Carlson, Frédéric Flamand and Nicole Mossoux. He has composed for films and fashion shows by designer Hussein Chalayan, and for Bartabas’s *Levers de soleil*. In addition, he has collaborated with more than 90 artists from the worlds of chanson, jazz, pop, electro and rock.
Le Chant du Monde / Harmonia Mundi released two CDs devoted to his compositions: *The Present’s presents* and *Prophètes*, for solo cello—which he also performs himself. The Cypres label has also published two CDs of his works: *O Clock* and *Requiems*.
Since 1997, he has been the artistic director of the contemporary music ensemble Musiques Nouvelles, based in Mons within MARS (Mons Arts de la Scène). He also initiated the programming and conceptual design of Arsonic, a “house of listening” founded in 2015, notably home to the Chapelle du Silence, dedicated to contemplative, focused listening.
He teaches musical aesthetics at INSAS (Institut National Supérieur des Arts de la Scène) and has been a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium since 2021.
A long-time meditation practitioner, he leads “Ateliers du Silence” (Silence Workshops), sharing practices of listening, breath, sound and contemplation.
André Ristic (Ca/Be)
André Ristic was born in Quebec (Canada) into a family with Eastern European roots (Poland and Montenegro). He grew up in Canada, where he pursued a dual course of study, combining music (piano and composition) with science (mathematics and microelectronics).
As a pianist, he has performed with the Fibonacci Trio, the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal and Musiques Nouvelles. As a performer, he has taken part in numerous recordings and premiered dozens of works; his own compositions have likewise been programmed and broadcast by many ensembles and presenters. His catalogue includes, among other things, several chamber operas, around ten string quartets and eight symphonies.
He has also written original music for several film productions, collaborating in particular with directors such as Pascale Ferland, Stefan Miljević and David Clermont-Béique.
His career has additionally involved teaching as well as roles in cultural administration. He has created sound installations, produced visual artworks (mainly paintings), designed utility software, and built a few electronic instruments, including the risquodrone and the risquosurface. To date, none of these instruments has been commercialized—for lack of time, out of laziness, and because he has little interest in commercial logic.
André is also fascinated by algebras related to the Standard Model, by non-European musical theories, and by strategy games (which take up a considerable amount of space at home). He is equally fond of travel and fine wines (which, for their part, take up a fair amount of space in the budget).
Hughes Kolp (Be)
Hughes Kolp entered the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Liège at the age of sixteen, where he earned a First Prize in guitar, a First Prize in transverse flute, and an advanced diploma in chamber music. He then continued his training with Odaïr Assad at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Mons, graduating with an advanced guitar diploma awarded with highest honours.
After standing out in several competitions in Belgium—including the Dexia competition—he went on to receive a range of prizes abroad, in contests held notably in Poland, the Netherlands and Italy.
As a soloist, Hughes Kolp has performed with the State Orchestra of Romania, the Orchestre de chambre de Wallonie, and the Brabants Orkest in Eindhoven. He has also collaborated with the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rouen Opera, the Ictus ensemble, the Blindman ensemble, the Chamber Choir of Namur, and the Oxalys ensemble. He has appeared on various Belgian radio and television programmes and is a regular guest at festivals such as Ars Musica, the Festival de Wallonie, the Gaume Jazz Festival, the Jazz Flagey Festival and the Paris Guitar Festival.
His discography includes three recordings for the renowned guitar label G.H.A.: Ritmata as a soloist, followed by Alki and Corpus with the Alki Guitar Trio, alongside Magali Rischette and Adrien Brogna. He also works with the jazz group led by Jan Rzewski, Danza Quartet, with whom he recorded the album Mainly Joy for the IGLOO label.
Deeply committed to contemporary creation, Hughes Kolp devotes a significant part of his activity to today’s music. A member of the Belgian contemporary ensemble Musiques Nouvelles since 1996, he has taken part in numerous tours in Belgium and abroad, as well as in many recordings and premieres. Several composers have dedicated works to him, which he has premiered, including Michel Fourgon, Claude Ledoux, Jean-Marie Rens and Jacques Leduc.
As a teacher, after covering Odaïr Assad’s classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Mons from 1997 to 2005 and giving lectures at IMEP alongside Maria Mohino, he has taught at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Liège since 2005.
Pierre Quiriny (Be)
Pierre began studying music at the age of seven at the Anderlecht Academy, where he learned percussion and piano with Jean-Claude Wets and Osvaldo Salas. In 2001, he joined Louison Renault’s percussion class at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (CRB), graduating in June 2007 with a degree in percussion awarded with highest honours.
That same year, he joined the group Oxymore, which went on to win first prize at the Biennale de la Chanson Française the following year. Around this time, he performed very regularly with the National Orchestra of Belgium and the Symphonic Orchestra of La Monnaie (Brussels Opera).
His strong interest in contemporary creation led him, in 2008, to become principal percussionist (soloist) with the Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles. In March 2011, he joined the ECO (European Contemporary Orchestra), a European ensemble with an atypical, innovative line-up dedicated to contemporary music. There he met percussionists Christian Bini (France) and André Groen (the Netherlands); together they founded Hop!trio, a percussion trio devoted to new creation.
