Sax, Florimond

Jan Dewilde (translation: Joris Duytschaever)

Florimond Sax studied at the Flemish Music School in Antwerp with Jan Blockx, Paul Gilson and Emiel Wambach. In 1895 he was appointed in Sint-Niklaas as music teacher at St Joseph’s secondary school, replacing Kamiel Van den Hende. In addition he also taught music at Sunday schools and ran a music shop. Concurrently he also conducted a choir from which the Royal Mixed Choir St Gregory was to grow later, as a joint venture with the local teacher training college. Sax also conducted for forty-five years the male choir during worship at the church of Our Lady as well as the mixed choir in concerts.

From 1927 to 1934 Sax was director of the Municipal Music School in Sint-Niklaas. A year after he took up this position, he started a fourth year of solfège and also a choir class that was obligatory for all pupils. Four years later he added a fifth year of solfège. In 1934 the courses were further expanded with a class for violoncello and a second class for violin. With his own imprint he published a Simple and Practical Course to Learn the Elements of Music. He invited well-known personalities from the world of music to serve in Sint-Niklaas for the annual exam juries, productively networking with composers and musicians such as Paul Gilson, Emiel Hullebroeck, Jef Van Durme, Jef Van Hoof, Mina Bolotine and Flor Alpaerts. Even when the crisis was rampant in the Thirties he attempted to develop an interesting programming of concerts. His commitment to music education was highly appreciated by Emiel Hullebroeck, the then inspector of music education. After his death Sax was succeeded as director by Lodewijk Ellegiers.

Sax mostly composed occasional works, such as the Cantate tot inhuldiging van het standbeeld der gesneuvelde soldaten en opgeëisten (Cantata for the Inauguration of the Statue for the Fallen Soldiers and the Requisitioned, 1926) and Hulde aan onze missionarissen (Homage to our Missionaries).