Grammy Award Winner, Gast Waltzing was born in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and his defining passion has always been music. The man and his career are the best embodiment of the word "eclecticism", as Mr. Waltzing is a trumpeter, conductor, composer and arranger.
Thanks to him in 2016, for the first time, a Luxembourg production (the album Sings) - featuring the Beninese-born singer Angelique Kidjo, Gast Waltzing as conductor and arranger, and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg - received the Grammy Award for best World Music Album.
Mr. Waltzing is the Artistic Director of the Jazz section of the Echternach Festival in Luxembourg and he won the "Export Artist Award" in 2015, a prize given every year by music:LX to the artists with the most remarkable international activity during the year.
: HAS PERFORMED
WOMAdelaide Festival (AU), Smetana Hall in Municipal House w/ Czech National Symphony Orchestra (CZ), Philharmonie de Paris (FR), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (GB), Essen Philharmonie (DE), the Shanghai Centre Theatre (CN)...
: PRESS QUOTES
“The project with Angélique Kidjo features favourite songs spanning back to her breakthrough hit ‘Malaika’, setting Kidjo’s spectacular voice amid skilfully crafted arrangements by composer and conductor Gast Waltzing.” - Glasgow Life (UK)
"On Saturday October 3rd 2015, a celebration of African culture was offered at the Philharmonie de Paris, Porte de Pantin. Ms. Kidjo is graceful and sings beautifully alongside the Orcherste Lamoureux conducted by Gast Waltzing, turning Paris into a “miraculous city”." - Le Monde (FR)
: BIOGRAPHY
Born in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Gast Waltzing’s defining passion has always been music. The man and his career are the best embodiment of the word "eclecticism", as Mr. Waltzing is a trumpeter, conductor, composer and arranger.
At the age of seven he began his studies at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg, continuing his classical training at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles and completing his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris. “I am always a musician” he states, “it is not like I wake up and decide where to schedule music in. It is always present.”
He was named trumpet professor at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg in 1982 and in 1986 he founded there the Jazz department growing it into a full university bachelor degree course and a full creative development department.
Thanks to him in 2016, for the first time, a Luxembourgish production (the album Sings) featuring the Beninese-born singer Angélique Kidjo, Gast Waltzing as a conductor, arranger, orchestrator and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg received the Grammy Award for best World Music Album. This disc, merging African rhythms with classical arrangements, was fully created in Luxembourg with Gast Waltzing coming up with the concept and conducting the OPL during the recording sessions. Most of the arrangements have also hailed from him.
Mr. Waltzing is the Artistic Director of the Jazz section of the Echternach Festival in Luxembourg and he won the "Export Artist Award" in 2015, a prize given every year by music:LX to the artists with the most remarkable international activity during the year.
: CONDUCTOR
Gast Walzting regularly conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and the Orchestre National de Jazz Luxembourg. The Philharmonie chose him to programme and conduct the first “Pops At The Phil” in May 2006, a newly founded series at the Luxembourg’s Philharmonie in which the OPL performs a more popular programme with popular soloists. These POP's concerts achieve a huge success with local soloists as well as with famous international artists such as Belgian jazz singer Maurane, the New York Voices, James Morrison, Dionne Warwick, Kurt Elling and Gregory Porter, Angelique Kidjo (2016) and China Moses (2017).
Mr. Waltzing conducted the Lamoureux Orchestra at the Philharmonie de Paris and the Scottish Royal National Orchestra with Angélique Kidjo in the Glasgow Celtic Festival in 2015. Moreover, he has recently conducted other orchestras such as the Check National Symphony Orchestra at the Prague Proms, the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the Oregon Symphony, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Funkhausorchester, the Philharmonique Orchestra of Qatar, the Jz Symphony Orchestra at the Sjanghai Centre Theatre, the Orchestre Régional Bayonne Côte Basque. His latest project release, a live recording with L’Orchestre Pasdeloup and Fried Pried, has been recently released on the label Victor Entertainment.
: COMPOSER & ARRANGER
Gast Waltzing began composing at the age of fifteen with his first jazz combo, the Luxembourg Jazz Five. He has always composed original music for his many formations, expanding into the composition and production of music for film and television in 1989, with the original score for “A Wop Bop A Lop Bop” for which he was nominated for Best European Film Composer. Since then he has composed and produced over 200 works of film music writing for symphonic orchestras. He has created symphonic arrangements for several renowned artists, such as the Scorpions, Angélique Kidjo, Amy McDonald and Gregory Porter, also conducting the resulting concerts.
