MEET CLASS MASTERS

Founding director, piano, chamber music  teacher at the “Music Academy FORTE”  (www.musicacademy.be ). Founding director, piano, chamber music  teacher and tutor professor of piano at the Brussels International Music Academy  (www.brima.be). Founder, artistic director, president and jury member of International Competition for young pianists “Merci, Maestro!”  (www.mercimaestro.be). 

Jury member at many International piano competitions, member of EPTA, and ballet pianist.

Also working for a number of leading companies as a pianist: Pasodos Dance Company (Palma Dance Center, Mallorca); Astana Ballet (Kazakhstan); L’Hivernal de la dance (Liege, Belgium), etc.

For a number of years has performed as a main pianist at the Royal Ballet of Flanders (Antwerp, Belgium); Brussels International Ballet School (Brussels, Belgium); Royal Ballet school in Antwerp; Rosas, P.A.R.T.S. et Yantra in Brussels;  Studio Bejart (Brussels, Belgium); piano accompanist at a High school of music (Kiev, Ukraine).

Received Diplomas with distinction in Piano/Accompaniment/Chamber music/Psycho-pedagogy from three conservatories: National Conservatory Tchaikovsky (Kiev, Ukraine), Royal Conservatory of Liége (Belgique), Royal Conservatoire of Brussels (Belgium).

Honorary Professor at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and currently at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.

At sixteen: third prize in the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in 1964. Studied at the Queen Elisabeth College of Music. He has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestre de la Radio-Télévision Luxembourgeoise, the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, I Fiamminghi and the Franz Liszt Orchestra in Budapest.

Frequently performed in chamber music formation with musicians such as José Van Dam, Augustin Dumay, Miriam Fried, Silvia Marcovici, Gérard Caussé, Michaela Martin, Walter Boeykens, Frans Helmerson, the quartet Ysaÿe, the quartet Melos and the quartet Enesco.

His recordings are numerous.

Vanden Eynden was often a jury member in international competitions, primarily on the jury of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition. He was also artistic advisor for some festivals such as in Stavelot.

He has built a solid career as an international soloist. At the same time, he is an honorary professor at the Brussels Conservatory of Music and currently at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth. He is also artistic director of the Eduardo Del Pueyo Music Centre.

Professor of piano at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel–Aviv. Artistic director of “Stretto international piano competition” in Tel-Aviv. Previously artistic director of Scherzo international piano competition.

Pianist and piano teacher, graduated from the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music in Kiev, Ukraine (class of Aza Roshina). She constantly teaches around the globe in different master classes, frequently judging at  various international competitions and giving lectures about her unique teaching experience.

Honoured Artist of Ukraine, Professor of Piano at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Graduated from the state P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory (now NMAU), class of Honoured Artists of Ukraine, Professor V.Kozlov.

A laureate of numerous national and international piano and piano duets competitions. A jury member at many International Competitions, gives master-classes in Serbia, Japan and Ukraine.

A laureate of National L.Revutsky Prize.

International soloist.

He was awarded the Study Grant Prize at the International Pablo Sarasate Competition in Pamplona, Spain in 1999 which provided him with a scholarship to study with Natalia Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School, England.

In September 2005, Sokolov took part in the George Enescu Festival and won the Grand Prix with a performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto; he also won Best Performance for Enescu’s Violin Sonata No. 3 as well as the Enescu Foundation Prize.

Sokolov made his US orchestral debut in summer 2007, performing at Aspen Music Festival and Grand Teton Music Festival, and, upon special invitation of David Zinman, at the Blossom Festival with the Cleveland Orchestra.

Upon Lawrence Foster’s personal invitation, Sokolov recorded Enescu's Violin Sonata No 3, complementing Mr. Foster's recording of Enescu's Octet in a transcription for symphony orchestra, released on CD at the beginning of 2009 on the EMI/Virgin label.

He has appeared with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, and made debuts with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Orchestre National de France and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Conductors with whom he has worked include David Zinman, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Ivor Bolton and Ludovic Morlot. He has appeared in recital at the Wigmore Hall, the Théâtre du Châtelet and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

Professor of violin at the Brussels Higher School for Arts (Kunsthumaniora Brussel). Teaches as an assistant of Philippe Graffin in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.

Studied at the Royal Music Conservatoire in Brussels. Then in Germany with Prof. Joshua Epstein (Saarbrücken) and Prof. Ch.-A. Linale (Düsseldorf).  Masterclasses with Sandor Vegh, Yfrah Neaman, André Gertler and Zachar Bron.

Member of the contemporary music ensemble “Musiques Nouvelles".

From 1996 till 2016 he serves as assistant-concertmaster and musical advisor of the Flemish Symphony Orchestra.

Recorded the 2 violin sonatas by Bela Bartok for UT3 Records and a his CD with the violin sonatas by Babadjanian and Janacek got intenationally high acclaim and was selected “CD of the month” in the prestigious Dutch magazine “Luister”.

