Puracorda Ensemble
Out of love and dedication to gut strings and everything they have to offer flourishes the idea of PuraCorda; a string quartet dedicated to the historical interpretation of 19th and 20th-century repertoire, a new and exciting territory that very few ensembles have explored on gut strings. Based in Amsterdam (Netherlands), the members are all Mediterranean; half from the Balearic Islands, the other half from Greece.
PuraCorda is mainly interested in unknown repertoire and forgotten composers. In addition, given the lack of importance to the figure of the female composer in the history of music, they have always decided to include at least one work by a woman in all their programs.
Despite consolidating themselves as a string quartet, this group desires not to constrict itself to this singular type of repertoire and to remain flexible regarding its own form to embrace the entire chamber music repertoire that is yet to be discovered. PuraCorda had its debut program in June 2021 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands with the support of Balcon Scenes. They are currently a Rising Ensemble in the European program Eeemerging+ 2022 which allows them to perform in festivals across Europe.
Libero Ensemble
Libero String Orchestra is a young ensemble founded in 2016 by a group of ambitious professionals in Zwolle, the Netherlands. The orchestra is distinguished by its youthful enthusiasm and energy, high-quality level of performance and unconventional presentation.
The name Libero, meaning ‘free’, represents their goal to play classical music with a modern touch: by heart, liberated from music scores, stands, and without a conductor. The choice to perform by heart allows for the quality of the ensemble to improve, but also favors the contact between musicians and audience. As an orchestra with such a characteristic international nature, their aim to find ways to communicate beyond the standard is also accentuated.
Libero String Orchestra strives to perform in scenarios of different natures: traditional venues, churches, festivals and – most of all – in unfamiliar territory; to bring classical music to places where it is heard too little or not at all. We are certain that there is a place for classical music in modern society, almost everywhere, as long as it is accessible and affordable.
DUO MIRA
Duo Mira was created at the end of 2019 by violinist Panos Charalampidis and cellist Eva van Schaik.
Partners in music, they decided to explore the challenging and diverse repertoire of this specific formation.
The name of the ensemble comes from the Greek word “Μοίρα”, meaning “destiny”.
To fulfil your destiny is to fulfil a special role that is reserved for you. You can only fulfil this role if you emancipate yourself from your old ways and embrace the new. This is exactly what our duo endeavours to accomplish.
From classism to impressionism the repertoire covers a large area of music history and is a constant source of inspiration. Together with works from contemporary composers, Duo Mira is trying to create exciting programs that would challenge and keep the audience at the edge of their seat.