Jeanne Chebret is a 21-year-old French musician based in Amsterdam. She has been playing percussion for 17 years and organ for 11 years, and is currently in her third year of a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Percussion at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In April 2025, she was a finalist in the International Marimba Festival Competition in Bamberg. She is also a member of the Kælis Duo, a percussion keyboard ensemble performing in the Netherlands and recording its first CD in March 2026.

André Neto is a Portuguese percussionist based in the Netherlands. A member of Resonair Duo, Moooi collective and percussionist with the Brabant Chamber Orchestra, his work bridges classical percussion, world music, and improvisation, with a strong interest in his own creations and interdisciplinary collaboration.”

Sung-En Chi is a master’s student at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.
In 2023, he received the Absolute First Prize in the Marimba Solo Category B at the 20th Italy Percussion Competition. In 2024, he was invited to perform at the Amsterdam Marimba Weekend as part of the “Tomorrow’s Stars” concert.

Tirso Ortiz Garrigós is a Valencian percussionist and second-year student at the Royal Conservatoire Den Haag. A prizewinner in international percussion competitions, he studies with Pepe Garcia and Niels Meliefste and has worked with leading artists such as Philippe Spiesser and Nuno Aroso. His activity includes orchestral, duo and solo performance.

Naizhi Zhang is an accomplished multi-instrumentist including percussion, piano, and violin. He is currently completing his Master of Music in Percussion Performance at the Conservatorium Maastricht in the Netherlands. Building upon his Bachelor’s degree of percussion and music theory from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, where he studied under the guidance of renowned percussionist Robert Van Sice, Naizhi brings a sophisticated understanding of both Western and Chinese musical traditions to his craft.
His debut album “Wooden Resonance: Three Centuries on Marimba” (2024) has garnered international recognition, receiving features in prominent music publications such as The Merker and The Record Geijutsu in 2025.

Jakov Shaldov was born on 23 July 2004 in Riga, Latvia. In 2024, he graduated from the Emīls Dārziņš Music School, where he consistently demonstrated strong talent and was invited to perform as a soloist with the school orchestra. He later was accepted to Codarts Rotterdam.
Jakov has won several prizes in national and international competitions, including the Latvian National Competition, the World Art Games in Madrid, and the Open Online International Music Competition. In 2023 he received a Certificate of Excellence from the Ministry of Culture of Latvia.
In Rotterdam, he has been invited to perform with several orchestras and ensembles, including the Residentie Orkest and the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine, and has performed two concerts with the marimba ensemble Mallet Collective.

“My name is Krisztián Brenner, a Percussionist from Hungary.
Ever since the age of 7 I have been playing on Percussion Instruments, and it followed me throughout my studies. During my years in Middle school and later High school, I dwelled more and more into the art of performing, and realised, this is what I want to move further with in my life. After graduating from highschool, I came to the Netherlands, where I currently study in the Prins Claus Conservatoire.
I am very passionate about playing in chamber music and performing with others as much as playing solo. It is a wonderful feeling to work with others and being able to share our music with the world”.

Pietro Paganini is a visionary musician performing on organ, harpsichord, and piano, and working at the intersection of historical keyboard repertoire and contemporary musical thought. His performances move fluidly between early and new music, approaching each work with the same attention to sound quality, structure, and narrative. 
His creative spirit and love for curated contrasts lead Pietro to produce eclectic programs juxtaposing medieval chansons and Schönberg, contributing to world premieres of new music (Stuttgart 2024), and being featured in modern festivals, such as Amsterdam Dance Event and ITGWO, next to main venues such as Carnegie Hall New York, Philarmonie Paris, and Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, collaborating with artists like Ton Koopman.
He studied in The Hague, Stuttgart, and Groningen; an album dedicated to Bach’s organ works, was recorded in the Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam, and has been released by Challenge Classics and received outstanding critic reviews. In the upcoming season, Pietro will play different concerts as organ soloist, will lead workshops about the interpretation of Bach’s cantatas, and will continue working on Afterparty, an innovative project bringing the complexity of contemporary music to the fashion catwalks. 

Joël Boone (2001) began studying the organ at a young age with Jan-Hans Mathlener in Yerseke. Since 2019,
he has been studying Organ at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, first with Jos van der Kooy and, from 2025 onwards, with Hayo Boerema. In 2024, he graduated cum laude from the bachelor’s programme with a recital in the Grote of St.-Bavokerk in Haarlem. He has attended masterclasses with, among others, Léon Berben, Daan Manneke and Michel Bouvard. In October 2022, Joël won the Improvisation Competition in Brielle. In addition to solo performances, he appears regularly with singers, ensembles and choirs, including with his regular duo partner, countertenor Erjan van der Velde. Joël is organist of the Duinzichtkerk in The Hague, and is one of the Academy Organists of Leiden University.

Madalena Massano is a young Portuguese coloratura soprano based in Amsterdam. She began singing in 2013 and studied with Manuel Brás da Costa and Rute Dutra. In 2022, Madalena won first prize at the National Singing Competition in Portugal and was part of the cast of Orlando, a theatre production in which she worked with Teatro Nacional 21. Later in 2022, Madalena moved to Amsterdam to study with Sasja Hunnego at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. During the second year of her bachelor’s, she organized a 10-day tour to her home country with the Fontana String Quartet. She will complete her degree in Classical Singing this summer. 

“My name is Stella Mihaylova and I’m currently studying in the Prins Claus Conservatoire as a Jazz vocalist. I have participated in many concerts in the Netherlands and Bulgaria where I’m originally from. Currently I’m working on writing my own music, arranging for small and large ensembles and overall working on my craftsmanship. Im very excited to participate in the AMW’26 festival and I’m looking forward to it.” 

Amélie Baland-Capdet
Recognized for “her succulent vocal and stage talent” (Revue l’Opéra), the Franco-Quebecer soprano Amélie Baland-Capdet recently performed Polly in Weill’s Die Dreigroschenoper with The Leidse Salon Amsterdam in January 2026, Pauline in Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne in October 2024, and Nadia in Lehar’s The Merry Widow in October 2025 with the Opéra Bouffe du Quebec, as well as the roles of Fraü Schmidt and a Sister in The Sound of Music presented in 2022 and 2023, directed by Gregory Charles. Her previous roles include Ciboulette (Mesdames de la Halle, Offenbach), the Daughter (The Juniper Tree, P. Glass), Hébé (Les Indes Galantes, Rameau), and Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and The Thief, Menotti). In concert, Amélie has been a soloist in Fauré’s Requiem, Dvořák’s Mass in D, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Kodály’s Te Deum, and Verdi’s Requiem. A graduate of the Montreal Conservatory of Music, she is currently completing her master’s degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, studying with soprano Selma Harkink.