The DUO HABANERA was born from a meeting between Marc GRAUWELS and Christophe DELPORTE but above all from a very old desire to combine the flute and the accordion in concert.

It was by mixing the sounds of their instruments that these two artists had the idea of offering the public a completely eclectic, refined and daring repertoire.  

The faculty enjoyed by the accordion to be able to '' hold '' the note allows it to intervene as a '' basso continuo '' in baroque music such as an organ, to which it is strongly related since, like it , it is a wind instrument.  

The musical journey that the duo invites you to listen to  "A Night At The Opera" illustrates this point very well and will convince you that the accordion can just as easily replace a whole orchestra in brilliant fantasies on great Opera arias, as shine with extreme sensuality or with violence in the Argentine tango of Astor Piazzolla!

In 1985, Astor Piazzolla wrote “  Histoire du tango ”which he dedicated to Marc Grauwels.

The Habanera duo therefore offers you a completely new version of this piece (Bordel 1900, café 1930, night Club 1960 and concert d'Au Today) adapted for flute and accordion. The two artists also offer their version of the double concerto “homage to Liège” (with chamber orchestra) written the same year.

Hailed by the press, Marc GRAUWELS and Christophe DELPORTE are guests of major festivals and perform on national and international stages.

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Marc Grauwels is undoubtedly today one of the most prominent Belgian flautists. He owes it, of course, to his talent, his charisma, his dynamic and generous personality, but also to his innate sense of communication. ​

His eclecticism, as an international soloist, has led many composers from all over the world to write for him.

Thus, among others, Ennio Morricone dedicated to him the flute solos of the Cantata pour l'Europe, Astor Piazzolla, in 1985, the famous Histoire du Tango, more recently, the Greek composer Yannis Markopoulos, his new concerto for flute which served as one of the inaugural musics of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Before completing his musical studies in his country, Marc Grauwels already obtained, at the age of 19, his first position in orchestra at the Flanders Opera. At the same time, he continues to study with, among others, James Galway and Jean-Pierre Rampal.

In 1976, he was found as a solo piccolo at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels (National Opera of Belgium), a position he left in 1978 to enter as first solo flute in the Symphonic Orchestra of Belgian Radio-Television.

He remained there for ten years, not without having been chosen for the same post, in 1986, when the famous World Orchestra was formed under the direction of Carlo-Maria Giulini.

His career as a soloist then developed at an impressive speed, which led him to leave the orchestra for good in 1987.

At the same time, he taught for fifteen years as a lecturer at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and is currently a full professor at the Royal Conservatory of Mons.

In February 2001, following a tour in Asia, the world leaders of Naxos in Hong-Kong decided to dedicate to him, within their catalog, a particular collection called "The Flute Collection".

In the years to come, this collection will be enriched with 30 CDs dedicated to flautist Marc Grauwels  (15 Naxos CDs are already available on the world market). ​

Gifted with a jovial and enthusiastic nature, Marc Grauwels does not hesitate to multiply the most diverse musical experiences and willingly alternates Piazzolla with Mozart,  

Bach with Ravi Shankar ...  which does not prevent it from showing as much seriousness as imagination in the development of its programs.

His last recording, in World Premiere (still under the Naxos label), devoted to unpublished works for flute and percussion - works for the majority of which he is the dedicatee - is a good example.   

Marc Grauwels again took part in the production of the soundtrack for Milos Forman's film Amadeus,  accompanied by Thomas Bloch and the ensemble Les Brussels Virtuosi, in the superb adagio for glass harmonica, flute, oboe, viola and cello KV 617.   

It is also he who interpreted the early sonatas, the quartets and the concerto for flute and harp in the complete works of Mozart presented in a single box set of 170 CDs.

This set, Golden Disc, is currently an unprecedented commercial success at Brillant Classics for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart (already more than 100,000 copies sold!)  

With a minimum of 100 concerts per year in the world, more than 80,000 pages devoted to him on the Web and an already rich discography of more than 60 CDs as a soloist, Marc Grauwels proves that a good artistic policy can lead today. a flautist to a tremendous public success.  

In his career as in his interpretations, Marc Grauwels  stays true to his personality ...

which is not the least of its qualities.  

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It was at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Mons that Christophe Delporte successively obtained the Superior Diplomas of accordion, chamber music and "specialization" in music theory. ​

We can undoubtedly affirm that his artistic career began in 1989 by participating in the competition "young soloists" of the RTBF where he obtained the second prize, but especially the price of the televiewers with an absolute majority. ​

"Never, I have heard the accordion played like that" was the leitmotif which commented on its performances throughout the various tests of the competition.

Beyond a great technique and a poetic style of astonishing richness, Christophe reveals to the general public a repertoire that few people imagine on the accordion with "classic" pieces written for the instrument and in particular the concerto n ° 1 by Nicolaï TCHAIKIN that he will perform in the final of the competition with the RTBF symphony orchestra.  

The following year, he will represent Belgium at the fifth EUROVISION competition for young musicians organized in Vienna.  

He will play with the Austrian radio symphony orchestra in the legendary MUSIKVEREIN hall, broadcast live by 23 television channels.  ​

Christophe has been invited several times by the Orchester Royal de Chambre de Wallonie (A. Piazzolla), the "new music" ensemble (D. Janssens, R. Lazkano, P. Bartholomée, JP Dessy), Le Brussels Philharmonic ( Film Fest Gent, N. Piovani) or the National Orchestra of Belgium (S. Gubaidulina, JM. Rens, A. Piazzolla).

Since 2004, he has been a founding member of the ASTORIA ensemble and specializes in the interpretation of the music of Astor Piazzolla.

With his other groups, he "enjoys" making people discover the different sound palettes offered by the accordion and thus offers a wide variety of repertoires and musical styles, including Tango, Baroque, Classical, and great musical styles. 'Opera, contemporary music, World Music, Jazz and children's song.

PHALAENA -   IZVORA - HABANERA -  MARINA CEDRO TRIO - ASTOR KLEZMER TRIO -  BAYAN TRIO - BISCOTTE & BRIOCHE.

​ In a completely different register, Christophe accompanied on stage renowned artists such as Henri DES or Jean-Marc THIBAULT.  

He has been accompanying Annie CORDY since 1998 and became her conductor in 2011.  

He participates in the recording of albums for these same artists as well as for RENAUD, VAYA CON DIOS, Frank MICHAEL, Frédéric FRANCOIS, Line ADAM, JOFROI ...... ​

He is currently professor of accordion at the Académie de musique de Fleurus and at the Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie de Namur (IMEP) and since 2019, the Artistic Director of the CPE Festival.

Christophe Delporte plays on a BUGARI accordion and has been an Antarctica Records artist since October 2019.