Elva Quartet
Denmark
Elva Quartet is a new, young string quartet consisting of Esther Marie Fog-Nielsen (violin), Marie Therese Nørby (violin), Ketil Vethal Kanneworff (viola), and Malte Brix Frandsen (cello).
They are based at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.
The quartet began playing together in the autumn of 2023 and has since received instruction from Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider. They are currently studying with Fredrik Sjølin.
Their repertoire includes great composers of the past such as Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Britten, and they have recently begun exploring more contemporary works by Bo Lundby-Jæger.
With their joy for music and unique sound, the Elva Quartet is well on its way into the Danish music scene.
Their unity and musical interplay offer audiences a vibrant and engaging concert experience.
Silja Clara Frej Møller
Denmark
Silja Clara Frej Møller (b. 2006) is a Danish cellist currently studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music with Toke Møldrup.
She began her musical education at the Suzuki Institute with Caroline Tarras-Wahlberg and later studied at Sankt Annæ MGK with Carl-Oscar Østerlind (2022–2024), as well as at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus with Prof. Henrik Brendstrup (2024/25).
Silja has been involved in several notable chamber music projects. She won the talent prize at the Jacob Gade Chamber Music Competition in 2023 and 2nd prize in 2025 with the OGAN TRIO. She is a member of DUEN (Danish National Youth Ensemble), has performed at the Odsherred Chamber Music Festival, and participated in the DSQ Academy. In spring 2025, she was a finalist in the soloist competition at RAMA.
Over the years, Silja has received lessons/masterclasses with cellists including Andreas Brantelid, Maria Kliegel, Fabio Presgrave, Erkki Lahesmaa, and Jakob Kullberg.
Jasmine Allpress
England
Jasmin Allpress is a modern and insightful musician. She has appeared at renowned festivals such as the Leeds International Chamber Festival, Festival dei Giovani musicisti europei di Mondovì, New Music North West and Lake Summer Music, and performed in venues including Wigmore Hall, Viennese Hall, Salzburg, the Bridgewater Hall and Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi, Italy.
She has been awarded the Patricia Cunliffe award for Keyboard Studies and first prize in the Fergal O’Mahony competition at the Royal Northern College of Music and as a member of the Larisa Piano Trio, holds the prestigious St James’s Prize, the Christopher Rowland Chamber Ensemble of the Year Award and the Weil Prize.
She grew up in Bath and at 16 continued her studies at Chetham’s School of Music. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester before completing a master’s at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she is now based.
Chimène Duquaire
France
Chimène Duquaire, born in 2001 in Nice, began playing the violin at the age of four at the Conservatoire de Lyon. She later studied with Masha Lankovsky and Alexandre Brussilovsky at the Conservatoire de Versailles, where she graduated with highest honors, and continued her training at the Rachmaninov Conservatory in Paris.
Since 2022, she has been studying at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne with Renaud Capuçon and François Sochard.
She has received guidance from renowned musicians like Radu Blidar, Pierre Amoyal, Virginie Robilliard, Svetlana Makarova, Aleksey Semenenko, and François Salque through masterclasses and academies in France and Europe.
Chimène performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player. She has appeared with the Orchestre Français des Jeunes under conductors such as Michael Schønwandt, and was recently invited as concertmaster with the Orchestre de Chambre de la Drôme and the Orchestre du Printemps, in France.
She also studies chamber music with Vincent Coq and performs in various ensembles, including sonata, piano trio, and string quartet formations. Chimène also performs regularly in chamber music in various Parisian salons
Giulia Dainese
Italy
Giulia Dainese, was born in 2002 in Bolzano, Italy and grew up in a family of musicians. She began her violin studies at the age of eight with Prof. Lilly Osann and later continued with Prof. Isabella Cavagna at the “Conservatorio C. Monteverdi” in Bolzano. At sixteen, she moved to the UK for two years to study with Prof. Jan Repko at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester. Later, she returned to Bolzano to pursue a Bachelor’s degree with Prof. Marco Bronzi, graduating with distinction.
Since September 2023, she has been playing with the “Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino”. In September 2024, she played with the Gustav Mahler Academy under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Giulia is currently continuing her studies with Prof. Sergio Lamberto at the Conservatorio G. Verdi in Turin.
Dina Elena Draugsvoll
Denmark
Dina Elena Draugsvoll is 24 years old. She is half Danish and half Norwegian, lives in Copenhagen, and has played the piano since the age of 3. Since 2021, she has been studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Professor Marianna Shirinyan.
Over the years, Dina has won scholarships and prizes both in Denmark and abroad, including the PIANO Music Association’s Talent Award, a Gold Medal at the Berlingske Classical Music Competition, first prizes in all age categories at the Danish/Nordic Steinway Festival, first prize at “Pianists in the North,” and the Malmö Yamaha Competition, among others.
