Composer, conductor, pianist, educator and arts administrator, Dr Robert Casteels believes that these activities form an intertwined and kaleidoscopic part of music making.
Casteels has conducted 50 professional orchestras in 20 countries with a repertoire of 600 works ranging from the early classics to contemporary music. He has conducted first performances of symphonic works and operas in major festivals in Europe, the USA and Australia. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music of London and the Juilliard School in New York, Casteels was appointed staff conductor at the Brussels Royal Opera House and Head of conducting studies at the Brussels (Flemish) Royal Music Conservatory. At the Conservatory he also set up an opera studio that was a great success at bridging the gap between tertiary-level training and professional life. As Artistic Director of ‘Sounds of an Ignored Landscape’, a Belgian commercial production company, Casteels conceptualised, raised seed capital and conducted chamber operas, that were broadcasted on national television. In 2001 he was awarded the Christoffel Plantin prize, Flanders’ highest cultural award, for his cross-cultural research.

Casteels took up permanent residency in Singapore in 1996 and citizenship in 2007. He has contributed tirelessly to Singapore’s music scene, as a member of various arts related committees, as Dean of the Faculty of Performing Arts at LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, as Music Director of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra and as Artistic Director of ‘I’mPULSE’, Asia-Europe Foundation’s first music camp held in The Philippines. Casteels has premiered significant masterpieces in Singapore, such as works by Boulez, Ligeti, Takemitsu, Stockhausen and Varèse. In April 2004, Casteels was appointed the first Associate-in-Residence (Special Music Projects) by the Centre For the Arts, National University of Singapore (NUS). Additionally, Casteels has produced several special projects such as a film-cum-concert festival, ‘the Magic of Music in Movies’ in 2004, ‘Music and Architecture’ in 2006, ‘Food, Plants and Music’ at the Old Parliament Arts House and Petronas Galeri in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, and ‘Bird Songs’ for the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ 150th Anniversary last year.

A composer in his own right, Casteels has written a growing corpus of 100 musical works that cross several cultures, genres and disciplines. His compositions have been premiered in Australia, Belgium, China, England, Indonesia, Korea and The Netherlands. Casteels has been commissioned by important institutions in Singapore, such as the Arts House at Old Parliament, Asian Civilisation Museum Empress Place, Alliance Française de Singapour, Singapore Arts Festival, the City Garden Fund, the Contemporary Asian Arts Centre, the Institute of Policy Studies, LASALLE-SIA, the Ministry of Education, NUS and WASBE. 2011 will be a busy year with two significant commissions, a ballet and an opera.