GENT, BELGIUM – April 5, 2025 — Renowned American composer Philip Glass will be honoured with a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 25th World Soundtrack Awards, closing Film Fest Gent’s Film Music Days 2025 with a special concert titled Minimalism in Motion: Glass, Nyman and Beyond.
Scheduled for October 16, 2025, at Muziekcentrum De Bijloke, the event will feature a live performance of Glass’s iconic compositions by the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Dirk Brossé, who personally presented the award to Glass in New York.
Glass, celebrated globally for his work in opera and symphonic music, has made a profound impact on film scores. His cinematic contributions include powerful works such as Koyaanisqatsi, The Truman Show, Mishima, Kundun, The Hours, and Notes on a Scandal, the latter earning him two nominations at the 2007 World Soundtrack Awards.
Born in 1937 in Baltimore, Glass was immersed in music early on thanks to his father’s record store. He later refined his talents at Juilliard and under the legendary Nadia Boulanger in Paris. Though often associated with minimalism, Glass describes his style as “music with repetitive structures”—a sound that has redefined modern film composition.
A pioneer of minimalist film scoring, Glass transformed the emotional depth and narrative style of film music. His influence spans across genres, inspiring not only composers like Hans Zimmer, but also artists such as Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, and David Bowie, with whom he has collaborated.
The Lifetime Achievement Award marks a celebration of both Glass’s legacy and his continued impact on the global music and film industries.
Tickets for the concert and other Film Music Days events are now available at filmfestgent.be and worldsoundtrackawards.com. Film Fest Gent runs from October 8–19, 2025, with Film Music Days taking place from October 14–16.