Talent Studio 2026:
The Cohort
20 countries. 8 instruments. 27 artists.
Selected through a rigorous process, the Talent Studio 2026 cohort brings together a wide range of artistic perspectives. The cohort marks the beginning of a new phase, fostering dialogue, professional development, and exchange within the programme.
Explore the participants below and learn more about their work and backgrounds.
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Mia Mandineau
Soprano
Mia Mandineau is a French soprano and Resident Artist at Detroit Opera. Her recent roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Micaëla in Carmen, alongside appearances in contemporary repertoire. Her work has developed through collaboration with leading figures of the opera world, among them Mané Galoyan and Alfred Walker.
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Johannes Gray
Cello
American cellist Johannes Gray is a recipient of the Pablo Casals International Award and a laureate of the Concours Européen de Musique de Chambre. He gives concerts at venues such as the Pierre Boulez Saal and at international festivals across Europe and beyond, performing both as a soloist and in chamber music.
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Ruslan Talas
Violin
Violinist Ruslan Talas performs internationally in major concert halls across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, including a debut at the Elbphilharmonie. He is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition and has received prizes at the Rodolfo Lipizer and Stuttgart International Violin Competitions. He is currently Artist in Residence at Fondazione Nicola Bulgari.
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Elžbieta Liepa Dvarionaitė
Piano
Lithuanian pianist Elžbieta Liepa Dvarionaitė is based in Vienna and is a founding member of Trio Kosmos. Her distinctions include prizes at the Bechstein-Bruckner Competition in Linz, the Stasys Vainiūnas Competition, and Piano Neuchâtel. She performs as a soloist with orchestras across Europe and Japan and remains closely engaged in chamber music.
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Dmytro Semykras
Piano
Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Semykras has received awards at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz, the International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Krainev, the Ettlingen International Piano Competition, and the Île-de-France International Piano Competition. Further distinctions include second prize and the audience prize at the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede. His work brings together solo repertoire and chamber music.
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Wataru Hisasue
Piano
Wataru Hisasue has been recognised at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, the ARD International Music Competition, and the Concours Géza Anda. He performs as a soloist with orchestras including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. His album Did it again, featuring works by Pascal Dusapin, was released by GENUIN Classics and the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
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Chunyi Zhao
Conductor
Chunyi Zhao is a conductor and violinist. She was awarded Third Prize at the International Youth Conducting Competition Bucharest and is a recipient of the Deutschlandstipendium and the Forum Dirigieren scholarship. Chunyi Zhao has assisted George Benjamin, Kent Nagano, and Markus Stenz, worked with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Hamburg State Opera, and Theater für Niedersachsen, and been a guest conductor with the Bremen Philharmonic and the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra.
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Kuan-Wei Chen
Piano
Taiwanese pianist Kuan-Wei Chen is a prizewinner of the Giovanni Colafemmina International Piano Competition, the Radovljica International Piano Competition, the Maria Canals International Piano Competition, and Les Étoiles du Piano. He performs internationally in recitals and with orchestras, including with the Orchestre de Picardie and the Orchestra da Camera del Friuli Venezia Giulia. He began piano studies at the age of four and made his orchestral debut in 2009 with the Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra.
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Martina Consonni
Piano
Italian pianist Martina Consonni performs internationally, with appearances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall in London, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and collaborations with Gautier Capuçon and Steven Isserlis. Her orchestral engagements include the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Dresden Philharmonic, and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich. She is a prizewinner of the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn and the Maria Canals International Music Competition, with recordings released by Warner Classics.
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Mabelle Park
Violin
German-born South Korean violinist Mabelle Young-Eun Park is the First Prize winner of the Strings Section at the 2025 Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition and a recipient of the Prince’s Prize and Audience Award. She is currently on the Artist Diploma programme at the Royal College of Music as a Sue Balston Scholar. Mabelle Young-Eun Park has performed at Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, and Carnegie Hall, has given recitals across Europe and Asia, and has appeared as a soloist with orchestra and as a chamber musician across Europe and beyond.
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Xiaofu Ju
Piano
Chinese pianist Xiaofu Ju has appeared at the Wiener Musikverein, Lincoln Center, and the Salzburg Festspielhaus. He performs in recitals and at festivals, with a focus on contemporary repertoire and the premieres of new works. His debut album Waldeinsamkeit, released by NCPA Classics, presents a programme shaped by a strong narrative and poetic conception. He is a prizewinner of the Hong Kong International Piano Competition and recipient of the Tabor Piano Prize at the Verbier Festival Academy.
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Liav Kerbel
Cello
Liav Kerbel has received awards at the Klaipėda David Geringas International Cello Competition and the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition at the Manhattan School of Music, and has participated in programmes such as the Verbier Festival Academy. He has appeared with orchestras including the Belgian National Orchestra and the Flemish Symphony Orchestra, and made his debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Since September 2022, he has served as a chamber music faculty member at the Musica Mundi School in Waterloo.