She has performed as a soloist with the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra in Schumann’s Piano Concerto, and as a soloist with Marianna Shirinyan at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. She also played Grieg for Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark at the opening of the Stevns Klint Experience. Dina has participated in several international masterclasses, including the Järna Festival Academy and the ISA Festival Academy, and she enjoys performing as a chamber musician. Dina has performed as a soloist at venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Stevns Klint Experience, Kaunas Philharmonic Hall, Tivoli Concert Hall, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Musikhuset Aarhus, Nordic Chamber Music Festival, Helleruplund Church, and many others.
Marie Tofte-Hansen
Denmark
Marie Tofte-Hansen is a 20-year-old Danish violinist currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus under professors Mo Yi and Nicolas Sublet. She began playing the violin at age five and later studied at MGK Fyn while completing high school.
Marie is an active chamber and orchestral musician, collaborating with ensembles such as DUEN, Randers Chamber Orchestra and Aarhus and Aalborg Symphony Orchestras. She is also passionate about baroque music and has performed with Ensemble 1585. She is a first prize winner of the Syddansk Talent competition and of the Berlingske Classical Music Competition and has participated in masterclasses with Alexandre Zapolski, Arne Balk-Møller, Nora Chastain, Anna Kandinskaya and the Danish String Quartet.
Flavia Elise Beck
Germany
Flavia Elise Beck was born in Tübingen in 2002. She began taking piano lessons at the age of four and started playing the violin when she was six years old. She initially studied for two years with violinist Linus Roth at the Leopold-Mozart-College in Augsburg and continued her studies with Prof. Boris Kucharsky at the Trossingen University of music since 2024.
Flavia has received further musical inspiration from violinist Prof. Ingolf Turban, Cynthia Roberts and Stefan Knote a member of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. She gained orchestral experiences with the Quarta Philharmonie, the Augsburg Orchestra Academy, Camerata Trossingen and the University Orchestra Trossingen.
Birk Landaas
Norway
Birk Landaas (b. 2002) is a Norwegian violinist from Oslo. He has performed at renowned music festivals, including the Verbier Festival (VFJO) and the Moritzburg Festival (Academy). In 2019, Birk was concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Young, leading performances at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Flagey Hall in Brussels. In 2022, he joined the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester for a extensive 10-week project with concerts across Europe.
He is a recognized substitute violinist in major Norwegian orchestras, including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also participated in masterclasses with esteemed musicians such as Boris Garlitsky, Heime Müller and Philippe Graffin. Birk is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music Performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music, studying with Professor Elise Båtnes.
Elena Küssner
Germany/Japan
Elena Küssner, Viola Born in 2001, she received her first violin lessons at the age of 3 with Abraham Jaffé, and later with Prof. Bernhard Hartog as a junior student at the UdK Berlin. Furthermore, she studied with Rollo Kovac in Paris, while regularly participating in masterclasses and festivals with Zakhar Bron, Janine Jansen, and Rainer Schmidt.
Elena has already successfully participated and won several first prizes national and international competitions, such as the “Jugend musiziert” in Germany, the “Clés d’Or” in Paris, (2014) the “Stockholm International Music Competition” in Sweden (2013), and the “Violin of the North” in Russia (2014). At the age of 10 she had her debut as soloist under the baton of Yuri Bashmet at an open-air concert in Vienna. In the following years she had various solo appearances at the Philharmonie Berlin, concert tours to Japan, as well as concerts in France, Sweden, Italy, and Germany.
After completing her studies in Biomedicine at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and working in cancer research, she switched to the viola in 2022. Since 2023, she regularly plays substitute in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Karajan Academy. In 2024, she has been invited to participate in the Carl Flesch Academy, the Weimar Masterclasses, and the Villars Music Academy, appearing as a soloist with the Philharmonie Baden Baden and the Jenaer Philharmonikern. Since autumn 2024, she studies at the Hanns Eisler School of Music with Diyang Mei. She is an artist of the Musikakademie Liechtenstein 2025.
Marvin Stark
Germany
Born in 1999 in Halle (Saale), Marvin Stark started playing the violin at the age of 5 and switched to viola in 2012. From 2014 he studied at the Hochschule für Musik Weimar, including at the Musikgymnasium Schloss Belvedere. Since 2019, he has studied viola with Professor Pauline Sachse in Lübeck/Leipzig and is currently completing his bachelor’s degree. He has also completed ERASMUS stays in Salzburg with Veronika Hagen and in Geneva with Máté Szücs, and has received inspiration from a number of renowned professors.
