Acclaimed as “a performer of exceptional authority and remarkable presence” (The Strad) and as “one of the great violinists of tomorrow” (Diapason), Yossif Ivanov has rapidly established himself on the international scene. At the age of 16, he won the First Grand Prize at the Montreal International Music Competition, then, two years later, the Second Prize (as well as the Audience Prize) at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Ana Hespanha (Lisbon, 1996) began studying the cello at the age of eleven in “Orquestra Geração”, a Portuguese project based on the “El Sistema” model.

She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra with Paulo Gaio Lima and a Master in Performance in Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel with Jeroen Reuling.

Wolfram Van Mechelen (1995, Leuven) began playing the violin at the age of six. In 2005, he was admitted to the conservatory of Avignon (FR), where he graduated with great distinction after five years of study. He then continued his musical studies at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten of the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven with Lei Wang as his violin teacher, earning his degree with the highest distinction. Wolfram later studied at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Professor Tatiana Samouil. In 2018, he received his master’s degree with great distinction.

Louis was born in Namur in 1994. He began studying the violin at the age of 5 at the Balthazar Florence Conservatory with Cécile Delvingt. Later, he joined the “Young Talents” section at IMEP (Institut supérieur de Musique et Pédagogie). There, he pursued his bachelor’s degree with Igor Tkatchouk and his master’s degree with Marc Danel. Concurrently, he studied law for a few years at the University of Namur.

Aleksandra Czarnocka is a polish cellist living currently in Brussels. Born in Warsaw, Poland, she began her cello studies at the age of nine. She graduated from The Grazyna and Kiejstut Bacewicz Academy of Music in Lodz, Poland in class of prof. Dominik Połoński and prof. Tomasz Daroch. In June 2022 she earned her Master’s Degree Cum Laude at Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels in prof. Viviane Spanoghe’s class. She was perfecting her cello playing under the watchful eye of recognized musicians such as prof. Michael Flaksman, prof. Jeroen Reuling, prof. Arto Noras, prof. Alexander Gebert, prof. Olsi Leka, prof. Matts Lidstrom, prof. Raphael Bell, prof. Cecylia Barczyk and others. She participated in chamber music masterclasses as well, learning from members of ensembles such as Quatuor Danel, Prazak Quartet, Kuss Quartet, Camerata Quartet and Oxalys Ensemble.

Hannelore De Vuyst (Wetteren, Belgium 1995) began her studies in 2012 at the School of Arts, Conservatory in Ghent under the guidance of instructor Alessandro Moccia. During her bachelor’s program, she participated in an Erasmus exchange in 2015 at the F. Liszt Academy in Budapest, where she received instruction from Katalin Kokas and Barnabás Kelemen. She then continued her journey and was admitted to the master’s program at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the class of Johannes Leertouwer. During this period, she also became a member of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. She earned her master’s degree in May 2019. Following her studies, Hannelore successfully auditioned and became an academist with the Sinfonieorchester Aachen. Additionally, she pursued a baroque violin training at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam under the guidance of instructor Antoinette Lohmann.

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.

Romée Verbeeck Ghoos (Leuven, 2000) started playing the violin at the age of 7. At the age of fourteen she was admitted to the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, department ‘School for Young Talents’. Shortly afterwards she studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek at the Sweelinck Academy of the Amsterdam Conservatory. After her studies she was accepted at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels under the guidance of violinist Yossif Ivanov. She also regularly takes lessons with Olivier Charlier, professor at the CNSM in Paris.

Alex Olmedo Duynslaeger was born in Barcelona in 2001.

He started playing the cello with his teacher Gaëtane Duynslaeger at the “Institut Escola Artístic Oriol Martorell” in Barcelona, and then continued his training with Lluís Claret at the Conservatorio Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona with a grant from the Ferrer-Salat Foundation. He is currently taking a Master’s degree at the CNSMD in Paris in the class of Jérôme Pernoo.

Filipe Raposo took his bachelor’s degree at the National Academy of Advanced Orchestral Studies, in Lisbon, with Aníbal Lima. More recently, he finished his master’s degree in Violin Performance at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Antwerpen. His mentors were Tatiana Samouil, Alexei Moshkov, Benjamin Braude and Alissa Margulis. Filipe is a member of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra (Violin I Tutti) since January 2022.

Jorge Giménez (Palma de Mallorca, 2001) began his cello studies at the age of four. From 2011 until 2019 he has been a student of Maria de Macedo in Madrid. He studied a bachelor’s degree in Violoncello Performance at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de las Islas Baleares, Spain, with Prof. Emmanuel Bleuse. He graduated in June 2019 and received the Extraordinary End of Degree Award.