Born in 1977 in Peer, Belgium, Kevin Houben discovered his passion for music at an early age through piano and trumpet studies. He pursued his musical education at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, earning First Prizes in trumpet (under Léon Pétré), wind band and orchestral conducting (with Edmond Saveniers), and composition (with Jan Van der Roost and Luc Van Hove).
Houben’s music is cherished by orchestras across Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Japan. His compositions have earned multiple awards (including Arcana – Comines-Warneton 2003 and EBBA 2006; Thyelenne – EBBA 2009; Lux Futura – WASBE 2019) and are frequently selected as compulsory works in international competitions (e.g. Lake of the Moon – WMC Kerkrade 2013; Where Angels Fly – EBBA Ostend 2017).
His Symphony No. 1 premiered in March 2017 with the Belgian National Orchestra conducted by Dirk Brossé, commissioned by the City of Peer.
In 2025, Houben was commissioned by Luc Sels, Honorary Rector and Full Professor at KU Leuven, to compose his Second Symphony in celebration of KU Leuven’s 600th anniversary. The 45-minute work for symphony orchestra, large choir and wind orchestra features an original libretto by the acclaimed writer and poet Maud Vanhauwaert, former city poet of both Leuven and Antwerp. The symphony received three sold-out premieres: twice at LUCA School of Arts – Campus Lemmens and once at Concertgebouw Brugge.
Since 2020, Houben has been teaching orchestration and instrumentation at LUCA School of Arts – Campus Lemmens as a guest professor alongside Ivan Meylemans. In 2021, he joined the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp as a guest professor for the Educational Master in Conducting.
An acclaimed conductor, Houben has led professional orchestras and ensembles around the globe for concerts and recordings. Notable projects include his role as musical director of Le Temps Perdu (Isabelle Beernaert, Carré Amsterdam, 2018).
With his wind orchestra, Koninklijke Harmonie van Peer, he has achieved numerous accolades, including victory at the Flemish Open Championship (2019) and a second-place finish at the European Championship for Symphonic Wind Bands in Amiens, France (2022).
Orchestrated Le Mariage de Minuit – Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra by H.R.H. Princess Sirivannavari, performed by the Royal Bangkok Symphony Orchestra conducted by Michel Tilkin, with Titos Gouvelis as piano soloist, during their 2023 European tour (Paris • Vienna • Munich).
In 2024, he composed the musical Peter Pan, commissioned by Deep Bridge, with performances at Stadsschouwburg Antwerpen, Capitole Gent, and Trixxo Arena Hasselt. The work was based on the libretto and melodic material by Stany Crets.
Since 2015, Houben has been part of the creative team behind the orchestral sets at Tomorrowland, one of the world’s most iconic music festivals. Since 2023, he has conducted The Symphony of Unity, leading performances at Tomorrowland Belgium, Our Story in Ziggo Dome (Amsterdam), and the Tomorrowland Pre-Festival in Brazil. In this role, he has collaborated with world-renowned DJs such as Kölsch, Alok, Dimitri Vegas, Timmy Trumpet, John Newman, Kevin de Vries, DJ Push, and Hardwell.
In 2025, UNITY — a large-scale production created by INSOMNIAC and TOMORROWLAND — was performed nine times at The Sphere in Las Vegas, where he conducted The Symphony of Unity, the first orchestra ever to perform in this iconic venue.