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Yo Kitamura was born in Japan in 2004. He studies with Jens Peter Maintz at the Berlin University of the Arts and with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at Toho Gakuen College of Music, where he is a scholarship student. In 2024, he won the 1st prize at both the George Enescu International Competition and the Pablo Casals International Award. He also won first prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition, second prize at the 2022 Khachaturian International Competition, and was unanimously awarded first prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2017. He made his orchestral debut at age nine, recital debut at ten, and appeared as a soloist at Suntory Hall at eleven. Yo has participated three times at the Kronberg Academy, including as a scholarship recipient in 2022. He has also taken masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Wolfgang Boettcher, David Geringas, Philippe Muller, Mischa Maisky, and Steven Isserlis.
Jinseok Jeong was born in Budapest to a Korean family and began playing the cello at the age of five. At 11 he was admitted to the young talents program of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied under Prof. György Déri and Prof. István Varga. During these years years, he won prizes at several international competitions, including Antonio Janigro, David Popper, and Jan Vychtil competitions. Since 2023, Jinseok has been studying with Prof. Kian Soltani at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Jinseok has participated in masterclasses with artists including Miklós Perényi, Frans Helmerson, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt.
Italo-Portuguese cellist Luis Dias Canali was raised in Gran Canaria. He began playing the cello at the age of four with Alba Page in Las Palmas. He later studied at the Feuermann Konservatorium in Kronberg and has been a student of Henri Demarquette at the École Normale de Musique de Paris since 2021. Luis has performed across Europe, with appearances in Greece, Denmark, France, Portugal, and Germany, including solo performances with the Orquesta IBF, Sorbisches-National-Ensemble, and Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. He participated in the 2024 Kronberg Cello Masterclasses and studies with Frans Helmerson at the Stauffer Academy for the 2024/25 season. Luis is a laureate of the 2024 Pablo Casals International Award (2nd Prize ex-aequo and AENA Special Prize) and winner of seven first prizes at competitions including International Bach Festival, Stars-at-Tenerife, and Vatelot-Rampal. He plays a cello by Thomas Bertrand.
Maxim Calver first gained public recognition as a finalist in the BBC Young Musician 2018 competition, where he performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has performed as a soloist with orchestras across the UK and Europe and appeared in leading venues including Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie amongst others. As a chamber musician, he has appeared festivals including the Pau Casals Festival, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, IMS Prussia Cove and the Kronberg Academy ‘Chamber Music Connects the World’ Festival where he collaborated with Lawrence Power, Ante Weithaas and Gidon Kremer. Maxim recently completed his studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Melissa Phelps and from September he will be an Artist in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel studying with Gary Hoffman.
Pauline Boudon began playing the cello at the age of three in Lyon. She completed her bachelor’s degree at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Jérôme Pernoo and is now pursuing a master’s with Marc Coppey. A dedicated chamber musician, she is a member of the Citadelles Quartet and is also completing a master’s in piano trio performance. Pauline performs regularly with the Opéra de Paris and has appeared at numerous festivals, collaborating with musicians including Ulf Wallin, Peter Bruns, Anne Gastinel, François Salque, and the Arod Quartet. She has taken part in masterclasses with Valentin Erben, Corina Belcea, Frans Helmerson, and others. She plays a Benjamin Banks cello dated 1786, generously loaned by Cordes en Partage.
Seungyeon Baik is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Berlin University of the Arts (UDK), studying with Jens Peter Maintz. She won first prize at the 2019 David Popper International Cello Competition, second prize at the Vienna Classic Strings, and third prize at the Ars Classica Competition. In 2024, she was named a Villa Musica Scholar and took part in the NDR Elbphilharmonie Academy. Seungyeon has performed at the Kronberg, Rutesheim, and Kirishima Festivals, and has appeared as soloist with the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra and KBS Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in masterclasses with Miklós Perényi, Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, and Laurence Lesser.
Born in Spain in 2005, Luis Aracama has studied at the Reina Sofía School of Music with Ivan Monighetti since 2018. He received the Diploma for Most Outstanding Student from Her Majesty Queen Sofía for the 2021/22 academic year. He is a scholar of the Liechtenstein Music Academy and in 2024 was selected to take part in the Kronberg Academy masterclasses with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Luis has received masterclasses from Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Márta Gulyás, Gautier Capuçon, Torleif Thedéen, Alban Gerhardt, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrández, Miklós Perényi, and Jan Vogler. He has won First Prize at the Dotzauer International Competition (with special prize for best contemporary performance), the Dobato Benavente Competition, and the Janigro Competition in Croatia (plus Soloists of Zagreb prize), and Second Prize at the Popper International Competition.
Rang Tae began studying the viola at age 12 and entered Yewon Music School (Seoul, South Korea) shortly thereafter. At 14, she gave her debut performance alongside Richard Yongjae O’Neill at the Seoul Arts Center. She has since performed solo recitals at Union City Museum, The House Concert, and Kukje Art Hall. Rang continued her musical education at Seoul Arts High School, where she focused on both solo and chamber music. Since 2021, she has studied with Professor Ensik Choi at Seoul National University. She is the first prize winner of the 2022 Dong-A Music Competition, one of Korea’s most prestigious music competitions, following earlier successes at the World Ilbo, Music Journal, and Hudson International Competitions.
Seoyeon Ryu studies viola at the College of Music, Seoul National University. She was awarded first prize and the audience prize at the 6th Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition and won first prize at the 2022 Johansen International Competition in Washington, D.C. As part of the Johansen laureates’ programme, she was invited to participate in Morningside Music Bridge in the United States. Seoyeon made her recital debut at age 16 through the 2019 Kumho Prodigy Recital Series in Korea and continues to develop her solo and chamber music performance through international competitions and festivals.
Gatien Leray is currently pursuing the Diplôme d’Artiste Interprète at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. At 17, he entered the Haute École de Musique de Genève, studying with Miguel da Silva, and in 2022 joined the International Menuhin Music Academy, where he works with Gérard Caussé and Ivan Vukčević. He completed a master’s degree in 2024, earning the Albert Lullin Special Prize. Passionate about both solo and chamber repertoire, Gatien has taken part in academies and masterclasses with Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power, Nobuko Imai, and Jean Sulem, and has worked in chamber settings with Gábor Takács-Nagy, Valentin Erben, and Bruno Giuranna. He has performed at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Rencontres Internationales d’Évian, and Festival Pablo Casals, appearing alongside artists such as Renaud Capuçon, Clemens Hagen, and Daishin Kashimoto. He was a semi-finalist at the Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition.