Veronica Kuijken

Helena Macherel flute
Swiss flutist Helena Macherel is a versatile musician who performs both as a soloist, as a chamber and orchestra musician in Europe and in the United States.
Among her notable projects, Helena Macherel played as a soloist with Zürcher Kammerorchester in Tonhalle Zürich, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Budapest Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, and shared the stage with François Benda, Cédric Pescia, Joel Sachs, Sine Nomine Quartet, and Terpsycordes Quartet. She is also a member of the Basilea Wind Quintet, based in Switzerland. In 2021, she recorded a new album with harpist Tjasha Gafner, « Dances for Flute and Harp », and plays the baroque flute with La Fontana Cantabile Ensemble since 2018.
Helena Macherel regularly plays as solo flute with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, and is a member of Verbier Festival Orchestra since 2021. In 2017 she was also engaged for a two year internship position with the Musikkollegium Winterthur Orchestra. She often performs with Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and has taken part in projects with The Juilliard Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. She played under the baton of David Robertson, Klaus Mäkelä, Jonathan Stockhammer, Charles Dutoit, and Michael Sanderling.
At the age of nineteen she won the Paul Streit Prize of the Concours de Genève. Over the years she was awarded 1st Prize of International Anton Rubinstein Competition Berlin, 3rd Prize of Maxence Larrieu International Competition (France), and 1st Prize of Jeunesses Musical International Competition Belgrade. She has also been supported by Leenaards Foundation, Friedl-Wald Scholarship and Pour-Cent Culturel Migros.

In 2020 Helena Macherel graduated from The Juilliard School in New York with Robert Langevin and has later received mentorship with Nolwenn Bargin at the Landeskonservatorium Feldkirch. At the age of fourteen she entered the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU) in the class of José-Daniel Castellon, and later studied with Silvia Careddu at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik Berlin.

In addition to her flute work, Helena Macherel has a passion for composition. She writes instrumental concertos and develops her style and expression
through orchestral and chamber music works. She took composition lessons with William Blank at Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU).

Veronica Kuijken piano
The Belgian-born pianist and violinist Veronica Kuijken has garnered praise for her unique exuberance as a chamber music partner. Her interest in communicating with others led her early on down the path of piano accompaniment. She found long-term inspiration in Irwin Gage, with whom she studied lied accompaniment at the Zurich Musikhochschule.

Since 2004, Veronica has worked as an accompanist at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Lausanne, focusing mainly on flute (José-Daniel Castellon) and voice (Stephan MacLeod). Festivals such as the Vevey Spring Classics also invite her to serve as accompanist in international masterclasses with artists including the violist Nils Mönkemeyer.

Veronica has given concerts in the Kleiner Saal of the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Studio of Radio France and the Salle Gaveau in Paris. With the Sharoun Ensemble Berlin (from the Berliner Philharmoniker) she has played the solo piano part in Hindemith’s ‘Im Kampf mit dem Berge’ film music at the Zermatt Festival 2021. She has made numerous recordings of works including the string quartets of Debussy, Schumann and Beethoven, and the string quintets of Schubert and Beethoven with her father Sigiswald, sister Sara and uncle Wieland.

Her interests extend to the harpsichord and fortepiano of Mozart’s time, on which she has recorded Mozart’s concertos in chamber music version, as well as his works for piano four hands with her sister Marie. Veronica has also worked regularly as a baroque violinist in the Gli Angeli Genève ensemble (Stephan MacLeod) since 2021.

Having studied with Daniel Blumenthal, Veronica earned a piano diploma with distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels in 1999. She trained as a violinist with Henri Raudales, David Takeno and Rudolf Koelman, with whom she studied at the Zurich Musikhochschule, again graduating with distinction in 2002. Her studies were further supplemented by numerous projects with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the Basel Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2014, Veronica has continued to broaden her horizons as a Cantienica® coach, integrating this Swiss method focusing on physique and posture with music-making.

Also involved in folk and improvised music, Veronica participated in the 2019 and 2020 Creative Strings Academy under the direction of the American jazz violinist Chris Howes.