Roger Derongé (born in Brussels in 1958) grew up in Tervuren, where he began his musical training at the age of six in the local concert band. During his higher studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, he obtained several First Prizes, including those for trumpet and conducting for concert bands, fanfare bands and brass bands (HaFaBra). Roger gained extensive experience with the former BRT Symphony Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Belgium.
Additionally, he played with the folk group Rum and went on a two-year tour through the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium with the BRT production Het Zwarte Goud (featuring, among others, Wannes Van de Velde, Dirk Van Esbroeck, Juan Masondo, Dree Peremans). Together with Jan Hautekiet, Frakke Arn, Erik Melaerts, and Tars Lootens, he provided the music for the film Brussels by Mark Sebille.
As a cornet player, Roger Derongé was associated with Brassband Willebroek and Brassband Buizingen. At the start of his professional career, he combined teaching music in day school with teaching at the academy. He later chose a full-time position teaching brass and ensemble playing at the Municipal Music Academy De Vonk in Oud-Heverlee and the Academy for Performing Arts (APKO) of Overijse-Hoeilaart-Tervuren.
Roger Derongé has received various awards. In 1997, he won a prize in the Composition Competition of the Flemish Community with A Ticket to Two Thousand. In 2004, his work Silva Carbonaria was a quarter-finalist in the international composition competition Coups de Vents in France. In 2014, Derongé won the triennial Maurits Wynants Cultural Award from the municipality of Tervuren. In 2018, his composition In Flanders Fields was chosen as the set piece for the Second Division at the Belgian Brass Band Championships.
Also in 2018, his composition Fanfaflut, written for flute quartet, was declared the winner of the National Flute Association Newly Published Music Competition in the United States. In the same competition, he was a finalist in 2019 with his work Klezmorim, also composed for flute quartet.
At the end of June 2019, Roger Derongé retired as a music teacher, but he remains active in various musical fields. He is a member of the amateur music organisation VLAMO, provides artistic advice to bands and music societies, and serves as a jury member at band competitions. His musical activities include composing, arranging and conducting.
