Bob Van de Velde  studied the clarinet at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp with prof. Walter Boeykens, where he graduated in 1990 with a First Prize Cum Laude. Afterwards, he specialized in playing period-instruments at the Brussels Conservatory with prof. Guy Van Waas. During his studies, he intensively examined and studied the repertoire for the Bassethorn and the bass-clarinet.
On a free-lance base, Bob appeared in all Belgian professional Orchestras, including Anima Aeterna (Jos Van Immerseel), Il Fondamento (Paul Dombrecht),…  As a soloist and in chambermusic, he played the highlights from the clarinet-Repertoire. CD-recordings and appearances in national and international radio- and televisionprogrammes illustrate his flexibility in mastering period clarinets as well as modern instruments.

In 1989 he founded the Flanders Clarinet Quartet. With this extraordinary ensemble, he performed over 400 times all over Europe, South-America and the Far-East. His very first concert tour brought him to the world-famous “Salzburger Festspiele” in Austria, where he played in duo with his wife Christa Steenhuyse (piano). In 1997 he was invited to perform with the Orquesta Nacional del Ecuador under maestro Medardo Caisabanda. Adjoining, he gave masterclasses in Ecuador (Quito, Guayaquil) and Japan (Osaka).

Since 1996, Bob has been visiting Japan regularly for concerts and masterclasses by invitation of. Prof. Hideaki Iwai of the Osaka University of Arts. With prof. Iwai, he performed in November 2003 in Buenos Aires (Argentina). As a member of the "Kansai Bassethorn Trio", he was invited to Osaka in september 2004.

Recent projects include the production “Children of War” with Theodorakis’ “Mauthausen-Lieder” and the production “Lamentations for Kayano” with music by Gwendolyn Sommereyns.