Teacher at the Brussels International Music Academy & the Royal Conservatory of Liege.

Organiser of the “Kreutzer International Music Competition” and International Music Workshops. Organiser of artistic exchange projects between Belgium and China.

Worked as additional violinist in the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra of Liege, Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra and in the orchestra “Il Novecento”. Appears on stage on a regular basis as a soloist and within various formations, in Belgium and abroad.

Won numerous prizes in national and international competitions.

Professor of violin, chamber music  at the F. Chopin State Music School, the Music School No. 2 (1st level) in Wrocław and at the K. Szymanowski State Music School (1st and 2nd level) in Wrocław, where for many years she was the Head of the first level of the string instruments and guitar section.

Graduated from the State Conservatory of Antonina Nieżdanowa in Odessa, in the violin class of Aleksander Pavlov.

For many years - member of the 1st violins in the orchestra of the Lower Silesian Opera in Wrocław. Co-founded the Wrocław String Quartet, with which performed in Poland and Europe. Juror of various national and international violin competitions. Co-founder of the Lower Silesian Society of F. Chopin in Wrocław, where she held the position of the vice-president for 9 years.

Twice she received an individual award from the Director of the Artistic Education Center for a special contribution to the development of artistic education in Poland. Was awarded the Bronze Cross of Merit and the Silver Medal by the President of the Republic of Poland.

Professor of viola and chamber music, head of strings at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. He also teaches the Advanced Chamber Music Course at the Orpheus Institute in Gent.

Tony Nys started his musical training at the age with Tomiko Shida. Later he continued his studies at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel with Clemens Quatacker and Philippe Hirschhorn. Between 1994 and 1997, he was the first violin of the Fétis String Quartet, attending masterclasses with the Alban Berg Quartet, the Borodin Quartet and the Amadeus Quartet.

Since 2005, he is a fix member of the TrioFenix Stringtrio and he has regularly worked with ensembles such as Prometheus, Ictus, Ensemble Modern, Explorations, Oxalys … Between 2008 and 2018, he was also a member of the Malibran Stringquartet.

Tony Nys played as viola-solo in La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra between 2007 and 2018. In that position he was regularly invited by many orchestras in Belgium, Holland, Germany and the UK.

As a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, he played worldwide with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Duhamel …

Professor of Cello at the Akademie für Tonkunst (Darmstadt) and at the Akademie für Musik (Berlin).

Romain Garioud is prize winner at such prestigious international competitions as Moscow’ s T chaikovsky (2001) and Paris’ Rostropovitch (2002), he is also a second prize winner at Chile’s Vina del Mar competition in 2002. In 2005, Romain Garioud wins the 1st Prize of Bucchi’s International cello Competition.

He graduated from Paris’ s Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique with a First Prize in both cello (1997) and chamber music (1998) and Konzertexam.

From 2021, he’s fouding member of the «TriOdyssey» with the violinist Laurent Albrecht Breuninger and the pianist Rinko Hama.

He played with such conductors as Christoph Eschenbach (Orchestre de Paris), Jean-Marc Burfin (Lisbon’s Metropolitan Orchestra), Stéphane Cardon or Volodymir Sirenko (Nat. of Ukraine) and with prestigious chamber music partners like Mstislav Rostropovitch, Menahem Presler, Gilles Apap, Philippe Entremont, Régis et Bruno Pasquier, Ulf Wallin...in the most famous concert halls, Musikverein and Konzerthaus Wien, Berlin Philharmonie. Several of his concerts were recorded by Radio France or Music Cable TV channel Mezzo.

He’s playing an exceptional Nicolai Gagliano’s cello from 1760, generously lent by Gabriele & Michael Andreae-Jäckering.

International soloist, previously artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapelle.

Oleksiy Shadrin received his Bachelor and Master of Musical Arts at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover with Prof. Leonid Gorokhov.

He won the first prize of the 4^th M. Lysenko International Music Competition in 2012. In 2018, he has been awarded the 3d Prize at the Prague Spring competition.

Following his early successes in numerous competitions, including the National Ukrainian Competition for Strings in Lvov/Lemberg and the 8th National Ukrainian Competition “New Names” in Kiev, he became in 2004 a scholar of the International Foundation of violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov.

In 2005, Oleksiy Shadrin was a finalist in the 3rd David Popper International Competition in Hungary, and in 2008, he won the 2nd prize at The International Competition in Minsk. Following his competition successes, he has performed in major concert halls of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, France, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Holland and Portugal.

In 2016, he made his debut appearance at the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2017, he appeared as a soloist with the NDR Radiophilharmonie with Andrew Manze in the Grosser Sendesaal in Hannover, and made his debut appearance at the Hamburg Chamber Music Festival.

Teacher at the IMEP (Royal Institute for Music and Pedagogy Namur);  Founder and artistic director of the Concerts des Dames at the Abbaye Notre-Dame du Vivier (Marche-les-Dames).

