Education
Yves Segers studied for ten years at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he obtained four diplomas, including three master’s degrees in flute, wind band conducting and symphonic orchestra conducting with Carlos Bruneel, Norbert Nozy and Silveer Van den Broeck respectively. During his studies he attended masterclasses with Emmanuel Pahud, Patrick Gallois and Jonathan Snowden, among others. Yves Segers is a laureate of several competitions, including Axion Classics and the prestigious Tenuto competition. He also received a grant from the Horlait-Dapsens Artistic Foundation for his outstanding achievements at the conservatory and was selected for the International Flute Competition in Denmark.
Flautist
At the age of seventeen, Yves Segers was selected for the Flanders Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (Filharmonisch Jeugdorkest van Vlaanderen), with which he made several recordings and toured to Russia, South Africa, Canada and Italy, among other countries. Four years later, following a successful audition, he joined the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides as a flautist at the age of 22. Alongside his orchestral career, he built an active career as a soloist and worked with various renowned ensembles and orchestras in Belgium and abroad, including the Prometheus Ensemble, the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, the Boeykens Ensemble and Il Novecento, performing under conductors such as Antonio Pappano and Kazushi Ono.
Conductor
Alongside his career as a flautist, Yves Segers refined his conducting skills with Norbert Nozy, Lucas Vis, Bart Bouckaert and Silveer Van den Broeck, among others.
A new milestone followed in March 2008, when Yves Segers was appointed principal conductor of the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides. Under his direction, the band gave some 400 concerts, performed at countless national and international ceremonies and made more than forty recordings, often in collaboration with leading Belgian and international soloists.
Under his direction, the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides worked with many renowned soloists, including Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, François Glorieux, Walter Boeykens, Paul Meyer, Annelien Van Wauwe, Lorenzo Gatto, Sylvia Huang, Tatiana Samouil and Santiago Cañón-Valencia. Artists such as Natalie Choquette, Will Tura, Paul Michiels, Ozark Henry, Helmut Lotti and Jo Lemaire have also performed under his baton.
As a guest conductor he has led the Brussels Philharmonic, the Belgian National Orchestra, Frascati Symphonic, the Banda Municipal de Bilbao, The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Choral Arts Society of Washington and the Symphony Orchestra of the Central Military Band of Russia, among others, with which he performed in the Kremlin in Moscow.
Premieres
Under his artistic leadership, numerous works by Belgian and international composers received their premiere, including compositions by Jacqueline Fontyn, Jan Van Landeghem, Frédéric Devreese, François Glorieux, Johan Hoogewijs, Robert Groslot, Wouter Lenaerts, Maarten De Splenter, Oscar Navarro, Alexandre Kosmicki, Philippe Lamouris, Benoît Chantry and Klaas Coulembier.
DNA in Music
In 2020, as artistic leader of the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides, he also produced the recording DNA in Music, an exceptional project devoted to Belgian works for flute and wind band. On this recording he performed as soloist himself, while Dirk Brossé led the band as guest conductor.
Artistic Director
After eighteen successful years as artistic leader of the Royal Band of the Belgian Guides, he was appointed Artistic Director of the three Royal Military Bands of Belgian Defence in January 2026.
Teacher and jury member
Yves Segers teaches wind band conducting and conducting techniques at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses and frequently sits on international juries for conducting and orchestra competitions. In recognition of his ongoing commitment to promoting and performing Belgian music, he received the Fuga Trophy from the Union of Belgian Composers in 2018.