Frans Douwe Slot (1983) started his first piano lessons at the age of six with professor H. Oosterhuis. He continued his musical education with professor R. A. Ferwerda preliminary to his studies at the North Netherlands Conservatoire. During his professional education, he obtained great musical diversity and was taught piano technique to a very high degree by Klára Würtz, Tamara Poddubnaya and Nata Tsvereli. He did not let an injury – that dragged on for three years – get in the way of acquiring his master’s degree at the Utrecht conservatoire with Klára Würtz. During this period, he plunged himself into the romantic repertoire and recorded his first CD. In 2009, Frans Douwe was admitted to professor Szokolay Balázs’s piano class at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. In that same year, he recorded a second cd. During this period, he became a highly appreciated soloist and chamber musician. He performed several times with the Dutch violinist Emmy Verhey, featured as a soloist in the concertos by Schumann and Grieg and, in addition, won numerous prizes at national and international competitions. The last four years have been in light of an intense revalidation of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a disorder in the muscle tension. That battle has not been won as yet, but as a chamber musician he is finding his way back to the stage, with the Colori Ensemble among others. In addition, his teaching skills have become an important part of his career. A fine example of which is his talent class, that enables young musicians to make their way to professional music making.

In 2018, Wytske Holtrop graduated cum laude for her master’s degree at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Geneva University of Music), where she studied with professor François Guye. She obtained a highly distinguished bachelor’s degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium of Brussels (Royal Conservatoire of Brussels) with professor Jeroen Reuling. As of the 2019 - 2020 concert season, Wytske will be playing with the Konzerthausorchester in Berlin, as a member of the Kurt Sanderling orchestra academy. She actively took part in numerous masterclasses with, among others, Natalia Gutman, Gary Hoffman and Nicolas Altstaedt. Wytske performed as a soloist with several Dutch orchestras and regularly plays solo recitals. She appeared internationally in festivals as the Internationaal Kamermuziekfestival Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands) and the Ars SummerFest in Vilnius (Lithuania). In 2015 – 2016, Wytske was selected for the orchestra academy of the National Orchestra of Belgium. She won several prizes contesting in the Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland (a foundation that stimulates talented young musicians in The Netherlands) and the Prinses Christina Concours. In addition, she won the Prix du Musée Bonnat during the Académie Ravel in Saint Jean de Luz (France). In 2018, Wytske was awarded the Frisian Emmy ‘Runner-up Award’, named after and from the hands of the renowned Dutch violinist Emmy Verhey. Wytske plays a cello by Tanguy Fraval, Brussels (2011) and uses a bow by Doriane Bodart, Paris (2016).