He initially took up the cello as an autodidact in his hometown of Seattle before studying traditionally at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg, then the IMEP (Namur) with Éric Chardon, before specialising in Soviet music with Han Bin Yoon at the Mons Conservatory. He then continues studying in Paris with Anne Gastinel at the Académie Jaroussky.

Former cello-soloist of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Namurois of the Year 2020. From 2019 to 2022, he had the pleasure of joining the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège as cello-soloist, becoming the youngest tenured musician of the orchestra. He has also appeared as guest first cellist of the Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and the Belgian National Orchestra.

Committed to all the various aspects of being a musician, classical or otherwise, Pierre composes and explores popular and contemporary music with his cello-accordion Duo Kiasma with accordionist Frin Wolter (1st Prize - Accordé’Opale Competition). He collaborates with artists such as Jodie Devos, Gergely Madaras, Christophe Rousset, Philippe Graffin, Jean-Claude Vanden Eyden, Gwendoline Blondeel and Mathieu Herzog.

1st Prize of the 2022 Breughel Competition, he also won the Public Prize and the Best Interpretation Prize. In October 2020, he received the 2nd Prize “Van Hecke” at the 1st BCS International Cello Competition and won the First Prize and the Feldbusch Prize at the Concours International Edmond Baert (2019).

Pierre performs on a private loan of a 1690 Ruggieri cello, as well as a Nicolas-François Vuillaume cello from 1860, instrument made available by the King Baudouin Foundation thanks to the Léon Courtin-Marcelle Bouché’s Fund's gift and managed by Strings For Talent.

Since 1999, Hugues Navez has been the full professor of the guitar class and head of the guitar department at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles–École Supérieure des Arts.

Hugues Navez studied at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in the classes of Ilse and Nicolas Alfonso, at the Conservatoire de Lille with Jean-Philippe Grüneissen as well as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris with Alexandre Lagoya (of whom he is the sole Belgian pupil) and Carel Harms.

Laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, the European Prize Émile Noël of the European Union and the Frères Darches Prize of the Heritage Commission of the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, he gives recitals, concerts and master classes in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, the USA and Canada as a soloist or accompanied by the harpist Susanna Mildonian, flautists Maxence Larrieu, Marc Grauwels and Denis-Pierre Gustin, the Monnaie string Quartet, the reciter Charles Kleinberg … and numerous orchestras (Orchestre de la Radio Télévision Belge, the Belgium National, the Orchestre National de Chambre de Toulouse, the  Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo…).

He took part in the closing concert of the festivities celebrating the 60-year reign of King Baudouin at Heysel stadium and was the invited guest to the E.U. Pavilion at the World Fairs held in Seville and Shanghai.

He appears regularly on foreign as well as Belgian radio and television stations (RTBF, Télé-Bruxelles, Arte, TV5…) and has been a regular member of the jury on the televised « Jeunes Solistes « and « Jeunes Musiciens » competitions.

In 2012, he founded the « Brussels International Guitar Festival & Competitions » of which he is President and Artistic Director. The 12th edition of this event, the most important guitar competition in Belgium, will take place in November 2023.

Hugues Navez is also the founding President and Artistic Director of the « Brussels Guitar Concerts », the « Brussels Guitar Master Classes” (annual summer classes), the "Brussels Classical Guitar Society" and the "Classical Guitar Society of Belgium".

He is regularly invited to be a member of the jury in numerous national and international competitions : in Brussels, Pittaluga (Alessandria - Italy), Klagenfurt (Austria), Roland Dyens (Paris), etc.

To date, he has recorded five CDs and is one of the rare guitarists to play the 10 string guitar.

www.huguesnavez.be    www.conservatoire.be        www.bigfest.be

Guitar teacher at the Brussels International Music Academy.

In 2022, she obtained her Pedagogical and Didactic Master At UNIR.Between 2018 to 2021, she studied privately with the guitarist Johan Fostier. In 2017, she received her Master in Performance with the Carlo Marchioness the Conservatoire de Maastricht, Pays- Bas. In 2015, she received her Master Degree for Guitar with Cum Lauden at the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels, under the tutelage of Professor Antigoni Goni. In 2013, she received her degree with highest distinction from Conservatorio Superior de Música of Murcia”, studied with Pablo Barón and Carmen María Ros.

She had won numerous prizes including Prize "Andres Segovia", Lxvii Curso Música in Compostela, Spain, 2014; 3rd Prize at the International Guitar Competition “Ángel Piñero”. Awarded the Scholarships For Galindo Foundation. (Murcia, Spain In June 2013); Scholarship by “Le Bureau International Jeunesse De Bruxelles”.

She was invited to participate as soloist at the Guitar Festival of “Guitare en Cévennes” (France); at the opening concert of the 11th edition of Volterra Project (Italy); at the VIII Andes Guitar Festival (Argentina); the I International Guitar Festival of Haría (Spain); a tour of concerts and masterclasses in Brazil.

