ABOUT — JOIN OUR CIRCLE
‘We always return to our first loves.’
Karen Majelyne
From the age of five, I was enchanted by Praetorius’ Terpsichore and its dances. Very soon, I also fell under the spell of the Baroque’s festive spirit, above all through the sound of the transverse flute, as played by Jean-Pierre Rampal and Frans Brüggen in music by Georg Anton Benda, Johann Joachim Quantz and Frederick the Great.
Classical dance, a love of painting, and a deep desire to bring light, warmth and joy into the world led me — after studying with well-known contemporary Flemish artists — to exhibit under the name Karen di Ulmi. A classical humanities education, a master’s degree in political science at Ghent University, inspired by the desire to help build a better world, and postgraduate studies in cultural management all became part of my journey.
In time, these passions, experiences, and aspirations came together in the founding of Passion Beyond Bach in April 2019, followed by the founding in the beginning of 2026 of the Private Stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation, and also of The Circle of the Muses.
Read more about
PASSION BEYOND BACH
‘Music is a wondrous path to happiness,
a subtle key that opens the door to our hearts and helps us come home.
Let us send the sound of love into the world!’
Karen Majelyne
PASSION BEYOND BACH
With this mission and vision, Passion Beyond Bach was founded in April 2019:
To become happier — and to help make others happier — we need to remain in touch with our inner self, our heart, our spirit, that divine spark within us, whatever name we may give it.
In our times, the roads to happiness are not always easy to travel. Nature, religion, meditation, love, and art often remain at the margins of our existence. Many of us are searching.
For me, the music of Bach and his contemporaries has been a constant source of inspiration, encouraging me day after day to move further along the path of love and compassion. With Passion Beyond Bach, I wanted to create a platform for inspiration — and for inspiring others, beyond Bach.
It is my passion to build bridges beyond Bach: between people, musicians, artists, and authors; between musicians and event organisers or project leaders; between the general public and philanthropic goals.
Passion Beyond Bach seeks to contribute to a more humane world, with love and compassion for all, by inspiring and bringing together people who wish to contribute their talents beyond Bach.
'In the early 2020s, a wave of concert cancellations affected me very deeply, especially when musicians said in despair:
‘if we can no longer perform for an audience, our lives have no meaning.’
It was this that moved me, through Passion Beyond Bach, to launch the concert series Early Music — Last Minute in September 2022.'
Karen Majelyne
Within a few years, Early Music — Last Minute had grown in scope and momentum, eventually encompassing 26 events featuring internationally renowned musicians and speakers, as well as young talents, alongside numerous radio broadcasts.
At the same time, the reach of Passion Beyond Bach continued to expand steadily through numerous international contacts and collaborations, as well as through a wide range of media channels — including our website, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, podcasts, newsletters, radio broadcasts, and print media.
As this work continued to evolve, the time came for Passion Beyond Bach to refocus on its core mission. Thus, on 9 February 2026, the Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation was established to carry forward part of the life’s work of Passion Beyond Bach through the organisation of projects and events.
Passion Beyond Bach now returns in full to the very essence of its passion: inspiring others as a communication hub and hands-on partner — making precious initiatives visible and helping bring them to life through communication management and marketing, artist management, and project management… because, more than ever, it is essential that each person can follow the path of their soul and let it shine as fully as possible in the world.
MUSONANCE, BRUGES BEYOND
‘By creating space for reflection, by fostering connectedness through the organisation of projects and events — especially around music, and in particular Early Music — and by building bridges also between the arts, heritage, culture, scholarship, spirituality and society,
we seek to help shape a better and more humane world.’
Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation
Private stichting
— MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond —
Foundation
MUSONANCE, BRUGES BEYOND
Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation, is established on 9 February 2026. It is an independent, non-profit Foundation dedicated to fostering reflection, connection, and dialogue across people, generations, and disciplines. Its mission is to give voice to the age-old human desire to assume responsibility and to help build a better and more humane world by creating bridges between the arts, heritage, culture, scholarship, spirituality and society.
