Balder Dendievel - Oboe

Born into a musical family, BALDER DENDIEVEL (°2002), took his first steps on the violin when he was four years old. At the age of five he switched to the oboe. After studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp in the class of Luk Nielandt, Balder was admitted to the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin in October 2019, where he studies with prof. Dominik Wollenweber, solo English horn player with the Berliner Philharmoniker. He also studies historical oboe with Antje Thierbach. He appears as a soloist and orchestral and chamber musician, on both modern and historical oboes.

Pictures by Damien Lovegrove

Balder has been invited by the orchestra of La Monnaie, Belgian National Orchestra, the orchestra of Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Elbipolis Barockorchester Hamburg, Aris & Aulis baroque orchestra, Concerto Brandenburg and others. As a soloist, he has performed concertos by Bach,

Marcello, Vivaldi, Mozart and Richard Strauss with, among others, Nuove Musiche and Frascati Chamber Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Balder plays in various combinations, with ensembles such as Terra Nova Collective, I SOLISTI and in his own productions. He recorded for CDs by Vocal Ensemble Reflection, I SOLISTI, Young Belgian Talent and Terra Nova Collective. Recent and new classical music is also close to Balder's heart: he created several works and major 20th century pieces for oboe, such as Luciano Berio's Sequenza VII, are among his repertoire.

Balder was a finalist in the 'Young Belgian Talent' competition and in 2018 he won the first prize at the Honda Competition for Classical Music,' a competition between the Belgian conservatories. The final round was broadcasted live on Musiq3. At the International Anton Rubinstein Chamber Music Competition in Düsseldorf, Balder received the prize for best performance of a work by W.A. Mozart, together with Jappe Dendievel and Anne Fuhrmann as a woodwind trio. He received the "Golden Label Young Talent" from the magazine Klassiek Centraal.

Since September 2020, Balder holds the title of NextGeneration Artist at the I SOLISTI ACADEMY. Within this program, I SOLISTI Belgian wind ensemble Antwerp offers young artists every opportunity to further develop themselves musically and artistically. He gets the possibility to develop his own projects and share the stage with the ensemble. As an artist who likes to look beyond his own discipline, Balder created in June 2022, under the wings of I SOLISTI, the performance Metamorfosen, with (new) music, narrator and live sand art.

De Klank van het Vleeshuis.

w/ Balder Dendievel

Joseph Ryelandt (1870-1965) - Oboe Sonatina, Op 28 Allegretto
Terra Nova Collective
Balder Dendievel, Oboe
Jeroen Billiet, Horn
Pieter-Jan Verhoyen, Piano
Ludo Ide, Cello
Lisa Shklyaver, Clarinet

More on Balder Dendievel’s Youtube-channel.

Sevak Avanesyan - Cellist

"Sevak Avanesyan's technical skills - including his cello sound, his rhythmic control, his perfect intonation, his natural sense of tempi - are obvious to anyone who hears him play, but he impressed me above all by his deep musicality and by his constant willingness to search and find the real meaning of the music behind the notes." - Andrey Boreyko, Music Director of Artis - Naples

Sevak Avanesyan is described as "a musician of extraordinary virtuosity and a remarkable range of sound capacities" (Bernard Greenhouse) and "undoubtedly, one of the most gifted musicians of his generation” (Janos Starker).

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Born in Armenia in 1989 into a musical family, Sevak began studying cello at the age of five with the well-known Armenian cellist Medea Abrahamyan, a pupil of the legendary Mstislav Rostropovitsch. He continued studying at the Tchaikovsky Specialised Secondary and Music School in Yerevan until 2003. That year his whole family moved to Brussels (Belgium) where he joined the class of Ms Viviane Spanoghe at the Royal Conservatory. He graduated with the highest distinction in 2010 and was admitted to the class of the well-known cellist Claudio Bohorquez at the "Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler" in Berlin.

Photo : Evgeny Evtyukhov

In addition to his regular studies, Sevak Avanesyan has received valuable advice from world-renowned artists such as Janos Starker, Bernard Greenhouse, Steven Isserlis, Mischa Maisky, Maria Kliegel, Lluis Claret, Peter Bruns, Garry Hoffman, Wolfgang Boettcher, Igor Oistrakh, Artemis Quartet, Gerhard Schulz and many others.

