About us

The Orpheus Institute, founded in 1996 in Ghent, is an international centre of excellence with its primary focus on artistic research in music: “research embedded in musical practice and primarily guided by artistic objectives.”

The Orpheus Institute in short:

  • an international team of senior, doctoral and visiting musician-researchers
  • producing and promoting high-quality research into music
  • in a dedicated educational and research environment
  • generating new knowledge in-and-through musical practice
  • keeping the artist’s perspective as the starting point for research

Orpheus Institute hosts the international inter-university docARTES programme for practice-based doctoral study in music, and the Orpheus Research Centre, home to around 30 artist-researchers involved in advanced artistic research. The close link between education and research within our facilities creates an inspiring environment where artists can experiment, exchange ideas and develop new knowledge.

Throughout our activities there is a clear focus on the development of a new research discipline in the arts, addressing trending questions and topics at the heart of musical practice. To promote and disseminate this knowledge, the Orpheus Institute organises seminars, study days, workshops, concerts and masterclasses. Next to that, the Orpheus Institute also has its own publication series.

All these aspects have made the Orpheus Institute what it is today: a leading European centre for artistic research in music and an influential driving force for new developments in artistic practice, with an impact that is felt worldwide.