Bart Van Troyen
Master in Musette
Player, teacher and maker
He was the first person ever to graduate as a Master in Music and Chamber Music, specialized in Bagpipes and Musette.
Fascinated by the Versailles instrument, he became the apprentice of Remy Dubois (after a few years of persuading).
Since 2019, Bart has had his own independent workshop, and musicians from all over the world play his musettes, from Manchester to Melbourne, New York and Tokio.
He combines this work with teaching musette and flemish bagpipes in music school and summer camps, varied with playing music in various line ups.
Bart has worked with Les Arts Florissants (W. Christie), Freiburger Barockorchester, London Symphony Orchestra (S. Rattle), Reinhout Van Mechelen, Emmanuel Resche-Casereta, Bernhard Forck, Paul Agnew, Wouter Vandenabbeele…
If you like contemporary folkmusic, check out his band Hidrae!
Amanda Babington
Master in Musette Player, Musicologist
Amanda began her musette studies with Jean-Christoph Maillard before completing a masters in Leuven with Jean-Pierre van Hees.
Artistic Director of Baroque In The North, and already a professional baroque violinist and recorder player, Amanda has assimilated musette into her performing work with various ensembles across the UK and Europe. Her debut solo musette album, Music for French Kings received 4/5 stars in BBC Music Magazine (December 2022) .
Musicology and performance have always been intertwined for Amanda. The author of several articles and a scholarly edition, her current research aims to discover what Charles Edward Stuart (aka Bonnie Prince Charlie) might have played on his musette (of which two examples survive).
Amanda combines her playing and research work with teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK.
The Musette Society 