Since his youngest age, Sevak has travelled the world as a member of the "Young Virtuosos" of AMAA (Armenian Missionary Association of America). He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in venues such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Ford Hall in Toronto, Sidney Opera House, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Recent concert seasons have brought him to such festivals as the Festival de Radio France Montpellier, the Festival of Menton and the Brahms Festival (Brussels).

Sevak is a laureate of many international competitions, including the “Concours International de Violon, Alto et Violoncelle de Gérardmer-Kichompré” (France), the European Competition for Young Soloists in Luxembourg (first prize), the "Lions Club" European competition (first prize), and the "Golden Label" prize of the Belgian Music Press Association, and winner of the first prize of the promotion "Belgische Stichting Roeping" (Belgian Foundation Vocation) and many more.

Sevak has worked with highly respected conductors such as Hans Graf, Hugh Wolff, Andrey Boreyko and George Pehlivanian. As an avid chamber musician, Sevak Avanesyan also performed with many well-known musicians such as Augustin Dumay, Philippe Graffin, Pascal Devoyon, Pavel Gililov, Maxime Vengerov, Alexei Moshkov, and musicians of the younger generation: Aleksandr Khramouchin, Lily Maisky, Julien Libeer, Alissa Margulis, his brother Hrachya Avanesyan and many others.

Since March 2013, Sevak has been solo cellist of the National Orchestra of Belgium for 4 years.

At the end of 2016, the documentary "Rhythm & Intervals" by Comes Chahbazian premiered. This documentary is about the life of Sevak Avanesyan in Berlin in the period 2011-2013. The documentary has already won awards at various festivals and was broadcast on ARTR TV.

Sevak plays on the very first Mateo Goffriller cello from 1689, made available by Mischa Maisky.

Alon Sariel - mandolinist, lutenist, conductor

Philharmonic hall, not jazz podium; Mozart festival not cult TV rock programme – back then, Alon had not foreseen how things would develop: back then, in 1994, when his music teacher told the eight-year-old that the mandolin and the electric guitar were “basically the same thing”. This was a momentous deception that was to deliver to the world of music one of the most versatile mandolin players, lutenists and ensemble directors of the present day. In his concert programmes, Alon uses the lute, Baroque guitar, oud and other plucked instruments to give his audiences the most diverse musical experiences. The mandolin, which has survived the centuries and found its place in the most varied of music styles and cultures, occupies a very special place in his heart.

 His many acclaimed recordings of Renaissance and Baroque works – his album “Telemandolin” was recognised in 2018 with an OPUS Klassik award – have firmly established him in the public eye as a specialist for early music. His work with international soloists and ensembles such as Emma Kirkby, Andreas Scholl, Lautten Compagney, Norway’s Barokksolistene, PRISMA, Concerto Foscari and many others attests to his reputation. That said, Alon’s guiding principle is a changing perspective. In other words: giving new life to existing material, as well as creating completely new works.

© Juliana Farinha

That is why Alon, as soloist and conductor, frequently brings contemporary compositions both to the stage and into the studio. He conducted the Munich Chamber Orchester in Markus Stockhausen’s “Symbiosis”, premiered as soloist with the Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin Gilad Hochman’s “Nedudim”, and commissioned two new works for mandolin from Uri Caine for the Beethoven anniversary year in 2020. Together with the recorder player Tabea Debus, Alon has launched his project “Sounds Familiar” featuring works by the Bach, Biber and Weiss families. Following the release of the album, the two musicians will tour the USA in 2022. For 2023, when the mandolin is named Instrument of the Year, Alon is planning new collaborations and the commission of new works.

Looking beyond the scope of a professional musician, Alon is an active member of Rhapsody in School, introducing classical music to schoolchildren of all ages. Furthermore, he supported the Live Music Now Foundation and has played in Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Animal protection is also an important issue for Alon; he has been an ambassador for the Pro Animale charity since 2021.

Current projects:

Plucked Bach (solo)
Sounds Familiar (duo)
Iberian Fantasy (duo)
Metamorfosi (chamber)
Bohemian Serenade (chamber)
La Speranza (orchestral) 



Header photo Alon Sariel © Gregor Hohenberg

Henry Kramer - Piano

The winner of the Second Prize at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition and the 2015 William Petschek Recital Debut Award from The Juilliard School, pianist Henry Kramer is establishing himself as one of the most exciting American musicians of his generation. His performances have been praised by critics as “triumphant” and “thrilling” (The New York Times), and “technically effortless” (La Presse, Montreal). A Maine native, Mr. Kramer has also earned top prizes in the 2015 Honens International Piano Competition, the 2011 Montreal International Music Competition, and the 6th China Shanghai International Piano Competition. He was a laureate of the 2017 American Pianist Association Awards, prizewinner in the 8th National Chopin Competition in Miami, and received the 2014 Harvard Musical Association Arthur Foote Award. He is a winner of Astral’s 2014 National Auditions.

