Jacob Van Durme (b. 2003) began his higher education at the School of Arts in Ghent at age 16. Since 2020-2021, he has been studying in the class of Jeroen Reuling at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, where he is currently pursuing his undergraduate studies.
In recent years, Jacob refined his talent during master classes with internationally renowned cellists such as Gary Hoffman, Sol Gabetta, Alexandr Khramouchin, Raphaël Pidoux and David Waterman. He made his debut at De Singel, Bozar and De Bijloke with **Trio Malatya**, a clarinet trio he founded with Taha and Yassine Posman. The trio reached the finals of the Big Little Music Competition at De Bijloke and later won both the 1st prize and the audience award at the prestigious Supernova Competition. To crown their success, Trio Malatya was named artist in residence at the SWUK Foundation. Jacob performs regularly with the trio and in duo settings in Belgium and surrounding countries, reaching a wide audience.
In the fall of 2023, following an intensive collaboration with composer Helmut Lachenmann, Jacob and his ensemble performed his iconic work *Allegro Sostenuto*. He has also gained valuable orchestral experience with, among others, the Youth Orchestra of the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.
Jacob is currently playing on a cello crafted by Anton Somers (2023), an instrument on loan from Strings For Talent, a fund under the patronage of the King Baudouin Foundation.