Music lies at the heart of this work. The Foundation supports artistic traditions and historically informed performance practice as sources of inspiration, education, craftsmanship, and living heritage, while also embracing interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and multimedia approaches. At the same time, it is committed to preserving, activating, and sharing literary, cultural, historical, musical, and other forms of heritage, both tangible and intangible.
Its activities include concerts, lectures, lecture-performances, exhibitions, publications, recordings, debates, educational projects, masterclasses, congresses, cultural journeys, and interdisciplinary collaborations in Belgium and abroad, both online and offline. In everything it undertakes, reflection and connection remain central.
All income is used exclusively to support the Foundation’s operation and the fulfilment of its mission in the public interest.
Following approval by the Belgian Federal Public Service Justice, the Foundation’s articles of association were published in the Belgian Official Gazette on 9 February 2026.
To help the Foundation realise its mission as fully as possible, ‘The Circle of the Muses’ was also created in early 2026, bringing together friends, patrons, and kindred spirits in support of that mission.
Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation
Represented by Karen Majelyne, Board Member
+32 (0) 475 84 00 84
musonance@passionbeyondbach.com
www.passionbeyondbach.com
BE 1034. 171. 933
RPR Gent — Afdeling Gent
THE CIRCLE OF THE MUSES — JOIN OUR CIRCLE!
THE CIRCLE OF THE MUSES —
JOIN OUR CIRCLE!
‘By creating space for reflection,
by fostering connectedness through the organisation of projects and events — especially around music, and in particular Early Music — and by building bridges also between the arts, heritage, culture, scholarship, spirituality and society,
we seek to help shape a better and more humane world.’
Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation
Private stichting
— MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond —
Foundation
‘At the heart of its — our — mission lies a profound belief in the power and value of ‘connectedness’, and in the immense enrichment that springs from such cross-pollination.’
Karen Majelyne
Nederlandse versie
THE CIRCLE OF THE MUSES — JOIN OUR CIRCLE
With the creation of The Circle of the Muses, we seek to foster a deeper sense of connectedness around music, heritage, imagination, and reflection, sustained by a longing for greater depth and a more humane world.
We wish to cultivate warm engagement with friends, protectors, and patrons such as yourself — people who feel connected to the mission of the Foundation and who wish to help sustain it in an active, committed, and supportive way.
Thanks to your support, exceptional projects and events of great public and societal value can come into being. It makes unforgettable encounters possible, as well as vibrant exchanges of beauty, depth, and reflection — often in remarkable heritage settings. By becoming a Friend of The Circle of the Muses, you support artists, musicians, speakers, and writers, enabling their life’s work to unfold fully and to be shared with others.
Our heartfelt thanks for becoming, for one year (running from the date of your transfer), a member of one of the four Circles of the Muses. As always, what matters most to us is to offer you many unique moments of pure magic, still to be created. Through your support, you help make all this possible. In doing so, you support our Foundation, which organises all these initiatives. Depending on the Circle you choose, you will enjoy a number of special benefits — from complimentary tickets to personal invitations and thoughtful gifts.
And to bring joy to someone dear to you, your membership of The Circle of the Muses, also allows you to offer a complimentary ticket as a gift for one or more exceptional events.
Should we receive your support by bank transfer at least ten days before the event date, we would be delighted, if you wish, to offer you your first complimentary ticket for that forthcoming event.
THE FOUR CIRCLES OF THE MUSES*
Circle I — Friend of the Muses — €50
For those who feel a deep affinity with the arts and with all that the Muses bring forth, and who gladly wish to journey alongside them.
Your benefit:
• 1 complimentary ticket in your name (value: €35) for one event of your choice
Circle II — Companion of the Muses — €90
For those who actively support cultural creation and reflection.
Your benefit:
• 2 complimentary tickets in your name (value: €70) for 2 events of your choice
Circle III — Protector of the Muses — €250
For those who safeguard cultural and historical heritage and help ensure its continuity.
