Has served as principal trombonist of the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchesters, since 2010. Prior to this engagement, he was a member of Brussels Philharmonic and Essener Philharmoniker.
At the age of 17, the belgian trombonist Jeroen Mentens (*1982) performed a recital at Koninklijke Muntschouwburg and recorded at Marconi Studio in Brussels the Concerto by Rimsky- Korsakow. Awarded first prizes at competitions such as Jong-Tenuto, Axion Classics, Internationaler Wetbewerb für Unterhaltungsmusik in St. Gallen and Concours Européen de l’UGDA pour Trombone, Euphonium et Chant in Luxemburg.
At 19 years old he got accepted in the European Union Youth Orchestra, performing with conductors such as Lorin Maazel and Bernard Haitnk. In 2005, he was a member of the Lucerne Festival Academy, directed by Pierre Boulez.
As promising belgian artist, Jeroen Mentens was granted a scholarship by the Stpendium Foundation SPES and was guided by the Voorziening voor Excellerende Jonge Musici in the Netherlands. Following his studies in New York, Jeroen Mentens was awarded a fellow scholarship by the Belgian American Educational Foundation.
He graduated the Juilliard school, where he studied with celebrated trombone-virtuoso Joseph Alessi and an alumnus of Amsterdam University of the Arts. An avid orchestral musician, Jeroen Mentens has performed with Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, WDR Sinfonie Orchester, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Bamberger Symphoniker, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Opernhaus Zürich, Staatsoper Hamburg. In 2008, he was guest principal in Seoul Philharmonic and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 2022 Jeroen Mentens is a member of the Bayreuther Festpielorchester. He performs with conductors like Christan Thielemann, Mariss Jansons, Christoph Eschenbach, Riccardo Chailly, Sebastan Weigle and Myung-wuhn Chung among others. In 2015, Jeroen Mentens has been appointed lecturer of trombone at Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium in Frankfurt. His wide range activities as a soloist and chamber musician, paired with his passion for orchestra, are manifested in his versatile performances and unique repertoire.
While studying at Juilliard, he recorded Gabrieli Canzones with the American Brass Quintet (SUMMIT) and can be heard on Joseph Alessi ́s disc Return to Sorrento (NAXOS).
As a dedicated chamber musician, he is artistic leader of The Bone Society. With this ensemble he was a featured soloist on their first CD ”Bonelab”.
