Urbain Van Asch is legendary in the choral world of Flanders, and especially in Mechelen—nobody knows it better than him. He stood out for his impressive stature, but above all for his tireless and active commitment to choral music. It's hard to find a singer from Mechelen who didn't sing under his direction in one of the choirs he led.

On Sunday, November 4, he traded the earthly choirs for those of the angels. Urbain Van Asch turned 84, born in Mechelen on July 30, 1939. After the passing of Father Bob Peeraer in 2021, who had founded the once-renowned Our Lady's Choir of Mechelen, the choir lost its guiding light. Following Peeraer, Van Asch took over the leadership of the choir. He was also one of the driving forces behind the successful Mechelen Liedertafel, the thriving CantusAmici choir, and numerous other choirs throughout his beloved musical city of Mechelen. He kept the magnificent compositions of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel alive and celebrated. He was instrumental in important recordings on LP and CD.

Urbain Van Asch was deeply involved with the ANZ and Choir & Voice. He was also indispensable to the international choral world as chairman of the Board of the European Choral Federation AGEC.

He wrote countless articles to promote and improve choral music and never held back his opinions. Everything was always framed around and for the benefit of choral music. Urbain's musical journey began as a choirboy in the once-famous Sint-Rombouts Boys' Choir (whatever happened to those boys' choirs?), where he 'caught the bug.'

As a conductor, his attention wasn't limited to Van Nuffel alone, but extended to the great and important repertoire of Flemish composers, to Gregorian chant, and to the great composers in the world repertoire. With Urbain Van Asch, the Flemish choral world loses both a figurative and a literal giant. May we keep his immense dedication and achievements in grateful memory, so that his legacy does not fade into obscurity.