Your benefit:
• 5 complimentary tickets in your name (value: €175) for 5 events of your choice
• In addition, we are pleased to offer you the book ‘Troost in muziek’, edited by Prof. Opdebeeck, or a CD
Circle IV — Maecenas of Apollo — from €500
Leader of the Muses, making connectedness, creation, reflection, and transmission possible.
Your benefit:
• 8 complimentary tickets in your name (minimum value: €280) for 8 events of your choice
• Looking forward to getting to know you better, we would also be pleased to invite you personally as our guest to one of our convivial after-event dinners in the presence of the musicians and speakers
• In addition, we are pleased to offer you the book Troost in muziek, edited by Prof. Opdebeeck, or a CD
We would be most grateful if you would transfer your support by bank transfer to:
MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Private stichting/ Foundation
IBAN: BE56 0020 2521 3688
BIC/SWIFT: GEBABEBB
Please mention: Circle of the Muses (I–IV) + your name + your email address
As a Member of The Circle of the Muses, we greatly look forward to welcoming you at a forthcoming event and, with our immense gratitude, presenting your membership card to you in person — or, if you prefer, sending it to you by post!
Your contribution makes an immense difference —
for the many musicians and other beneficiaries across Europe and beyond,
for all those involved directly or indirectly,
for our many partners,
for our audience in Bruges and far beyond,
for listeners and viewers internationally,
and also for the many volunteers who help bring the mission of our Foundation to life.
'With heartfelt gratitude for your heartwarming and generous support, we thank you most sincerely.
Through it, you make it possible for our Foundation, and thereby for us, to build bridges through unique and splendid projects centred on music, heritage, and so much more — now and in the future.'
— THE ART OF BUILDING BRIDGES TOGETHER —
*If you wish to support us not as a private individual, but as a sponsor, structural partner, or media partner, we would be very pleased to continue the conversation with you, so that together we may explore how we can give your company appropriate and meaningful visibility, while also serving your professional interests. In doing so, you associate yourself with internationally renowned musicians, artists, and speakers of the highest calibre, with young virtuosos, with beauty and precious heritage, and with a shared belief in the great power of connectedness, which allows us together to help build a better and more humane world.
For all information:
THE CIRCLE OF THE MUSES
Karen Majelyne
+32 (0) 475 84 00 84
musonance@passionbeyondbach.com
www.passionbeyondbach.com
We also wish to express our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who generously supported our first Festival BAchROQU’in BRUGES — a R-EVOLUTION, which took place from 13 to 15 March 2026 in the visually stunning Baroque Chapel of Our Lady of the Blind in Bruges (BE), organised by our Private stichting — MUSONANCE, Bruges Beyond — Foundation, and of which Klassiek Centraal wrote in its review: ‘New modest three-day Baroque festival hits the mark’.
15 March 2026 — Chapel of Our Lady of the Blind — Mythical Lautenwercke, Bach’s keyboard universe — Unheard of! — by Peter Waldner.
Our deepest thanks for all the greatly appreciated collaborations from 13 to 15 March 2026.
Doppia Vu — Branding&Web; team SUR; Caerels Jef — Boekhouding; VBRO; boekhandel Raaklijn — Brugge; Davidsfonds in’t Brugsche; Davidsfonds; Sacred Books; Odevaere — Charming Guesthouses — Bruges; In & Uit Brugge; hifihome — Audiovisual Solutions — Brugge; Villa Rozerood — Respijts- en ontspanningsverblijf met zorg — De Panne; Coffeebar Adriaan — Brugge; Claviarte BV — Historische Klavierinstrumenten — Christophe Bursens; Nederlandse Concertzender; Klassiek Centraal; De Bourgondiër — Delicatessen — Damme; De kopiebar — Brugge; Swing BV — Uw ideale partner voor een geslaagde happening! — Merelbeke; Palladio — Florist met oog voor detail — Brugge; No Gluten Bakery — Zele; Passion Beyond Bach; Early Music Now — Sara Schneider; Garage Peugeot De Backer — Adegem; Broederschap van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Blindekens; Verzekeringen De Groote nv — J.M. DE GROOTE — Oosterzele-Scheldewindeke
