Rhea Vanhellemont obtained her master’s degree in viola from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp under the guidance of Leo Deneve and Steven De Roeck. She gained orchestral experience in the Youth and Music Orchestra of Antwerp under the direction of Ivo Venkov and in the orchestral academy of the Philharmonie under the guidance of Edo De Waart, Martyn Brabbins, and Philippe Herreweghe. Rhea interned at Opera Vlaanderen in the production of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten and participated in IOIA in Vienna under the direction of Leopold Hager.
She attended masterclasses with, among others, Sander Geerts, Lilli Maijala, and Yves Cortvrint. Rhea is a permanent member of the Desguin Quartet (Supernova 2020) and received coaching from Günther Pichler and Isabelle Charisius (Alban Berg Quartett), Gilles Millet and Guy Danel (Danel Quartet), Mathieu Herzog and Marie Chilemme (Quatuor Ebène), the Zemlinksy Quartet, and the Spiegel String Quartet.
Additionally, Rhea is part of the ‘musical artist lab’ One Trick Pony by Liesa Van der Aa and the jazz band Grand Picture Palace led by bassist Anneleen Boehme. Rhea teaches violin, viola, group music, and artistic initiation at the academies of Berchem and Wijnegem. On Sunday mornings, she leads StrijkersXS, the ensemble of young string players of AMAJ (formerly Youth and Music Antwerp). Furthermore, she is actively involved as a coach with the OpMaatorkest of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.
Rhea plays on a viola crafted by Noémie Viaud in 2023 (http://noemieviaud.com), lent by the Strings For Talent fund and the King Baudouin Foundation.
