After eight years, Jelle Dierickx will hand over the torch in September 2025 as director of the Festival van Vlaanderen Mechelen/Kempen. Since taking office in 2017, as successor to Marcel Kocken and Veerle Declerck, he has left a strong personal mark on the organization. His next step takes him to Germany, where he will be appointed artistic director of Musikkultur Rheinsberg, located in the former court of the muses of Frederick the Great and Prince Heinrich of Prussia.
The festival as it exists today comprises two major musical events that aim to appeal to a broad audience with high-quality live music. In spring there is Lunalia, with a focus on vocal music in Mechelen; in autumn Musica Divina, which brings heavenly and healing music to abbeys and béguinages in the Kempen region.
Chairman Marc De Geyter looks back with satisfaction: "Jelle Dierickx has given the festival its own dynamics. Lunalia dared to forge new artistic paths and developed into a fixture in the Flemish festival landscape. Musica Divina held true to its roots, but at the same time invested in quality and substantive depth. We thank Jelle for his inspiring journey and wish him every success in Rheinsberg."
Under his leadership, a total of 17 festivals were organized between 2017 and 2025, featuring more than 350 concerts, music theater pieces and projects, with approximately 2,000 artists and more than 50,000 visitors. Together with Virginie Platteau, he also helped establish the silent year in Mechelen (2022) and initiated projects such as Maanstaren, Poesia Divina, the Think and Feel Moment in Oosterlo and De Warmste Nacht van het Talent.
In 2018 he introduced the name Lunalia, a reference to the legend of the Moon Extinguishers. Lunalia became the festival of the human voice and "timeless music with the power of the full moon". It brought full moon concerts, a parade for Flemish choral music, fairy tale trails and world premieres of music theater such as Rainbow, Time to say goodbye and Hear the voice. The festival remained active even during the corona years, with digital formats such as The Beethoven Physical Distance Experience. The heritage surrounding Philippus de Monte came back into the spotlight thanks to productions by Graindelavoix and Ratas del viejo Mundo.
Since the silent year, Lunalia has opted for an ensemble in residence, including Constantinople, I SOLISTI and Zefiro Torna. Musical journalism also received more attention through collaboration with Andrea Voets and Resonate Productions. In 2023, composer Karel Goeyvaerts was in focus, in 2024 the theme of Europe's many hearts followed, with support from Czech Dreams.
Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen, calls Dierickx "the spiritual father of Lunalia, a festival that makes Mechelen sound different: richer and more diverse." Alderman for Culture Kristof Calvo adds: "Jelle connects tradition with the future and remains a source of inspiration. We look forward to future collaborations."
Musica Divina also received a clear dramaturgical direction under his leadership. Each festival fit within a larger narrative, from A new heaven and a new earth to Love in the land of fields. Religious heritage and the healing character of music were central, including through collaboration with Huis Perrekes and via the Poesia Divina project, which resulted in the Kempens Psalmenboek.
Kris Vreys (IOK) sums it up aptly: "With Musica Divina, Jelle brought heavenly music to unique heritage sites in the Kempen, always with socially relevant themes and a deep rootedness in the region."
The final edition under his leadership takes place from April 26 to May 11, 2025. Under the motto Sweet dreams, Lunalia will then bring more than 18 concerts with 160 artists from 13 countries to Mechelen.
Dirk H. Beenken, managing director of Musikkultur Rheinsberg, concludes: "Jelle Dierickx is a visionary with international appeal. He brings creativity, humanity and openness — exactly what we need to keep art and culture relevant in these times."