Artists 2025

Cellist Rainer Crosett is quickly building an international career as an artist of uncommon sensitivity and creativity. From his Wigmore Hall recital debut in 2019 as the first American cellist ever to win the Pierre Fournier Award, to his Spring 2023 concerto debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, he regularly appears as a soloist and chamber musician on many of the most renowned stages throughout Europe and North America.Rainer was the recipient of the Silver Medal at the 2017 Ima Hogg Competitionresulting in a concerto debut with the Houston Symphony. As a chamber musician, Rainer has performed at festivals such as Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn, the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival and Prussia Cove. 

Violinist Shannon Lee has been praised for her “remarkable fire, impeccable intonation, and big, vibrant tone” (Gramophone). She has won prizes in several international competitions such as the Sendai, Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg and Indianapolis, and has recorded albums for Telarc, Fontec and Azica Records. Shannon's mentors and major influences included Jan Mark Sloman, David Nadien, Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt and Vera Beths. She studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute and Conservatorium van Amsterdam after receiving her bachelor's degree in computer science from Columbia University.

As a soloist she has appeared with orchestra in a large range of concertos including Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, Shostakovich, Haydn, Brahms and Lalo collaborating with orchestra’s like the Württembergische Philharmonie and the Noord Nederlands Orchestra.

Anastasia has been awarded prizes in various competitions from a very early age. Recently she has been awarded the second prize and a prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work on the National Cello Biennale competition 2016 in Amsterdam.

She plays a cello by Rombouts (1710), which has been given to her on loan.

The Dutch pianist Vera Kooper is described as a sensitive and expressive musician, with an impressive technique and passionate dedication.
In 2013, Vera co-founded the Delta Piano Trio. The trio has won numerous prizes, including the "Anton Kersjes Prize" in 2020, and performs frequently in Europe, Russia, China, Korea, Indonesia and the US. In 2020, Vera released her first solo CD, Hope, with works by Ludwig van Beethoven and John Corigliano. In addition, she made an extensive tour of the Netherlands in 2020 and 2021 with Floris Kortie and the performance The year 250 after Beethoven, a theater production about the life and piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven.

British violinist Laura Rickard is a highly sought-after chamber musician and soloist, festival director, and passionate teacher. In demand as a concerto soloist, she regularly appears with orchestras across the UK, with recent performances at Royal Festival Hall and the Purcell Room. She has been featured on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and NBC, and was also recently elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in recognition of her remarkable contributions to the field.

Laura is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Romsey Chamber Music Festival which has been praised as "remarkable" - Seen and Heard International and "a little gem" - Classical Source. 

Laura studied at St John's College, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music. Upon graduation she was appointed  as the Meaker Fellow and now teaches at the Academy and King's College, London.

Emma Roijackers is an active chamber musician, soloist and concertmaster. She studied with Lex Korff de Gidts and Ilya Grubert in Amsterdam. She has been invited to play at several international chamber music festivals including the Utrecht International Chamber Music Festival and the Festival Internacional De Música De Marvão (Portugal). Emma received second prize, the audience prize and the prize for the best performance of the modern work at the 2022 OskarBack competition. She also won the 1st prize at the Luigi Zanuccoli competition in Italy and the 3rd prize at the international Emmanuel Durlet competition in Belgium. Emma has been nominated for the Grachten Festival Prize this year. Emma plays on a violin by Giovanni Grancino (1700-1705, Milan), donated by an anonymous benefactor.

Mees Vos, born in 1994 in Amsterdam, is a leading horn player in the Netherlands. Since 2020 he has been a solo horn player at Phion and a principal horn teacher at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. As a soloist and chamber musician, Mees likes to show how versatile his instrument can be. He is a welcome guest at festivals such as the Delft Chamber Music Festival, Stift Festival and regularly performs with his own Trio Reynaerde, with violinist Emma Roijackers and pianist/organist Laurens De Man. He also performs with ensembles such as camerata RCO, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, Asko|Schönberg ensemble and Pynarello. In 2023 he played as a soloist with his own orchestra, Phion. He also regularly takes on the role of soloist with various amateur orchestras throughout the country.