She was also the soloist of the Guitar Orchestra of the region of Murcia (Spain); the Youth Orchestra of Cuenca; The Silpakorn And Chulalongkorn University Orchestra Of Bangkok (Thailand).

She was also chosen to participate at the 7th Edition Of the Volterra Project, Guitar Summer Institute, International Guitar Festival, Italy, 2013; The Guitar Symposium At The Royal Conservatory Of Brussels, 2015.

Professor of trumpet at the Royal Conservatory of Liege.

Soloist at the Liege Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has been teacher assistant for trumpet and orchestral excerpts at the Higher Institute of Music and Education (IMEP) Namur from 2008 until 2021. Since several years, he devotes himself to coaching various instrumentalists who wish to prepare for orchestra recruitment auditions.

He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Liege where he obtained a Higher Diploma in Trumpet and Chamber Music with great distinction.

He began his professional career at the age of 19 as soloist in the Royal Belgian Navy Band. Soloist at the Liege Royal Philharmonic Orchestra since 1991, Philippe Ranallo has been very active in the world of big bands and studios.

In 1996, he joined Ictus, a contemporary music ensemble based in Brussels, with which he performs regularly as soloist and participates in many festivals (Wien Modern, Musica Strasbourg, IRCAM, Biennale Venezia...), recordings and creations. His contemporary repertoire includes several pieces for solo trumpet and electronics (J. Harvey, L. Vierk, C. Dambrain, Y. Maresz, G. Drouin ...).

In 2012, he created a new concerto for trumpet by R. Cendo at the Festival Musica in Strasbourg. Abroad, he has collaborated with various contemporary music ensembles such as Avanti! (Finland), Icarus (Italy), Lucilin (Luxembourg).

He played in many brass ensembles (Ensemble de Cuivres Mosan, Ensemble de cuivres de l’Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Brass Label Quintet…) and in the major Belgian orchestras.

Professor of trumpet at the Glinka Musical Academy in Dnipro, Ukraine. Previously professor at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.

He studied playing trumpet in Rivne and Khmelnitsky Musical Colleges. He graduated Kyiv Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music.

Solo trumpet player of the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra.

Andrij was awarded with many prizes and nominations in a series of national and international trumpet contests and festivals. He got his first YAMAHA`s professional trumpet as a prize on the International Trumpet Contest in 1999, when legendary Timofei Dokshytzer was Head of the Jury.

Professor of flute at the “Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel”, Royal Brussels Conservatoire.

He has been guest professor at the conservatory of Den Haag (Holland) and is giving Master Classes throughout Europe and Japan. Member of the jury in international competitions: Krakau International flute competition - Flautissimo, Rome - Dutch International Flute competition - Sieradz Flute Competition

Graduated from the Antwerp Conservatorium and obtained the “higher diploma” with great distinction in 1982 in the class of Mr. Jan Van Reeth. He continued studying the flute in London with Jonathan Snowdon and followed Master Classes with Aurèle Nicolet, William Bennett, Andras Adorjan and Konrad Hünteler. Julius Baker invited him at the Guilliard School of Music New-York.

Former Principal flute at the Symphonic Orchestra of “La Monnaie”, Belgium National Opera.

Winner of the “Tenuto-competition” (1982) which gave him opportunities to play as a soloist for the Belgium radio ánd Television. He has been one of the most active and demanded flutists in Belgium, he played all over Europe, in America and Japan. He has performed as a soloist with many leading orchestras in Belgium such as “The Monnaie Symphonic Orchestra”, “BRTN Ancient Philharmonic Orchestra “ (=Radio Orchestra), “Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra”, “Flanders Symphonic Orchestra” and several Chamber Orchestras.

He was a member of the “Prometheus Ensemble”. He plays regularly various chamber music repertoire with his colleagues of the Monnaie Orchestra, in particularly the “Monnaie Wind Quintet”. He played concerts with “The Salzburger Solists” and in song recitals he played with Yvonne Kenny and Renée Fleming together with their pianists Geoffrey Parsons and Helmuth Deutch.

His recordings includes Rossini’s quartets for flute and string trio, flute concertos from the Mannheim School, Mozart concertos (flute concerto in G and the Symphony Concertante in Es), Belgium Romantic flute sonatas (Franck, Jongen), music by Carl Reinecke, chamber music by Albert Huybrechts, music for alto flute solo by Bernard Foccroulle, chamber music works with “Prometheus Ensemble”, “I Solisti da Camera” and several ‘ad hoc’ ensembles.

Oboe teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Liège and Grétry Academy.

Solo oboe at Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège.

He began studying the piano at the Conservatory of Nice (France), but it was at the age of 13 that he began to play the oboe in the class of Eric Mège.  After receiving his first prize in oboe he entered the CNSM (National Superior Conservatory of Music) in Lyon where he received the teaching of Jean-Louis Capezzali and Jérôme Guichard, and where he achieved, in June 2005, his diploma for oboe with a unanimous vote by the jury. In 2004 he received his State Diploma in oboe pedagogy and in 2018, he received also a Master's degree in Pedagogy.

Since then he has performed with numerous orchestras including, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France, National Orchestra of Lyon, National Orchestra of France, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Monaco Philharmonic Orchestra.  During this time he was able to work with such prestigious conductors as, Myung-Whun Chung, Kurt Masur, Peter Eötvös, Semyon Bychkov, Emmanuel Krivine and Daniele Gatti among others.

Regular guest of the festival « Musique et vin » du clos Vougeot à Beaune, he has shared the stage with David Chan (violin solo of the Metropolitan Opera of New York), Gauthier Capuçon, Joyce Di Donato, Yo-Yo Ma...

His desire to share music has led him towards many different horizons.  He has performed with numerous ensembles. He is a member of the Bacchus Quartet with Joanie Carlier- bassoon, Audrey Luzignant - bassoon and Sébastien Creppe - baritone saxophone, original ensemble where mix classical music, borrowed notion from jazz and French songs.

Principal bassoon of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. Bassoon teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Liège and professor at the Amay Academy.

She began playing the bassoon at the age of 9. In 2008, she graduated from the Conservatoire Supérieur de Lyon in the class of Carlo Colombo and Jean Pignoly obtaining a first prize in bassoon, with unanimous honours. That same year, she joined the OPRL as principal bassoon. In 2017, she received her Master Didactique from the Conservatoire Royal de Liege.

She works with some of the world's leading symphony orchestras, including the Opéra de Lyon, the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie and the Orchestre de Lorraine, and is a regular guest at the Clos Vougeot music and wine festival.

She is also a member of the Abocalips trio and the Edonis duo, with which she won second prize at the Iberian Harp Chamber Music Competition in Madrid. Since 2010, she has been working with Garret List in the Vivo orchestra.

She also performs and records for various projects (Balimurphy, Johan Dupont, Cloé du Trèfle, Mozart Vibration, etc.). In 2018 she founded the Bacchus Quartet, an atypical quartet made up of an oboe (Sébastien Guedj), two bassoons (with Audrey Luzignant) and a baritone saxophone (Sebastien Creppe). The group has performed extensively in Belgium.

 

Professor of vocal at the Royal Conservatory of Liege.

Trained in the performing arts at the Ghent Opera Studio and a graduate of the Brussels Royal Conservatory of Music in singing and flute, Belgian soprano Sabine Conzen is recognised as a sensitive artist and musician with a voice of rich, colourful timbre.

Music teacher and instrumental ensembles at Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege Brussels.

Viola player with a great passion for chamber music, choir- and orchestra conductor, composer and teacher.

Studied at the LUCA School of Arts in Leuven with Marc Tooten and received a Master's degree in viola  and chambermusic.

Viola player of the "Arion Trio" with Mikhail Bezverkhni and Stefaan Bataille.

Principal violist at Accademia della Speranza and Speranza Symphonic.  Conductor of the Sint-Jan Berchmans Youth Choir and the Berchmans Collegium Vocale.

Previously conducted the orchestra of the Ghent Conservatory, the orchestra of Sint-Job in Aalst and the string orchestra of the University of Ghent.

Cello teacher at Brussels International Music Academy.

Graduated from Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels (Master of Music) in Prof. Jeroen Reuling’s class. Obtained her Bachelor Degree and Master of Music from Grażyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Łódź (Poland).

Served as a jury member during the International PRIMUZ Strings Competition member of The Primuz Foundation’s Council.

Member of the string orchestra Young Belgian Strings (Brussels, Belgium). Member of the PRIMUZ Chamber Orchestra, founded by dr hab. Łukasz Błaszczyk (Łódź, Polska). Member of the Vene Piano Quartetconcert of the Vene Piano Quartet during 7th Festival EMANACJE, organized by Krzysztof Penderecki’s European Center of Music in Lusławice (Poland).

Currently works as a piano teacher at the Brussels International Music School and other music schools.

Jakub Jirásek (*1994) is a Czech pianist. At the age of 6 he started learning to play the piano with Ludmila Zemanová. Later he studied at Pardubice Conservatory with Inna Tolmačová and at Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory Prague in the class of Irina Kondratenko-Parker. Since 2018 he has lived in Belgium, where he graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class of Aleksandar Madžar. Moreover, he participated in masterclasses with Alexander Romanovsky, Jan Michiels, Antonio Rósado, Alessandro Commellato, etc.

During his studies he won prizes at several international piano competitions and festivals. In addition to solo piano, he devotes himself to chamber music, especially to collaboration with singers. In 2022 he was selected as one of the participants of the Udo Reinemann International Masterclasses for duos (singing + piano) in Brussels, which gave him the opportunity to gain several months of experience in song accompaniment under the guidance of renowned professors from Europe and the USA (Alexandra Coku, Anthony Spiri, Margreet Honig, Jochen Kupfer, Alexander Fleischer, Marti Hirvonen, Claar ter Horst, Christian Libor by Christianne Stotijn).

