Biography

Michel Dikovec was born on July 7, 1957, in Leut, Belgium.

He began his musical education at the age of ten at the Maasmechelen Music Academy. His passion for music soon became an important part of his life, and at eighteen he decided to pursue higher studies in music at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels.

During his studies, he supported himself financially by giving private music lessons, performing with dance orchestras, and taking on various student jobs.

At the Conservatoire, he studied piano with Myriam Schroyens, orchestral conducting with Ronald Zollman, and choral conducting with Juliaan Wilmots. His studies also included tonal techniques, written harmony, pedagogy, and music history.

Although music remained his great passion, the practical realities of life eventually led him to pursue a professional career in the commercial sector.

His desire to compose began when he was around fifteen years old. While strongly attracted to both popular music and jazz, he was already searching for a musical language and sound of his own. Over the years, he performed with dance bands and rock groups, including ensembles playing his own compositions. He also gave piano recitals featuring both his own works and music by classical composers.

As a conductor, Michel directed the Brussels choir Atout Choeur for ten years and served for one year as guest conductor of La Vallée in Linkebeek.

Under his direction, Atout Choeur developed from a small church ensemble into a concert choir performing major works with full orchestral accompaniment. Among the works he conducted  Vivaldi’s Gloria, Michel-Richard Delalande’s Te Deum, Haydn’s Stabat Mater, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, and Gounod’s Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile.

Today, Michel Dikovec is active as a piano teacher, drawing in particular on the pedagogical principles and piano method of José Iturbi. Teaching has given him the opportunity to pass on not only technical knowledge, but also his lifelong enthusiasm for music to new generations of musicians.

Alongside his teaching, he continues to compose for the pleasure of musical creation. His catalogue includes several works for piano as well as chamber music. His musical language is predominantly tonal and melodic, placing him within the broader contemporary movement sometimes referred to as New Consonant Music, in which composers explore modern forms of expression while maintaining a strong connection with tonality, harmony, and melody.