Waterloo 2026

German violinist of Russian origin, Alissa Margulis is renowned for the expressive intensity and emotional depth of her performances. She appears regularly in many of the world's leading concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Musikverein in Vienna, BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, the Tonhalle Zurich, Sumida Triphony Hall in Tokyo and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow.

Born in Tokyo, Yuzuko Horigome began studying the piano at the age of four and the violin at the age of five. After her first lessons with Ryosaku Kubota, she continued her musical training with Toshiya Eto at the Toho Gakuen School of Music.

Nicolas Dupont is one of Belgium’s leading violinists of his generation. Based in Brussels since 2017, he has performed in renowned venues including Wigmore Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields, BOZAR, Flagey, Philharmonie de Paris, La Seine Musicale and the Boulezsaal. He studied with Dejan Mijajev, Yuzuko Horigome, Itamar Golan and Rodney Friend.

Born in Japan in 2004, Yuichiro Haruno began studying the violin at the age of two through the Suzuki Method.

Belgian violinist, violist and pianist Daniel Rubenstein has built an international career that combines performance, teaching, artistic direction and musical research. A graduate with distinction of both the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and Indiana University (USA) in all three disciplines, he is one of the few musicians of his generation to pursue a high-level career on each of these instruments.

Internationally acclaimed German violist Roland Glassl was the first German musician to win First Prize at the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in England, where he also received the Peter Schidlof Prize for the most beautiful tone among the finalists. A laureate of numerous other international competitions, he quickly established himself as one of the leading violists of his generation.

Born in Venezuela, Frederik Camacho began studying the violin at the age of five with Kelly Mendoza in San Cristóbal as part of the renowned El Sistema programme. At the age of eleven, he won the Young Soloist Prize at the Venezuelan Music Competition, followed in 2010 by the Special Violin Prize at the Nuevo Mundo Festival in Maracaibo. He also served as concertmaster of the Venezuelan National Children’s Orchestra under conductors including Sir Simon Rattle and Gustavo Dudamel.

South Korean violist Soolim Shin is a prizewinner of numerous national and international competitions, including First Prize at the Crescendo International Competition, Second Prize at the Concours La Marianne, and awards at the Osaka International Competition, the Seoul Chamber Orchestra Competition, the Yejin Competition, the Hanum Competition, the Yewon Chamber Competition, and the Nanpa Competition. As a soloist, she has appeared with the Goyang Philharmonic Orchestra and the Seongnam Youth Orchestra.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Alexander Dmitriev began studying the cello at the age of six. After completing his studies at the Special Music School of the Kyiv Conservatory, he was admitted in 1981 to the prestigious Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow, where he studied with Lev Evgrafov and Valentin Berlinsky, founder of the Borodin Quartet.

Born in Switzerland, Dan Slutskovsky has established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation. A frequent guest on major international stages, he enjoys a distinguished career as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, performing alongside world-renowned artists such as Martha Argerich, Nelson Goerner, Alissa Margulis, Aldo Ciccolini and Sergey Ostrovsky. He has appeared at prestigious venues and festivals including the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, the Gstaad Music Summits, Munich's Prinzregententheater and the "Martha Argerich and Friends" Festival. He has also performed with leading orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra.

Born in Hamburg, Justus Grimm took up the cello at the age of five. Initially studying under his father’s guidance, he soon went to study in Saarbrücken with Ulrich Voss and in Cologne with Claus Kanngiesser and Frans Helmerson. He won First Prizes at the Maria Canals International Music Competition and the German National Competition.

An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and dedicated pedagogue, Marie Hallynck is widely recognised as one of the leading cellists of her generation.

Matis Grisó (Luxembourg, 2006) began playing the cello at the age of four. He studied at the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg with Claude Giampellegrini, obtaining the Prix Supérieur with distinction in 2022. From 2020 to 2024, he was a Young Talent student at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class of Marie Hallynck, where he is currently pursuing Bachelor’s studies in cello and jazz bass.

Japanese flautist and performer of traditional Japanese music, Nozomi Kanda is a versatile musician specialising in chamber music and recital performance, with a particular commitment to contemporary music. A graduate in traditional Japanese music, she is also a master of the shinobue, the traditional Japanese bamboo flute, which she frequently combines with Western instruments in innovative concert programmes.

Vincent Lucas is one of the leading French flautists of his generation. Admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris at the age of just fourteen, he won First Prize at the International Radio Competition Concertino Praga three years later.

Hailed by Crescendo magazine as "a musician of great sensitivity" and described by the International Double Reed Society as a bassoonist "with a strongly characteristic and remarkably versatile playing style", Mavroudes Troullos has established himself as one of the leading bassoonists of his generation.

After initial studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Delphine Benhamou continued her training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the class of Isabelle Moretti, where she was awarded her Master's degree in 2010. Her musical education was further enriched by studies in instrumental theatre, ethnomusicology, generative improvisation and the Alexander Technique, alongside advanced work in chamber music.

A graduate of both the Geneva and Paris Conservatories, Bertrand Giraud received a comprehensive musical education under the guidance of Dominique Merlet, Bruno Canino, Colette Zerah and Aquiles Delle Vigne. A laureate of several international competitions, including the Chopin Competition in Texas and the Flame Competition, he has enjoyed an international career as a pianist for more than thirty years.

Born in Paris and raised in Brussels, Lily Maisky began playing the piano at the age of four. After studying with Lyl Tiempo, Hagit Kerbel, Ilana Davids and Alan Weiss, she continued her musical education at the Purcell School in London, where she also studied jazz piano. She later received artistic guidance from distinguished musicians including Martha Argerich, Dmitri Bashkirov, Joseph Kalichstein, Pavel Gililov and Vitalij Margulis.

Pianist, composer and pedagogue, Muhiddin Dürrüoğlu is a versatile musician whose artistic personality combines exceptional interpretative depth with a passion for creation. He began studying piano and composition at the Ankara State Conservatory, where he studied with İlhan Baran, a pupil of Henri Dutilleux. He later continued his dual training in Belgium with Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden and Jacqueline Fontyn, and in the United States with Edward Auer and Donald Freund.

Led by Grammy-nominated violinist Michael Guttman, The Guttman Tango Quintet brings together world-class classical virtuosity and the expressive intensity of Argentine tango. Internationally acclaimed as a violinist, conductor, and artistic director of major festivals, Guttman has shared the stage with legendary artists including Martha Argerich, Elena Bashkirova, Vadim Repin, Antoine Tamestit, and Maxim Vengerov.

Jean-Pierre Deleuze (b. Ath, Belgium, 1954) studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels before continuing his training in musical analysis and composition with Marcel Quinet. A masterclass with Olivier Messiaen in 1987 had a lasting influence on the development of his musical language.