He also got a master's degree in English philology at Masaryk University Brno (Czech Republic) where he connected his knowledge of music and linguistics in phonesthetic research.

Born in October 2000 in Kalush, Ukraine.

In 2018 graduated from the Special Music Boarding-School named after S. Krushelnytska in Lviv.

In 2023 obtained a master degree in Krakow Academy of Music. Since 2020 is a student of KASK&Conservatorium in Gent.

Teacher at Brussels International Music Academy; Founder of ArtSoir Agency ASBL, an artistic agency based in Brussels.

Khrystyna Korchynska is a Ukrainian oboist who lives in Belgium. She was born in Lviv, Ukraine, into a family of professional musicians.

In 2010, while studying at the Lviv College of Music, she was awarded 1st prize at the Surmy Boukovyny International Wind Competition (Chernivtsi, Ukraine), playing as a soloist with the Lviv Chamber Orchestra.

Khrystyna studied at the Mykola Lysenko National Academy in Lviv (Ukraine) with Lev Zakopets, at the Maastricht Conservatoire (Netherlands) with Marc Schaeferdiek and at the Conservatoire Royal de Liège (Belgium) with Alain Lovenberg and Sébastien Guedj, where she obtained her Master's degree.

She has taken masterclasses with Christian Hartmann, Washington Barella, Dominik Wolenweber, Igor Leshchishin, Christian Schmitt, Elizabeth Kenwood-Herriott, Olivier Habran, Jeroen Baerts, Fabrice Melinon, Alexander Krimer and others.

Khrystyna often plays chamber music concerts, but she is also a frequent guest with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Opéra Royal de Liège, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Chamber Players, the Orchestre de Chambre du Luxembourg etc.

Currently teaching at the Near East University Cyprus.

Cansu Sanlidag, a passionate and warm-hearted artist known for her rich sound and vibrant personality, is drawn to the world of chamber music, particularly Lieder, where she combines her love for literature and the arts. Her performances have graced stages across Europe, including prestigious venues in Brussels, Florence, Paris, and Vienna.

In addition to her extensive musical career, Cansu has served as a collaborator pianist for renowned events, including the International Buchet Competition, Masterclasses of the Belgium Cello Society, Masterclasses of Philippe Graffin, International Arthur Grumiaux Competition and International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen.

Teacher at the Brussels International Music Academy.

Graduated in Piano, Class of Michalis Aris Galinos from the Conservatory “Galaxias” à Thessaloniki (Greece).

Concerts as a soloist or member of chamber music ensembles in Thessaloniki. She was a piano teacher in Thessaloniki, where she had a first special experience with a kid with Williams syndrome. Piano accompanist of musicians including opera singers.

Since 2023, she is teaching at the Hübner Private Music School while actively performing concerts in Ukraine and Europe.

She began her musical journey in 2012, winning the first prize at the "Young Creativity" regional competition and the Vasyl Barvinsky competition in Ternopil.

In 2013, she started her studies at the S. Krushelnytska Ternopil Music Academy and earned the third prize at the International Competition named after Vasyl Barvinsky in Drogobych. She secured her place in the international music scene with a diploma from the Sviatoslav Richter Competition in 2014.

Oksana achieved the Grand Prix at the prestigious "ProArt" competition in Khmelnytsky in 2015. In 2016, she was celebrated as a laureate of the Sviatoslav Richter Competition and also triumphed at the All-Ukrainian competition in Lviv. The year 2017 saw her participation in the "Musical Premieres of the Season" festival in Kyiv. From 2017 to 2021, she honed her skills at the M. Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy under the tutelage of Professor Oksana Rapita.

2018 marked her victory at the "Répertoire pianistique moderne" competition in Paris and a diploma at the "International Piano Competition Citta DI ACQUAVIVA DELLE FONTI" in Italy. She continued her international success in 2019 with the second prize at the "Merci, maestro!" competition in Brussels and the third prize in Kyiv.

Oksana claimed the first prize at the "JISKRA 2020 Piano Competition" in Prague and the "ESTRELLAS BRILLANTES" festival in Spain in 2020. In 2021, she reached the pinnacle, winning the Grand Prix at the Canadian-Ukrainian Festival of Youth Creativity and the International Competition "Talents of 21 Century" in Bulgaria. Her artistry has graced the stage of the Lviv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, and she's shared her talent through concert-lectures in children's homes. In 2022 and 2023, she enriched her musical experience at the "BIESZCZADY BEZ GRANIC" pianist forum in Sanok, Poland.

Oksana has created three unique piano music collections: "Nightingale Piano," "Numoplay," and "Silent Night," which have garnered global acclaim.

Silviu Dumitrache is a pianist and teacher. Currently teaching at Music Academy of Uccle.

Between 2018 and 2019, he engaged in teaching activities in an exceptional setting, under the tutelage of Mr. Johan Schmidt at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, becoming one of the youngest employees in the institution's history. Simultaneously, he guided young piano enthusiasts in the world of music through private musical institutions, also participating as a jury member in piano competitions for young pianists.

