History

The concept of home concerts is of all times and it is greatly appreciated by the audiences. The Muziekhuis Concerts could only confirm this.  

It was the lifelong dream of the Flemish melomaniac Herman Steenhoudt (1928-2021) to found his own music house. The dream came true and during several years the Muizelhuis Concerts was one of the leading home concerts organisation in Flanders.

The Muizelhuis is built in 1982 in Hulste, a sub-municipality of Harelbeke in the south of West Flanders. On the one hand, this villa was the private home of the Steenhoudt family, but it also served as a concert hall. The building was designed in such a way as to fulfil its double function. The architects Walter Steenhoudt and Robert Robaye started from a cross shape. One arm runs from the front porch to the back of the house where the large salon is located. The other arm, perpendicular to the first, accommodates the private quarters.

At each house concert, the salon was transformed into a fully-fledged concert hall with room for about a hundred music lovers. This concert space not only had excellent acoustics, but also a fully equipped recording studio.

In September 2009 the Muizelhuis is protected as architectural heritage.

The location of the Muizelhuis also contributed to the unique concept. The villa is completely surrounded by a spacious garden that contributed to the inspiring and exclusive atmosphere of the house concerts. The garden can be divided into a front garden and a back garden of which even a part serves as an orchard. The house also had no less than two car parks for the public.