The world of music opened up for him as a child through the violin, the piano and music theory. It was especially the latter, the background of music, that fascinated him: how can you tell a story with music, what harmonies and sounds are possible, how does mathematics turn into poetry? Composing and theorizing became his great passion, much more than playing an instrument. When he was nineteen, he had a small pipe organ built by the Pels-d’Hondt company according to a ‘dual’ 13-tone system he had designed. At the Antwerp conservatory he obtained first prizes in music theory and harmony, then in 1996 at the Brussels conservatory he became master in music writing (option composition) magna cum laude under Rafaël d’Haene. In 2001 he completed his training with Luc van Hove as graduate in composition at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.