Jan Vermeire (° May 1968) received his early musical training on the organ with Robert Deleersnyder at the academy of Veurne. He continued studying at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels with Professor Hubert Schoonbroodt. He was coached several years by the Viennese musical pedagogue Hedda Szamosi. He also studied Choir Direction with Professor Florian Heyerick at the Royal Conservatoire in Ghent.
Jan Vermeire is the organist of the Saint-Walburgachurch in Veurne and is often invited as a recitalist at prestigious organ festivals, such as Saint-Rémy de Provence, the abbeys of Boscherville and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert (F), the famous Brucknerorgan in Sankt-Florian (A), Festival van Vlaanderen Musica Antiqua Brugge, organfestival Haringe, inauguration of the restored Cacheuxorgan in Hulste, Laarne, Langdorp, Vlissingen, Aardenburg (NL), International Organ Week Vlaardingen (NL), Grefrath (DE), Torre de Juan Abad (E), Jihlava, Brno Spring Festival and as a member of the jury on the International Competition for young organists in Opava (CZ). Some highlights of the past are performances in the Altenberger Dom (DE), Sankt-Peter Schwarzwald, Tübingen, the Basque Country (Tolosa en Azkoitia), London, Toscane (festival Chianciano Terme) and an appearance on Czech Television.
Jan Vermeire is the artistic director of the International Organ Festival Veurne-Westkust, and also of the Festival International d’Orgue en Flandre (France). From 1995 to 2007 he was the chief conductor of the Beauvarlet Choir. At present, he is the conductor of the gregorian Schola Henricus Beauvarlet.
He is a member of the Music Commission West-Flanders and is also a knight in the Order of the Three Kings.
He has made several recordings on historical organs in Flanders and was broadcasted in a series on Dutch Radio 4. In 2008 a new disc will be released, recorded on the marvellous Woehlorgan in Cuxhaven (Germany), together with the Ottone Brass Quintet performing works by Alexandre Guilmant, César Franck, Léon Boëllmann and Camille Saint-Saëns.
He works on a regular basis with several soloists and ensembles: Alain De Rudder (trumpet), Ilse Vromans (flute and traverso), Hilde Coppé (soprano), Lieve Maertens (mezzo-soprano), Ottone Brass Quintet, Euterpe Baroque Consort, Ex Tempore (CD Polyphonic Music of the Scarlatti Family).