Daan Janssens (°Bruges) studied piano, violin, music theory and composition at the municipal conservatory of Bruges. From 2002 to 2007, he studied composition with Frank Nuyts at the conservatory in Ghent, where he also took lessons with Godfried-Willem Raes (improvisation) and Filip Rathé (analysis). Janssens participated in composition masterclasses with Peter Eötvös, Luca Francesconi, Bruno Mantovani, among others, and conducting masterclasses with Johannes Kalitzke (with Ensemble Modern), Marco Angius and Lucas Vis. In 2007, he began working as a research assistant at the Ghent Conservatory, where he obtained a PhD in 2016 on musical transformation from a historical perspective and applied to his own works. Janssens has since taught composition and orchestration at the Conservatory of Ghent and is also active as a composer and conductor.

In 2006, his string quartet …Passages… was awarded first prize during the week of contemporary music in Ghent, and in 2009, (…nuit cassée.) was selected for the ISCM World Music Days in Sweden. His chamber opera Les Aveugles (after Maurice Maeterlinck), which was realized in collaboration with the Ghent production house LOD and visual artist Patrick Corrilon, was performed at Ars Musica 2012 with Vocaallab and Musiques Nouvelles, conducted by Filip Rathé. This opera was also programmed at La Monnaie in Brussels in 2013. A second opera production followed in 2017 with Menuet, again commissioned by LOD. Janssens composed three works for symphony orchestra between 2012 and 2015, including (…dans son presque silence…) commissioned by SymfonieOrkest Vlaanderen. In addition, Janssens composes primarily for ensembles and (vocal) soloists, and he is increasingly exploring the use of electronics, such as in (Paysage en attente…) for two pianos and live electronics (2019).

For the performance of his compositions, Janssens has worked with internationally renowned ensembles such as Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Goeyvaerts String Trio, Spectra Ensemble, baritone Thomas Bauer and cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. In 2006, he co-founded the Nadar Ensemble, with which he has performed at festivals such as Ars Musica (2008, 2009), Harvest Festival Denmark (2009), Festival Musica Strasbourg (2010), TRANSIT (2010) and the Darmstädter Ferienkurse (2010, 2012).