Bios

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Beatriz Laborda Gonzalez

Beatriz was born in 1992, in Ponferrada (Spain). She began her studies at the age of 7 years with Maite Miralles in the Conservatory of Music “Cristobal Halffter”. She attended the Professional Degree with Jorge Gassent and Elena Real, combining her studies privately with Aldo Mata and Iagoba Fanlo. In 2010 she entered the Conservatory of Music of Vigo while she attends lessons with Barbara Switalska at the School of Music in Berenguela. In 2015, she finishes her bachelor studies in Vigo and is admitted to study Master in Music at the Royal Music Conservatory of Antwerp (Belgium) with Olsi Leka as principal teacher. She received masterclasses from cellists such as Jose Enrique Bouché, Miguel Jimenez, Iagoba Fanlo, Berthold Hamburger and Aldo Mata among others. In the symphonic arena, she has participated in groups such as Metropole Orkest Academy, Orquesta Vigo 430, Barbieri Symphony Orchestra, Youth Orchestra of Flanders, Arte Amanti Chamber Orchestra or
Young Orchestra of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (OJSG). Her deep interest and curiosity to increase her knowledge in different areas of music has led her to take courses of luthery and couching for musicians. In addition, she holds a diploma in Management and Organization of Musical Events from Miguel de Cervantes University.

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Eleni Tsiotsiou

Eleni Tsiotsiou was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. At the age of six she began her musical studies with the violin. At the Greek National Chamber Music Competition in 2005, she won the second place and in 2006 she participated in the Mozart Festival in Salzburg with the orchestra of the Music School of Thessaloniki. She began to study the viola at the Department of Music of the Ionian University and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in 2014. During the academic year 2011-2012, Eleni studied as an Erasmus student at the Trossingen Academy of Music in Germany with Prof. James Creitz. Since 2013 Eleni studies in the class of Prof. Leo De Neve at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where she is currently completing her Master’s degree. During the last three years she has played in projects by deOrkestacademie and in 2015 she made her practicum in the orchestra of the Opera of Flanders. She has followed masterclasses with Ara Malikian, Pedro Cortinas, George Demertzis, Russi Dragnev, Vassile Beluska, Hara Sira, Paul Silverthorne, Gerard Causse, Máté Szűcs, Jorge Alves en Guy Ben Ziony.

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 Sara Lorenzo

Sara Lorenzo was born in A Coruña (Spain) in 1994, and at the age of 7 she started the violin in the Conservatory of Music of Santiago de Compostela with Elena-López Felpeto and Roberto Santamarina. In June of 2016 she finished her Bachelor studies with Patricio Gutiérrez in the Superior Conservatory of Salamanca. She was active member of the Young Orchestra of the Galicia Symphony Orchestra (OJSG) from 2012-2015. She also collaborated with Galicia Symphony Orchestra (OSG). She participated with the Brussels Philarmonic Orchestra (BPO). She received master classes of several musicians like Abel Tomás, David Grimal, Tatiana Samouil, Alfredo Garcia, Friederike Saeijs and also chamber music master classes from Alejandro Bustamante, Dimitri van Halderen and Cuarteto Quiroga. Currently, she follows the Master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, Belgium by the professor Guido de Neve. 

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Mathijs Ignoul

Mathijs Ignoul was born in Maaseik, Belgium, on the 12th of November, 1990. He studied Latin and Sciences at a local high school in Maaseik and went on to earn a master’s degree in Ancient History at the Catholic University of Leuven.

At the age of nine, he began playing classical guitar with his uncle, Werner Vanderlinden. After taking private lessons with him for a few years he went to the local music school, where he studied guitar with Bart Timmermans and Music theory/Harmony with Veerle Cornelis. In the context of these harmony lessons, Mathijs started composing original works. Currently, he is studying at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. He studies guitar with Roland Broux and Jan Sanen. He briefly studied composition with Wim Henderickx (minor) and has taken master classes with a.o. Mark Eden (Eden Stell duo), Laura Young, Goran Krivokapic (GFA winner of 2004), Zoltan Katona (Katona Twins), Istvan Römer, Anders Miolin, Jeremy Jouve, Alberto Mesirca, … . Furthermore, he received the first prize in the national Belfius competition (in Belgium) in 2011. Mathijs has performed with the Limburgian Youth Orchestra and the orchestra of the Academy of Arts of Maaseik. In 2013 he played several performances in the USA by invitation of Guitar San Antonio.  Mathijs plays an Oren Myers guitar from 2013.

