Benoît Mernier

Belgian composer Benoît Mernier studied organ and improvisation with Firmin Decerf and harpsichord with Charles Koenig. He continued his studies at Conservatoire Royal de Musique in Liège where he graduated in many subjects, including the Higher Diploma in organ in the class of Jean Ferrard, for whom he was the assistant. He also studied organ with Bernard Foccroulle and Jean Boyer at the National Regional Conservatoire of Lille, where he obtained his “Diplôme de Perfectionnement”.

Along with the organ, Benoît Mernier has devoted himself to composition. In this field, he studied composition with Philippe Boesmans and was able to benefit from the advices of Claude Ledoux, Henri Pousseur, Luca Francesconi, Emmanuel Nunes, Bernard Foccroulle and Célestin Deliège. 
He was composer-in-residence with the Centre for Fine Arts of Brussels in 2002-2003 and with the Carinthischer Sommer 2004 (Austria). Benoît Mernier wrote the compulsory work for singing session of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competion in 2004. In 2008, he was artist-in-residence with the Festival de Wallonie where his first piano concerto was premiered by the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Pascal Rophé and Cédric Tiberghien as soloist. 

His first opera Frühlings Erwachen was commissioned by the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (Brussels) and premiered in March 2007 in Brussels. His second opera La Dispute after Marivaux was performed in March 2013 at La Monnaie. 
Benoît Mernier lives in Brussels. He teaches improvisation and organ at the Institut supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie in Namur. Since 2007, he is member of Royal Academy of Belgium (Fine Arts section). In 2018-2019, Benoît Mernier is composer-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel within the enoa framework.