In September 2011, Pierre entered Philippe Gérard’s conducting class at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels. Six months later, he was entrusted with the artistic direction of the Société Royale d’Harmonie de Braine-l’Alleud, which he led until December 2018. In June 2014, he earned a Master’s degree in orchestral conducting with distinction.
Increasingly invested in personal and independent projects, he formed ClapDuo in spring 2015 with clarinettist Charles Michiels. In January 2016, he was invited to conduct the OSJB (Orchestre Symphonique des Jeunes de Bruxelles), and has since served as its artistic and musical director. In February 2017, he was also appointed assistant conductor of Ensemble Télémaque (Marseille), led by Raoul Lay. Since January 2019, he has been musical director of the Chœur de la Vallée in Linkebeek.
Alongside his work as a performer and conductor, Pierre has built a teaching career: he teaches percussion and instrumental ensemble at the Anderlecht Academy of Music. At the CRB, he is an assistant in Louison Renault’s percussion class and teaches specialised didactics within the percussion teacher-certification (agrégation) programme.
Isa*Belle (Fr/Be)
Isa*Belle develops her artistic approach for and through the well-being of the body – in its multiple dimensions – associated with personal and spiritual development.
Evolving between Belgium and France, she has been working since 2005 in collaboration with Paradise Now to produce several performances and sound installations supported by Transcultures / City Sonic and broadcast internationally.
She has also collaborated with several musicians (Maurice Charles JJ, Matthieu Safatly, Stephan Dunkelman …) and visual artists (Simone Simon, Joseph Dadoune, Régis Cotentin), created the duet Unda with Ariane Chesaux and joined, in 2015 Werner Moron and Philippe Franck in the audio-poetic combo “Les ours bipolaires”.
Stephane Kozik (Be)
Stéphane Kozik has been working for around twenty years as a sound artist, visual artist and musician. His practice mainly takes the form of audiovisual performances, sound installations and short films. It is a multidisciplinary approach—sensory, attentive to nuance, poetic, and sometimes infused with humour. In his pieces, he engages with reality through the lens of sound, developing an audiovisual language through which he builds narratives and fictions that place music and sound at the forefront.
He draws inspiration from the role sound plays in cinema—too often pushed into the background despite being essential in shaping emotion, atmosphere and the viewer’s psychological experience. Starting from this observation, he reverses the usual hierarchy and attempts to invent a “cinema for the ears”: a cinema of the senses in which images and storytelling serve sound rather than the other way around. These are stagings designed to foreground listening—another way, in a sense, of “bringing things into sound”.
To achieve this, he is constantly devising new sonic and musical setups that push him toward unfamiliar ways of composing and making music. Each new development opens up unexpected territory, generating distinct, sometimes unforeseen sound and visual imaginaries. Whether in performance, installation or video form, Stéphane Kozik experiments with—and plays on—the close ties between material and sound, in an effort to forge his own audiovisual language and offer a renewed reading of the real.
Guided by its own sense of play and freedom, Sound Meditation—conceived by Musiques Nouvelles—takes listeners on a meditative musical path: a journey across genres and centuries that revisits an unusually wide-ranging repertoire.
Its sources span the great canon, from Gregorian chant to contemporary music, from Bach to Messiaen, passing through Arvo Pärt and Pink Floyd; they also include reimagined popular and traditional music—slow dances and lullabies—as well as the original creations of the five musicians involved in Sound Meditation.
Brought together into a single sonic liturgy, these pieces—drawn from every horizon, style and era, and chosen for their gentle, quietly compelling pull—lead toward a focused, inward kind of listening: one that calms us, restores us, and leaves us deeply fulfilled.
Musiques Nouvelles
Founded in 1962 by Pierre Bartholomée and led since 1997 by Jean-Paul Dessy, Musiques Nouvelles is dedicated to enriching and promoting contemporary creative music in all its diversity.
The ensemble is built around a stable core of about a dozen long-standing musicians, chosen for both their high virtuosity and the intensity of their commitment to serving musical creation in Wallonia, Brussels and on the international stage.
Constantly renewing itself, the group draws its creative energy from atypical, wide-ranging projects born of fruitful artistic encounters. These collaborations cross borders and are often interdisciplinary, bringing together music with dance, film, opera, theatre, poetry, spirituality and the visual arts.
Supporting musical creation in Wallonia and Brussels, while introducing emerging international voices, lies at the heart of Musiques Nouvelles’ programming, as an ensemble-in-residence at Arsonic within MARS (Mons arts de la scène) since 2015.
Informations
- 27.01.2026 | 20:00
- 27 > 28.01.2025 | 12 > 17:00
- Arsonic
- rue de Nimy, 138 7000 Mons
- Transcultures is offering complimentary tickets for this event.
- Free registration (required)
Production
- Une coproduction de Mars-Mons arts de la scène / Musiques Nouvelles / Transcultures.
- surmars.be