Henry has been invited to play with orchestras across the globe including the National Belgian Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Shanghai Philharmonic, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra in Ankara, Turkey, the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Montreal, and the Yale Philharmonia.  He has soloed under the batons of preeminent conductors Marin Alsop, Jan Pascal Tortelier, and Stéphane Dénève. In recent seasons, Mr. Kramer was featured in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the National Orchestra of Belgium and Hans Graf, in Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in the Dominican Republic, Ravel's Concerto in G with Gerard Schwarz and the Indianapolis Symphony, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with Symphony in C. 

Mr. Kramer has been a guest performer in recitals at Portland Piano International (Oregon), The Cliburn Foundation, and the National Chopin Foundation in Miami and in important venues like Carnegie Hall (Zankel and Wiell), the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Queen Elizabeth Hall in Antwerp (Belgium) and BOZAR in Brussels.  Deeply committed to the chamber music repertoire, he has been featured in performances at Lincoln Center, and has participated in the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, Music@Menlo’s International Program, and the Verbier Festival Academy, where he was awarded the Tabor Prize in piano. He appeared on Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute tour, which included performances at Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and New York’s Morgan Library, as well as an unprecedented appearance in Havana, Cuba, as a cultural ambassador. This past summer, Mr. Kramer performed in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s Resonance Festival dedicated to the works of Schubert and also at the Salon Chamber Music Festival in Provence where he shared the stage with prominent members of the Berlin Philharmonic including Emmanuel Pahud and Daishin Kashimoto.

Mr. Kramer holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School and an Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music where he received the Charles S. Miller Prize for the most outstanding first-year pianist. He is currently finishing his doctorate degree at the Yale School of Music.  He has been the visiting artist in piano at Smith College and currently is Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Dance and Music. His musical mentors have included Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, and Boris Berman.   His first commercial recording dedicated to the Oratorio Transcriptions of Liszt was recently released on the NAXOS label.

Video fragments

Photo: Carlin Ma

Kurt Bertels - Saxophone

Enriching his performances with in-depth artistic research, Kurt Bertels (°1989) brings the Belgian repertoire for saxophone into the limelight.  As a soloist and chamber music performer this classical saxophonist was already invited to play concerts in Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Portugal, Great-Britain and Norway.

He is a member of the Kugoni Trio and the Anemos Saxophone Quartet and he works with pianist Bert Koch. As an artistic researcher Kurt Bertels is is currently preparing a doctorate in arts at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (Flemish part). His research focuses on the concept of historically informed performance practice in the field of the early saxophone. More practically, he aims to study the cultural-historical context and the historical performance practice of the Brussels saxophone class between 1867 and 1903. He has given lectures in Belgium (Free University Brussels, Université de Liège) and in Portugal (2nd European saxophone Congress (Porto), 5th International conference on musical research (Evora).

As a soloist, Kurt Bertels obtained prizes at national and international competitions such as the Dexia Classics (2007), the International World Music Concours (2008), the Princess Christina Concours (2009), Forte Limburg (2009) and New Tenuto (2012). The Anemos Saxophone Quartet won the first prize at the International Chamber Music Competition (LU) as well as at the 8th National Adolphe Sax Competition (BE). With the Kugoni Trio he became a laureate of Supernova (2013) and was the first prize winner at the Forte-competition (2015). 

Kurt Bertels was awarded with the Medal of the Union of the Belgian Composers for his interpretation of the second saxophone concerto by the Belgian composer Paul Gilson. In addition, he was a guest soloist with the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides and the Orchestra of the Low Countries. In Belgium he performed in the Centre for Fine Arts Brussels, Flagey, Amuz, Concertgebouw Brugge and Kursaal Oostende. He participated in national and international music festivals as Klarafestival (BE), Festival Musiq3 (BE), Klara in de Singel (BE), Buma Classical (NL), Wonderfeel (NL), Is Arti (LT), Muziekfestival Middelburg (NL), Saxperience (RS), Festival van Vlaanderen (BE), B-Major (BE), Festival Consonances (FR), Orlando Festival (NL) en Norwegian Academy of Music (NO) and La Festa della Musica Roma (IT).

