Born in Amsterdam in 1994, Ella van Poucke is one of the leading cellists of her generation. Praised for her musical integrity, flawless instrumental abilities as well as her performing presence and intensity, she is the winner of the prestigious Premio Chigiana 2017, the first prize winner of the International Isang Yun cello competition 2015, Grachtenfestival Prize, the Leopoldinum Award 2015, Prix Nicolas Firmenich 2013, Elisabeth Everts Award 2014, Prix Academie Maurice Ravel 2012, Dutch Musician of the Year 2012, first prize winner of the 2008 Princess Christina Competition and recipient of the special prize in “recognition of an outstanding performance” at the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann 2014.

Natalia Kotarba is a Polish violinist born in Krakow and currently based in Brussels. She is one of the founders of the Karski Quartet. Natalia holds a Master Cum Laude from the Academy of Music in Krakow, the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where she pursued her Artist Diploma under the guidance of Philippe Graffin. From 2019 to 2022, she continued her training as a string quartet artist-in-residence at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium, receiving the artist diploma and remaining as an associated artist.

As a Belgian violinist and violist, son of musical parents, Diede grew up in a house filled with music. He received his very first violin lessons from his father. Later, he studied with Eric Sluys and graduated with great distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels in the class of Philippe Graffin. He also took viola lessons from Tony Nys. After his studies, he served as an assistant to violin professor Naaman Sluchin at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels for two years.

Julia Kotarba, soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, has been acclaimed for her solo and chamber music activities. She is the founder and member of the Karski Quartet, which has rapidly gained recognition on the international music scene, and performs in many international venues.

Born in 2000, João Pedro Gonçalves started playing the cello at the age of 12 with Ana Cláudia Serrão as his mentor, in Lisbon, continuing later with Marco Pereira and Paulo Gaio Lima.

In recent years, he has had the opportunity to work with several professors, such as Daniel Muller-Schott, Gary Hoffman, Jakob Koranyi, Kyril Zlotnikov, Marc Coppey, Maria de Macedo and Alain Gervreau (baroque cello). He has also had the chance to work with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Lorenzo Viotti, Gustavo Dudamel and Giancarlo Guerrero.

Pierre Fontenelle, former cello-soloist of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Namurois of the Year 2020, is a young Belgian musician with an atypical career as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral musician in Belgium and abroad. 1st Prize of the 2022 Breughel Competition, he also won the Audience Prize and the Prize for Best Performance. At the Edmond Baert International Cello Competition 2019, he received the 1st Prize and the Feldbusch Prize, and was awarded the 2nd Prize “Van Hecke” at the Belgium Cello Society International Competition.

Florianne Remme (Zutphen, 2000) started playing the cello at the age of 8. At the age of 14 she was admitted to the Young Talent Department of the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Groningen. Shortly after she continued her studies with Lucia Swarts at the Young Talent School of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. She is currently studying with Jeroen Reuling at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels. Florianne received several prizes during competitions and summer courses, including prizes at the Prinses Christina Competition (First Prize Regional Finals, Second Prize National Finals 2016), the Peter de Grote Festival (Gasterra Award 2014) and Festival Verao Classico in Lisbon (Student award 2019). In 2019 she received a scholarship from the Herbert Duintjer Foundation.