The Huelgas ensemble is one of Europe's most renowned groups for the performance of medieval and Renaissance polyphony. The ensemble often performs unknown works, found by its conductor Paul Van Nevel in libraries all over Europe.

The Huelgas Ensemble has performed in some of the world’s finest musical centres, including the BBC Proms in London, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Cité de la musique in Paris, the Berliner Philharmonie, the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon, as well as the Centro Cultural de Belem (Lisbon). The ensemble also appears regularly at the greatest festivals for early music, where it often performs in its ‘natural habitat’ of ancient chapels, churches and abbeys, thus building an interdisciplinary bridge between architecture and polyphony through its concerts. Under the wing of BOZAR in Brussels, the ensemble has been running an annual concert cycle for thirty years.

Performances by the Huelgas Ensemble are characterized by an in-depth knowledge of the aesthetics and concepts of musical and vocal practices of the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The media and critics alike regularly heap praise on the ensemble for its lively and innovative approach to the repertoire, continuously setting the highest standards in its field. It is precisely for this reason that more and more contemporary composers seek the ensemble out to perform their works (Wolfgang Rihm, James MacMillan).