Kurt's discography includes the CD Mockingbird (2015) with music by Wilfried Westerlinck, the CD Fingerprints#2 (2016), released in collaboration with ComAV and Radio Klara and the CD Timelapse (2016), recorded with the Kugoni Trio. With the Anemos Saxophone Quartet he released Through Time (2013) and Klapzoen (2017). He made several recordings for the Belgian radios Musiq3 and Klara and for the Dutch Radio 4 and appeared on Belgian national television Canvas and Cultuur 7.

Kurt Bertels is a fervent defender of the Belgian both historical and contemporary saxophone music. He commissioned a large number of pieces and collaborated with composers as Filip Ceunen, Jan Hendrik Van Damme, Paul Steegmans, Jeroen D'Hoe, Benjamien Lycke, Erik Desimpelaere, Wilfried Westerlinck, Jan Van Landeghem, Kris De Baerdemacker, Hanne Deneire en Annelies Van Parys. 

In 2012, Kurt Bertels earned his Master’s Degree in music at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels (Flemish part) under the tutelage of saxophonist Norbert Nozy. He has followed masterclasses with  Jean-Marie Londeix (FR), Lars Mlekusch (AUS), Joseph Wytko (USA), Arno Bornkamp (NL), Jan Schulte-Bunert (DE), Naomi Sullivan (GB) en Vincent David (FR). 

Kurt Bertels is an endorsed artist of Légère Reeds (www.legere.com) and is a member of the Flemish
 

Keiko Shichijo - Piano & pianoforte

Pianist & fortepianist Keiko Shichijo is a special voice in both the Classical and new music worlds. Her traditional Japanese sensibilities have combined with her knowledge of European historical performance practices to shape her unique vision, and this is reflected in her feeling for the music, the instruments and the story behind them. 

©Michel Marang

Hailing from Japan and residing in the Netherlands for more than a decade, she is active around the world playing both solo and chamber music. She is a prizewinner in many international competitions, including twice the International Early Music Competition (solo and duo) in Brugge, Belgium, the International Early Music Competition "A Tre" in Trossingen in Germany and the Minkoff Prize from the music publisher, Edition Minkoff, and has performed in many international festivals such as the festivals Printemps Des Arts (France), Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival (Holland), MA Festival (Belgium), La Folle Journée Tokyo (Japan). In 2012, the Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments in Japan released her first fortepiano solo CD of works by Schubert.

Her second solo CD “6 Dances by Komitas Vardapet”, released in 2016, earned unanimous praise in the international press and was featured on the national Dutch TV program Vrije Geluiden.

Keiko Shichijo has a violin/fortepiano duo with renowned violinist Cecilia Bernardini which performs regularly throughout Europe.

As a specialist in contemporary music Keiko has worked with many composers, including Helmut Lachenmann, Tom Johnson, Johannes Kalitzke, Jürg Frey, Roscoe Mitchell en Bernhard Lang. Recently she premiered a concerto with the Janacek Philharmonic.

“..purity of sounds-breathtaking…”

“..Her sound filled the hall as one huge warm blanket…”

Since September 2017 she teaches piano and fortepiano at the Fontys Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Tilburg. She is appointed as one of the juries in International Competition Musica Antiqua pianoforte category in 2019.

Keiko Shichijo studied fortepiano with Stanley Hoogland and organ with Pieter van Dijk at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, and specialized contemporary music with Daan Vandewalle in Royal Conservatory of Ghent in Belgium.

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Keiko Shichijo
presented her
album
"W.A. Mozart Solo Keyboard Works"
in 2021!

More info

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Keiko Shichijo
presented her
album
"Beethoven 1802"
in 2019!

