Peter Vermeersch

Peter Vermeersch (born 1959 in Waregem) is a Belgian composer, clarinet player and producer.

He is a main character in several Belgian bands such as X-Legged Sally, A Group and the Flat Earth Society. His compositions, balancing between classical, jazz and pop music, are often commissioned for or used by modern dance companies.

As a producer he helped to form the first album of Belgium's most prominent indie band dEUS. As such, he is one of the godfathers of the Belgian music scene.

Vermeersch' formal training include architecture and urbanization, and a modern art course. He soon got involved with music and started composing. In the eighties and early nineties, Vermeersch was part of the post-modern classical ensembles Union and Maximalist! and composed and performed music for dance productions by Rosas and Ultima Vez. He was also a member of the Simpletones and Kamagurka en the Vlaamse Primitieven. Among his first official compositions is part of the music for the dance production Rosas danst Rosas (1983).

Because Vermeersch soon grew tired of the constraints imposed by sheet music, he started his own ensemble X-Legged Sally. In a way, XLS was the last Belgian prog-rock band. In another way, it was the first band of the new Belgian scene. Many X-Legged Sally compositions were originally soundtracks to dance performances. X-Legged Sally split up in 1997.

Out of the ashes of X-Legged Sally sprung A Group, who have released two CDs and are currently inactive. A Group mixes the creativity of X-Legged Sally with pure and simple pop tunes.

Currently Peter Vermeersch' main project is the Flat Earth Society, a big band that mixes the rich Belgian brass band (HaFaBra) tradition with characteristic topsy-turvy creativity.

As a composer, Peter Vermeersch has his own place among the long list of contemporary Belgian composers, although, due to his lack of formal training and his involvement with pop music, he doesn't necessarily fit in with the likes of Wim Henderickx, Luc Brewaeys or Boudewijn Buckinx.

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Wikipedia