In 2014, he earned his Bachelor's degree with distinction, "Cum laude" from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel under the guidance of pianist, Daniel Blumenthal. Since 2014, Silviu Dumitrache studies under the guidance of Mr. Johan Schmidt and Mr. Gabriel Teclu, at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Four years later, he completed both his Master's and Specialized Master's degrees with "Great Distinction," earning the "Geroffi Baschwitz Award" for outstanding results from the National Heritage Commission. As the laureate of the "Concerto Competition" organized by the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Silviu Dumitrache was invited to perform a recital at the Belgian Center for History and Science in Rome, "Academia Belgica."

Between 1999 and 2004, he won over twenty national and international awards and was invited to radio and television programs under the guidance of Professor Alma Peter. In 2014, he won the "Piano Competition of Liège," leading to several concerts on Belgian stages.  In 2015, he was a finalist in the "Bluthner Competition," and in 2016, he reached the finals of the "Classic Academy" competition, during which he performed Grieg's Concerto in A minor with the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mr. Christian Arming.

Invited as a soloist or chamber musician in Romania, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, he expanded his repertoire across all historical periods, from Baroque to contemporary, with a primary focus on romantic and folk-influenced music.

To mark the 140th anniversary of George Enescu's birth, Silviu Dumitrache played a central role in the "Virtual Stage" project organized by the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels.

Currently teaching at the Brussels International Music Academy. Before she moved to Brussels, she was teaching as a senior lecturer at the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) including music theory, history, composition, and supervising postgraduate candidates (master’s and doctoral degree) in their creative research.

Dr. HueyChing Chong began her composition studies with Malaysian composer, Yii Kah Hoe. From 2010 to 2017, with the full support of the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Scholarship Award, she continued her musical exploration under the tutelage of Prof. Keiko Harada at Toho Gakuen School of Music and Tokyo College of Music. In 2017, she obtained her Doctor of Musical Arts (Composition) from Tokyo College of Music. Besides that, she has also studied with Prof. Akira Nishimura, and Prof. Michio Kitazume. From 2020 to 2022, she continued to develop her compositional ideas and skills with the guidance of Spanish composer, Alberto Posadas.

In 2014, her composition RAW for 13 instrumentalists was awarded the 12th President Award of Tokyo College of Music. In 2017, introspection-intro for solo accordion was awarded the best solo composition at Composers+ Summer Academy. Her music has been performed in many countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, Germany, Netherland, Switzerland, Turkey, Malta, and Lithuania.

She has been invited to numerous international music festivals and conferences including Indonesia Composers Week 2022, Malditas e Inéditas Música se escribe con M de Mujer with musicologist, Elsa Calero-Carramolino, Universidad de Granada (2021, Spain), Festival Mujeres en la Música Nueva (2020, Colombia), Mostra Sonora (2019, Music Festival in Sueca, Valencia, Spain), Tokyo College of Music Symposium - Creative Possibilities of East Asian Traditional Musical Instruments (2014, Japan), Geijutsu Dangi Vol. 1 - Special participation as international student (2011, Japan), Yogyakarta Contemporary Music Festival (2009 & 2010, Indonesia).

She has been selected to participate in numerous international masterclasses, including the International Ensemble Modern Academy (IEMA) 2016/17, Composers+ Summer Academy 2017, Curs Internacional de Composició Institut Français-Barcelona Modern Project 4th Edition (Nov 2017, Jan 2018, May 2018), Experimental Thai Music Laboratory 2016, Burapha University (March 2016), Atlas Lab 2016, DAAD International Exchange Creative Exposition, HfM Würzburg X Tokyo College of Music 2015, Ensemble Modern and Tokyo Wonder Site Academy 2011, Manila Composers’ Lab 2009 and many more.

She has also collaborated with international renowned musicians including Iñaki Alberdi (Accordion), Ricardo Descalzo (Piano), Elena Casoli (Guitar), Wu Wei (Chinese Sheng), Naoko Kikuchi (Japanese Koto), Atsushi Sugawara (Percussion), Little Giant Chinese Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, ARCIS Saxophone Quartet, and Duo Jeux d’Anches (Accordion Duo).

In 2018, she started to experiment with improvisation performances with Istanbul-based multidisciplinary group Klank.ist, and Malaysian improvisors including Yong Yandsen (Saxophonist). She has also co-founded The New Music Room with two other Malaysian composers, Zihua Tan and XiaoXi Tee, all of whom are based in different continents to create an international platform – be it virtual, live, or a hybrid of those two – for composers and performers around the world to discuss and create new music through a series of forums, performances, masterclasses, and reading events.

Our team Music Academy FORTE 2022:

Nataliya Chepurenko (piano)

Artistic Director and Founder of “ Music Academy Forte”, «Merci, Maestro!” , director, Professor of piano&chamber music at the  Tchaikovsky Music School (Brussels). National President of WPTA for Belgium.

