History, Music studies

• Philippe Leblanc is a saxophonist, clarinist and secondarily a flutist, who studied at the Conservatoires Royaux de Bruxelles et de Liège (Royal Conservatory of Brussels and Royal Conservatory of Liège). He obtained four Premier Prix (~ graduate diploma) (Music theory, clarinet, saxophone and chamber music) and two Diplômes Supérieurs (~ post-graduate diploma), one with Grande Distinction (~ upper second-class honours) (chamber music) and the other with La Plus Grande Distinction (~ first-class honours) and félicitations du jury (~ special commendation from the examination board) (clarinet). He is also lauréat of the « Pro Civitate » and « Tenuto  competitions».
 During the course of his studies, he had the luck to work with music teachers like François Daneels, Walter Boeykens, Rigobert Mareels, Roland Simoncini, Serge Dangain, mais également avec des jazzmen tels que Arnould Massart, Jacques Pelzer, Steve Houben, Guy Cabay, John Ruocco, Greg Badolato and Joe Lovano.
He is presently a saxophone professor at Conservatoire Royal de Musique de Liège and at the Académie de Musique de Woluwé-Saint-Pierre (Brussels), as well as member of the Association Internationale Adolphe Sax (Dinant).

Career, experience

• Although immersed in a classical enviroment since his debut at the age of seven, his open-mindedness and his thirst to explore pushed him to get into almost all sorts of music that his instruments supported.

Classical:
- Saxophone and clarinet soloist, he performs in Belgium and abroad (Romania, Hungary) in a repertoire ranging from Concerto de Mozart to more contemporary pieces.

- He has accompanied most of the major orchestras of Belgium (ONB, Philharmonie d'Anvers, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, l'Ensemble Musique Nouvelle, etc.) and mainly the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège (France, Germany, Austria, Italy).

- Numerous concerts and recitals in chamber music, in saxophone quartet (New Belgian Sax Quartet, La Legia), in quartet (Ebony Pass) and clarinet sextet, or in various bands in Belgium and abroad (Sweden, France, Romania, Spain).

Jazz:
- He got into the New Orleans style (Armstrong, Bechet) at the age of 15, then the Middel Jazz, the Be-bop and the Jazz Rock. He rubs shoulders with musicians like Jean-Lou Van der Borgh, Alain Rochette, José Bedeur, René Harvengh, Gino Latucca, Lou Bennett, Marc Hérouet, Steve Houben, Pirly Zurstrassen, René Jonckeer, Patrick Mortier, Walter De Weert, René Desmaele, Jean-Pierre Van Eerdewegh, Bart Denolf, Freddy Sunder, Benny Couroyer, Etienne Verschueren, Peter, Johan Vandendriesche, etc.

Commercial music:
- French songs: William Sheller, Joffroi, Claudine Simon, Isabelle Rigaux.
- Children's songs: Christian Merveille, Gibus, …
- Shirley Bassey, Ladies Sing The Blues.

Klezmer:
- He was a member of some specialist groups in Belgium; initially with Myriam Fuks, followed by Shpil as nokh a mol, and then with Klezmorim (USA, California) with whom he participated notably in the Northsea Jazz Festival of La Haye (Den Haag, Netherlands), before starting his own group, the Klezmer Jazz Band.

Balkans Music, with Gjovalin Nonaj.

New Age, with Bernard Lhoir.

Improvised Music, with Etienne Gilbert, Michel Massot, José Beudeur, Christian Leroy,…

Musicals/Theatre :
- On stage, in Le Bal des Voleurs at the Théâtre Royal du Parc.

- - Accompanying the action in many pieces of the Théâtre Mâât, at the Théâtre Royal du Parc, at the Théâtre de la Place, etc.

Studio:
- He has a vast experience in studio and participated in numerous recordings of discs, CD, film music, theatre music, sound samples for ads, etc.