A prizewinner at numerous national and international competitions, Stark has performed as a soloist with orchestras since age 13 across all inhabited continents in prestigious halls like the Berlin/Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Wigmore Hall and Kennedy Center.
Since September 2023 he focuses on chamber music with the Vienna-based Javus Quartett. Influenced by Lukas Hagen, they study with Johannes Meissl (Vienna) and Gregor Siegl (Berlin). Their international activity includes acclaimed halls and festivals. Awarded the Jürgen-Ponto Stiftung music prize (2024), they are nominated as ECHO Rising Stars by Konzerthaus/Musikverein Vienna and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg for the 2026/27 season.
Stark is also a member of the LGT Young Soloists and performs on a valuable Voller Brothers viola (c. 1900), on loan from a Viennese patron.
Melissa Dahmen
Singapore/Germany
German-Singaporean violist Melissa Dahmen (*2000 in Cologne) has been studying with Muriel Razavi at the Trossingen University of Music since 2024. Prior to that, she completed her degree in instrumental pedagogy at the Louis Spohr Music Academy of Kassel, where she studied under Karin Wolf and Peter Gries.
She has received further artistic impulses from Öykü Canpolat-Rast, Peijun Xu, Veit Hertenstein, Tianwa Yang and Volker Jacobsen, as well as from members of the Verdi Quartet, the Notos Quartet and the Signum Quartet. Her orchestral experience includes engagements with the German National Youth Orchestra, the Camerata Kassel, and the Camerata Trossingen. With these ensembles, she has appeared in renowned venues such as the Cologne and Berlin Philharmonics with artists such as Midori and Patrick Lange.
Melissa plays a viola built for her by Jürgen Manthey in Leipzig in 2024
Nathan Le Bouteillec Ögren
France/Sweden
Nathan Le Bouteillec Ögren is a French-Swedish cellist based in Paris. He started to learn music at 4 and playing the cello at the age of 6 with his teacher Claire Gourmanelle. At 9 he entered the municipal conservatory of Paris under the guidance of professor David Louwerse.
At 12 he joined the Paris Regional Conservatory in the class of Helene Dautry (also teacher at the Royal College of Music).
During this time, he obtained his diploma for musical studies. Nathan has also participated in numerous masterclasses across Europe such as the Voksenåsen summer academy in 2023, the Brescia Summer Talent Courses in 2024 and the Swedish “Stråklandslaget” (Swedish National String Team)
Nathan’s musical studies have brought him to play chamber music in many different venues around France but especially in Paris.
Alongside music, Nathan also studies economics at the Dauphine University in Paris.
Trio Lingo
Norway/Ukraine, Denmark and Italy
Trio Lingo is a young, international piano trio consisting of Lara (cello), Simen (piano), and Villads (violin), who met in 2023 at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where they all study. The trio is coached by Professor Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider and has participated in masterclasses with artists such as Andreas Brantelid, Levon Chilingirian, and Jens Elvekjær. Individually, the members have also received guidance from musicians like Leif Ove Andsnes and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.
In May 2025, Trio Lingo won 3rd prize in the Rued Langgaard Competition with their own arrangements of Langgaard’s orchestral and piano music. They often perform without sheet music to achieve a deeper musical connection and provide the audience with a more intimate concert experience.
The trio made their debut in January 2024 with a sold-out concert at the Copenhagen Concert Hall. Later that year, they recorded works by Brahms and Shostakovich in the Conservatory’s concert hall together with Grammy-nominated sound engineer David Bowles. In November 2024, they opened the TIDLØS Festival in Roskilde with a nodaless performance of Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 and the world premiere of Antonio Daprile’s Asphyxia, composed especially for them.
With members from three different cultures and three native languages, music is their common language that unites them and shapes their unique expression.
Khai Jeat Tan
Malaysia
Khai Jeat Tan is a Malaysian violist currently studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Prof. Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic. Before continuing his studies in Germany, he received regular lessons from members of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has performed as a substitute violist with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and played with the NDR Jugendsinfonieorchester. In addition, he took part in the Asia Pacific Youth Symphony Festival and has performed in a range of chamber and orchestral settings.
Ärla Hillerud
Sweden
Ärla Hillerud is a Swedish cellist studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Prof. Martti Rousi. She previously trained at Musikskolan Lilla Akademien in Stockholm with Elisabeth Lysell Bjermkvist. Masterclasses with artists such as Julian Arp, Andreas Brantelid and Jakob Koranyi, shaped her development.
Ärla has performed at festivals including Kraków Cello Spring, Båstad Chamber Music Festival, and O/Modernt. She is a recipient of several awards, including scholarships from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, the Cedergren Foundation, and the Sibelius Academy String Instrument Committee.
A dedicated chamber musician, she is passionate about exploring both classical repertoire and contemporary expressions.