More info

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Chin-Cheng Lin - Marimba

"...Lin is considered a real phenomenon in the world of percussion instruments." - Romania Radio Music

"...full of great sensitivity, great positive personality in interpretation with rich harmony..."- Romania Radio Music

Nowadays, Mr. Lin is an endorser of Dutch instrument manufactory - Adams and the French Resta-Jay percussion signature mallet artist

Taiwanese marimbist, composer, pedagogue - Chin Cheng Lin is recognized worldwide for possessing a talent of uncommon ability and as an exceptionally gifted artist, reflected in the numerous awards and effusive reviews he has received for both his live performances and recordings, as a result of Lin’s succession in marimba, he received a “ European Soloist Champion Award” in 2007, “Culture Outstanding Award” by the Taipei Representative Office in Belgium and Europe for promoting the Taiwanese arts and invited to perform for the Belgian Royal Family. Frequently praised for his musical and technical mastery, Mr. Lin is also lauded for his imaginative and illuminating interpretations of the marimba repertoire.

@ Inge Nijs

Mr. Lin has performed more than 30 countries and received excellent reviews. He also has performed with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Romanian Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as prestige international percussion music festivals.

As a composer, Mr. Lin has written more then 50 works for marimba and it has been performed internationally. Lin’s music became standard repertoires in the international music competitions. Recently, he collaborates intensively with Taiwanese orchestras such as the Taipei Chinese Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Winds and Ju percussion Group. As a pedagogue, Mr. Lin developed and found the “Percussion Theater” department at the Leuven University College of Arts in Belgium which is the first university offering this unique study for the young generation. At the same time, he holds also the professorship at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp & Leuven University College of Arts, MUDA art high school in Gent and Bornem Municipal Academy for music, dance & theater.

 Through the past few years AULOS could be a privileged partner and witness to several milestones in the career of Mr. Lin: his performance for the Belgian Royal Family, the release of the CD Marimbaroque (six cello suites by Bach), the composing of several marimba concertos, his performance in Carnegie Hall NY in 2018, the start-up of the 1st Chin-Cheng Lin Percussion Academy in Taiyuan (China) and the presentation of his doctoral research project in 2019. By obtaining his doctorate, Chin-Cheng Lin becomes the 9th Doctor of Arts at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp (Belgium).

Chin Cheng Lin - 30 Years Preface of the Promotional Materials New International Tours & Projects Coming Soon!

Vitaly Pisarenko - Piano

NEW YORK TIMES - Vitaly Pisarenko is an "...Immensely gifted pianist...with prodigious technique, myriad shadings and scrupulous accuracy..."

After winning some of the most important international awards including the First Prize at the 8th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht and the Third Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition (2015), London-based Russian pianist Vitaly Pisarenko has been steadily gaining worldwide recognition.

Critically acclaimed as a pianist of unusually soft touch, prodigious technique and captivating expressiveness, Vitaly has performed in over 30 countries, including solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, Musikverein in Vienna, Bozar in Brussels, Moscow Philharmonic Recital Hall, National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai Concert Hall, Mozarteum in Salzburg, de Singel in Antwerp, Toyota Concert Hall in Japan, Hong Kong City Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris and Palace of Arts in Budapest.

He has also played with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Noord Nederlands Orchestra, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in Japan, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Het Gelders Orchestra, the YMSO and others performing at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Cadogan Hall in London, Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire,Tokyo Opera City, Seoul Arts Center, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Sala San Paulo in Brazil and De Doelen in Rotterdam among others.

The Association of Music Critics of Argentina recently presented Vitaly with the '2018 Revelation Award'.

Since January 2020 Vitaly teaches at the Purcell School of Music and in September 2021 he has been appointed as Assistant Professor at the Royal College of Music in London.

Concerti

W.A. Mozart               Concerto No.23 K. 488 in A Major
                                 Concerto No.27 K. 595 in B Flat Minor

L.V. Beethoven         Concerto No.2 in B Flat Major
                                 Concerto No.3 in C Minor
                                 Concerto No.4 in G Major

J. Haydn                   Concerto in D Major

F. Mendelssohn        Concerto No.1 in G Minor

F. Liszt                      Concerto No.1 in E Flat Major
                                 Concerto No.2 in A Major
                                 Totentanz
                                 Malédiction S121

C. Saint-Saëns          Concerto No. 2 in G Minor

J. Brahms                 Concerto No. 1 in D Minor

P. Tchaikovsky          Concerto No.1 in B Flat Minor

S. Rachmaninov       Concerto No.2 in C Minor
                                 Concerto No.3 in D minor
                                 Concerto No.4 in G Minor
                                 Paganini Rhapsody

S. Prokofiev              Concerto No.2 in G Minor

R. Strauss                 Burleske