Hans Vermeersch is a violinist, teacher, composer, conductor and artistic leader of the Rajhans Orchestra. Hans Vermeersch was born in Knokke (1957) , a coastal town in West-Flanders, Belgium. In 1988 he traveled for the first time to India and got really smashed with its musical wealth. Confronted with all these sound colors he got the inspiration of creating something with it. Hans literally got submerged in this "ganasagaram", this ocean of music and wanted to compose music with these colors and combine it with the flavors of European music, by means of creating a small orchestra, consisting of Indian and European classical musicians.

Hans was introduced in 1990 to one of India's greatest film directors: Mr. Satyajit Ray.(1921 -1992 ) Mr Ray was a erudite artist and well informed about European and Asian culture. Hans explained him his ideas about my music project, asking him if he thought it was feasible. Mr Ray thought his ideas were excellent if supported by a theoretical research project. Has created a "plan de campaign" for his theoretical research, and started investigating musical instruments, notations, forms, musicians, art critics, musicologists, different languages etc.).

By 1992 the study project flourished, and got included in the Cultural Treaty between Belgium/Flanders and India. The project was labeled: "Indian Music Project". With financial and logistical help of Belgian and Indian authorities in 1995 Hans presented a blue-print of a multi-cultural chamber orchestra: the "Rajhans Orchestra"

The Rajhans Orchestra is a unique project because of the merging of two different cultural music systems and musicians within one orchestra. The concept of orchestra, as known in Europe, never grew roots on the Subcontinent (perhaps the closest was the Mughal Nahabet Khana). In Asia mainly one soloist versus, and interacting with, one ore more percussion instruments, and supported by a drone-instrument. (tanbura) is observed. In the last decades a development to "jugalbandi", the joint-solo-venture, has emerged (more chamber-music like, 2 soloists plus percussion and drone) . Now with the creation of Rajhans orchestra music and performers are merged in a most splendid way, enabling each musician to operate and interact from within his own cultural background and tradition.

Since the later days of the renaissance in Europe there was a rise of a organized group-performing" which ultimately resulted, through successive stages, in the massive orchestras of the late 19th century. The Rajhans orchestra however is more related to the smaller early 18th century orchestras who, traditionally at that time, were attached and maintained by Europe's noble and royal courts. In those days it used to be quite "exotic" to present let's say in Germany some French or Italian music styles. As the world is "getting smaller", the Rajhans orchestra practice a similar technique in presenting Indian music within th European music, thus creating a new flavour. The music for the Rajhans orchestra is composed by Hans Vermeersch in close co-operation with the involved musicians. The rules of raga tala and european music theory are closely observed and implied wherever necessary and/or possible.

Projects of Hans Vermeersch include

    Music of Rabindranath Tagore

    Music of Kazi Nazrul Islam

    General and Imperial Ostend East India Company

    Music around the Mahatma Gandhi

    Indian Army in Flanders Fields

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