Laurens de Man was the first organist to win the Dutch Music Prize this year. Laurens has won several prizes as a pianist and organist, at competitions in The Hague, Würzburg, Groningen and Freiberg, among others, where he became “ECHO Young Organist of the Year 2020”. His double CD debut as an organist will be released on Globe Records in September 2024: a recital on the Leuven Contius organ and a program with Wagner transcriptions. Since 2012, Laurens has been the main organist of the Janskerk in Utrecht; In the 2022-2023 season he was "Organist in Residence" of the Contius organ in Leuven. He is affiliated with the Conservatory of Amsterdam as a secondary teacher of classical piano for jazz pianists, and he is affiliated with the Utrecht Conservatory as an organ teacher. www.laurensdeman.com

Dutch violist Hannah Strijbos enjoys a versatile career performing as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral player.

A passionate chamber musician, Hannah has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Verbier Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, The Whittington Chamber Music Festival with artists such as Janine Jansen, Gary Hoffman, Philippe Graffin and Nobuko Imai. 
As a soloist, Hannah has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and she performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the London Mozart Players.
Hannah has been principal viola of the The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra (Residentie Orkest) since 2017.

Hannah did her undergraduate studies in Amsterdam with Marjolein Dispa and Nobuko Imai, during which she also studied in Paris for one year at the CNSM. She then moved to London to study with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she graduated with honours in 2014. In addition to her formal studies, Hannah has participated in master classes with Yuri Bashmet, Lawrence Power, Pinchas Zukerman and Ferenc Rados among others.

Described by the New York Times as “a musician of great technical prowess, intellectual curiosity and expressive depth”, cellist Leonard Elschenbroich has performed as a soloist with the world’s leading orchestras. He gave his Vienna Musikverein debut on a European Tour with the Staatskapelle Dresden, his US debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, his Asian debut at Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and appeared five times at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms.
A committed performer of contemporary music, Elschenbroich has commissioned several new works from composers including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Luca Lombardi, Arlene Sierra and Suzanne Farrin. He gave the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s first Cello Concerto – written for him – with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall, and Brian Elias’ first Cello Concerto at the BBC Proms.

Liselot Blomaard (Bergen, 1997) obtained her master's degree in June 2023 at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she was taught by Lilli Maijala and Frederik Boits. Chamber music is her great passion and she regularly performs in various types of formations. From an early age she has played in orchestras, several times as leader. She currently plays with various professional orchestras as a substitute, such as Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Pynarello, Aurora Chamber Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra, the Radio Philarmonic Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
She plays a viola by Falk Peters, built in 2022.

After completing her bachelor's degree in Spain with Ximo Clemente, she moved to Amsterdam and obtained her master's degree at the Conservatory of Amsterdam in the class of Olivier Thiery. As an academic she has played with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Gelders Orchestra. She then became part of the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra during the 2018/2019 season. For many years she was a full member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and of the National Youth Orchestra of Spain, where she played as section leader. She is currently associate principal with the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra in Amsterdam and is part of the Alma Mahler Kammerorchester ensemble.

Iris van Nuland (2002) is currently studying with Prof. Maria Milstein. Since 2023, her violin has been a 17th century Nicolò Amati, loaned by Ronald Hoogeveen, former concertmaster of the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and her bow is a German golden bow by Georg Walter Renz (Heinrich Knopf copy from 1930).
In 2023, Iris won the Violin Scholarship from Het Kersjes Fonds, one of the largest private music incentive funds in the Netherlands. In 2022, Iris won third prize and performance prize in the Oskar Back final of the Dutch Violin Competition, the competition for young violin talent. In 2020, Iris won the National Final of the prestigious Princess Christina Competition, the most important prize for young classical musicians. The jury spoke of "A lioness on the violin."

Zoey Dor started her cello lessons with Like and Yke Viersen. She has been studying with Karlien Bartels since 2021. In 2023, Zoey won first prize at the Britten Cello Competition. She played in the Spiegelzaal for Radio 4 and was a guest as ‘Jonge Held' at Podium Klassiek. She took lessons and masterclasses with Quirine Viersen, Florent Maigrot, Monique Bartels and Gregor Horsch. Zoey
regularly performs as a soloist and she also loves chamber music. Zoey is leader of the Netherlands Youth String Orchestra (NJSO) that recently won first prize at the international Summa Cum Laude Festival in Vienna.