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Maria Markatatou

Maria Markatatou was born in Heraklion in Crete, Greece. Her family and her relatives had no connection with the music. However, from an early age, she felt attracted to music and the mandolin. In 2001 she enrolled in the music high school in Heraklion, Crete attending lessons of mandolin, tamboura and piano and in 2007 she graduated. After high school, she studied mathematics for the next six years at the department of Sciences of the University of Ioannina, Greece. At the same time, she enrolled in the conservatory of Filippos Nakas in Ioannina, Greece and she studied harmony (2007-2009) and counterpoint (2010- 2012). Moreover, she followed two years of private violin lessons. During her studies, she specialized in Greek traditional music and she made a lot of concerts in several cities of Greece. In 2013 she enrolled in the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp following bachelor in music and classical and baroque mandolin with the professor Gerda Abts. Till today she has attended master classes in mandolin by the professors   Marga Wilden Hüsgen, Daniel Ahlert, Ricardo Sandoval, Rada Krivenko, Natalia Marashova and Katsiaryna Zabairachnaya.  Maria gave recitals in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and in several cities in Greece. She performed a lot of different genres of music and she gave master classes over Greek music and mandolin at the music academy of Lier and Brasschaat, in Belgium.  
In 2018, she obtained her master’s degree in Music with distinction. The topic of her Master’s thesis was “The four traditions of mandolin music in Greece”. Under the supervision of Professor Yves Senden, during the last semester of 2018, she was researching further this topic as a guest researcher in cooperation with the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and awarded with a grand for a six-month starting project. Currently, she is teaching mandolin, guitar, and violin, as a volunteer, at the non-profit organisations: House of Music and Zing Zang Zong, in Antwerp, Belgium.

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Elina Markatatou

Elina was born in Heraklion of Crete in Greece. From a very young age, she was impressed with every kind of music as well as the trying to learn a musical instrument. Graduating from elementary school she was accepted at the High School of Music in Heraklion that after 7 years she graduated with high marks.  In 2007 as an Exact Science Direction student she successfully passed the required marks for attending in the University of Mathematics in Ioannina. Simultaneously, she enrolled in a private conservatory to follow theoretical music studies, studying harmony (2007-2009) and counterpoint (2010- 2012) studies at the Filippos Nakas conservatory of Ioannina. For six years, Markatatou specialized in Greek traditional music and performed at more than three hundred concerts in several cities of Greece.

Elina Markatatoustudied mandolin and baroque mandolin with Prof. Gerda Abts at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp where she got her artist degree with great distinction in 2016. During her studies in Belgium, she attended various master classes given by  Marga Wilden Hüsgen ,Daniel Ahlert ,  Ricardo Sandoval, Rada Krivenko …

Elina performed a lot of different genres of music, giving recitals in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine and in several cities in Greece.  She performed a lot of different kinds of music. She has the talent to work with the music and to be able to perform whatever kind of music that they asked her from the traditional Greek, Italian, to more classical pieces and all these because of she love to communicate with the music.  Music and studying, plays a central role in the artistic life of Elina Markatatou. Following master studies at the royal conservatoire of Antwerp, she gave master classes over Greek music and mandolin at the music academy of Lier and the music academy of Brasschaat. 

In June 2018, she finished her master studies at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, with a master’s thesis entitled “The four Traditions of mandolin music in Greece”. Under the supervision of Professor Yves Senden, during the last semester of 2018, she was researching further this topic as a guest researcher in cooperation with the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp and awarded with a grand for a six-month starting project. Currently, she is teaching mandolin and guitar in the House of Music in Antwerp, Belgium.

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Arsenis Gionis

Arsenis Gkionis grew up in Corfu, Greece. He studied singing with Prof. Rosa Poulimenou at the Department of Music of the Ionian University (Corfu) and he received his bachelor diploma with excellent marks in 2011. During the years of his studies he has sung many main roles in different productions. The academic year 2009-2010 Arsenis studied via the Erasmus Program in the Hochschule für Muziek in Freiburg-Germany with Prof. Angela Nick. Since 2014 follows the Master’s Degree Program with Prof. Stephanie Friede in the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp. During the years of his studies he has followed master classes of singing and melodrama with Andrea Reibenspies, Ettore Papadia, Carol Richardson Smith, Christoforo Stabogli, Abbie Furmansky, Catrin Wyn-Davis, Thomas Michael Allen en Roger Vignoles.