Tatiana Samouil (violin)

Professor of Violin at the Royal Conservatoire Brussels (Belgium) & Musikene Superior Arts Center in San Sebastián, Spain. International soloist.

Justus Grimm (cello)

Professor of Violoncello & Artistical Director at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp.International soloist.

Zoya Nevgodovska (violin, viola)

Dozent at Musikhochschule Hanns Eisler (Berlin), leads a violin class for gifted young Violinists.

Daniel Blumental (piano)

Professor of Piano at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Brussels,Masterclass for chamber music in Denmark.

Yannick van de Velde (piano)

Professor of Piano performance Conservatory of Luxembourg and the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt. International soloist

Erik Sluys (violin)

Professor of Violin at the Brussels Higher School for Arts and the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.International soloist.

Karel de Wilde (organ, orchestra)

Artistic director and main conductor of the orchestra La Chapelle Sauvage (Belgium), the resident conductor of Beauraing Festival of Sacred Music, artistic director of Cause Classic is Cool and Borluut chamber music festival.

Steven Cayers (cello)

Professor of Violoncello at the Kunsthumaniora in Brussels & at the Municipal Conservatory of Leuven.International chamber music soloist.

Benjamin Braude (violin, viola)

Faculty member at the Royal Flemish Conservatory (Antwerpen), artistic director of  “Rencontres musicales de Leotoing“ (France), teacher at London Royal College of Music

Alexey Semenenko (violin)

Professor of Violin of the Essen Folkwang University of Arts.International soloist.

Olga Zolotareva (violin)

Professor  of Violin in Gent Conservatory (Art School by the High School Consortium Gent

Magdalena Płociennik (violin)

Professor Violin and Chamber Music at several Music Schools (Wrocław). Consultant of the Artistic Education Center (Warsaw).

Co-founder of Lower Silesian Society of F. Chopin in Wrocław.

Liudmila Harbyza (violin)

Concertmaster of Belgian orchestra La Chapelle Sauvage.

David Makhmudov (violin)

Teacher of Violin at the Tchaikovsky School of Music (Brussels), soloist at the Flanders Symphony Orchestra

Barbara Ferraz (flute)

Master in Modern and Baroque Flute. Professor of flute at Tchaikovsky Music School.

Tine Janssens (viola)

Professor of viola at the Luca School of Arts(Leuven) and the Lemmensinstituut Secundary School of Music. Solo Viola – Principal at the Royal Opera

David Baltush

professor of music history and musicianship (analysis, counterpoint, harmony, world music) at the International School Musica Mundi in Waterloo (Belgium).

Our team Music Academy FORTE 2023:

Nataliya Chepurenko (piano)

Artistic Director and Founder of “ Music Academy Forte”, «Merci, Maestro!” , director, Professor of piano&chamber music at the  Tchaikovsky Music School (Brussels). National President of WPTA for Belgium.

Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden (piano)

Professor at the Royal Conservotory of Brussels and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. International soloist.

Daniel Blumental (piano)

Professor of Piano at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Brussels, Masterclass for chamber music in Denmark.

Yannick van de Velde (piano)

Professor of Piano performance Conservatory of Luxembourg and the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt. International soloist.

Yurii Kot (piano & chamber music)

Honoured Artist of Ukraine, a laureate of numerous national and international piano and piano duets competitions.

Zohrab Tadevosyan (violin)

2010-2020 Professor at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid.

Myrto Sifaki (chamber music)

Piano teacher at the Conservatoire des Amis des Arts et Lettres of the city of Serres (Greece). Private piano teacher in Brussels. Accompanist of musicians including opera singers. Teacher of musical theory.

Valeriy Sokolov (violin)

International soloist.

Jing Han (violin, chamber music)

Teacher of violin at the Brussels International Music Academy; Co-organiser of the "Ysaÿe International Music Competition" and International Music Workshops.

Oleksiy Shadrin (cello)

International soloist. Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapelle.

Steven Cayers (cello)

Professor of Violoncello at the Kunsthumaniora in Brussels & at the Municipal Conservatory of Leuven. International chamber music soloist.

Sergio Agreda de Ro (viola, orchestra, chamber music)

Viola player of the Arlon Trio and first viola player in the orchestra Academia della Speranza; Conductor of the STRING ORCHESTRA at the music academy of Aalst and Schaarbeek; Music teacher, conductor of instrumental ensembles and chorus at the Sint Jan Berchmans Collegium.

Isabelle Bialek (flute)

Professor and teacher of flute and piccolo class at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels; Professor at the Conservatory Charleroi.

Barbara Ferraz (flute, chamber music)

Master in Modern and Baroque Flute. Professor of flute at the Brussels International Music Academy.

Magdalena Płociennik (violin, chamber music)

Professor Violin and Chamber Music at several Music Schools (Wrocław). Consultant of the Artistic Education Center (Warsaw).

Co-founder of Lower Silesian Society of F. Chopin in Wrocław.