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Adrian Herpe
Piano
Franco-Ukrainian pianist Adrian Herpe has received awards at the Concours Brueghel, the Nice Côte d’Azur International Piano Competition, and the Bösendorfer Competition, and is a laureate of the Gautier Capuçon Foundation. He has also been recognised at Les Étoiles du Piano in Roubaix, where he received multiple special prizes. His work spans Romantic repertoire, contemporary music, and earlier styles.
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Eva Wetzel
Violin
Eva Wetzel is a German violinist and stipendiatin of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. She won First Prize and the Audience Award at the Rosen-Schaffel Competition and Second Prize at the Villa de Llanes International Competition. Her debut album with GENUIN unveils hidden treasures of the violin repertoire. She has appeared with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival Orchestra, and Vogtland Philharmonic.
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Leonhard Kreutzmann
Conductor
German conductor Leonhard Kreutzmann is Chief Conductor of the KHG Orchestra Freiburg and a scholarship holder of Forum Dirigieren of the Deutscher Musikrat. He has worked as assistant to Dirk Kaftan with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn and has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the Donatella Flick Conducting Competition.
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Carlos Giménez Martínez
Saxophone
Spanish saxophonist Carlos Giménez Martínez made his orchestral solo debut at the Palau de la Música de València. His work includes collaborations with the Zemlinsky Chamber Orchestra and a focus on the saxophone repertoire across both concert and recording contexts. He is active in recital and chamber music, with programmes that reflect a broad engagement with the instrument’s repertoire.
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Alisa Sadikova
Harp
Harpist Alisa Sadikova has received distinctions at the International Harp Competition in Israel and the Yuri Temirkanov Prize. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Tonhalle Zürich, and collaborated with the Moscow Virtuosi. Her work also includes original arrangements and projects that expand the harp repertoire.
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Jiaxun Yao
Cello
Cellist Jiaxun Yao has received awards at the Irving Klein International String Competition and the Orchestra 914 Concerto Competition. She has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra. She also performs on historical instruments, bringing a distinct perspective to her work.
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Jonathan Roozeman
Cello
Finnish-Dutch cellist Jonathan Roozeman received distinction at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He has performed with the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors Valery Gergiev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Sakari Oramo. He is active in both solo and chamber music.
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Tom Zalmanov
Piano
Israeli pianist Tom Zalmanov is First Prize winner of the Aviv Competitions. He has performed as a soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony, the Israel Symphony, the Tbilisi Symphony, and the Bayer Philharmoniker Leverkusen. A fellow of the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, he is an avid chamber musician and collaborative pianist.
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Giorgio Lazzari
Piano
Italian pianist Giorgio Lazzari is a prizewinner of the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn and the Robert Schumann Competition in Düsseldorf, and a laureate of the Honens International Piano Competition. His work includes solo recitals, orchestral performances, and chamber music, with appearances at venues and festivals such as Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Beethovenfest Bonn, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Società Filarmonica di Trento.
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Anastasiya Magamedova
Piano
Anastasiya Magamedova is a National YoungArts Winner and has received awards at the International Keyboard Odyssiad Piano Competition. She performs as a soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, among other leading venues, as well as with orchestras including the Utah Symphony and the Alicante Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been featured on From the Top, a U.S. radio program showcasing outstanding young classical musicians.
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Bade Daştan
Violin
Turkish violinist Bade Daştan was awarded first prize at the International Grumiaux Competition and has received further recognition at the Andrea Postacchini and Young Virtuosos Competitions. Her work includes performances at venues such as BOZAR in Brussels and the Süreyya Opera House in Istanbul, together with orchestral collaborations including the İzmir State Symphony Orchestra and the Musica Mundi Orchestra.
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Radu Rățoi
Accordion
Moldovan accordionist Radu Rățoi is a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions and recipient of the Leonie Sonning Talent Prize. He has also been honoured with the “Master in Arts” Award by the President of Moldova. He has performed at the Berliner Philharmonie, Radio Concert House Copenhagen, and the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall, and has been appointed soloist with the National Chamber Orchestra of Moldova. His programmes include his own arrangements of music by J.S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, and F. Liszt.
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Vladimir Petrov
Piano
Pianist Vladimir Petrov is a laureate and Audience Prize winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. He has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Great Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory. He has worked with conductors Valery Gergiev, Lanfranco Marcelletti, and Tito Muñoz, among others.
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İlke Işı Tuncer
Violin
Turkish violinist İlke Işı Tuncer has been recognised at the Josef Micka International Violin Competition. She performs as a soloist with orchestras including the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, the Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Symphony Orchestra, and the Hacettepe Symphony Orchestra, and gives recitals in Turkey and abroad, including in New York.
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Julian Kainrath
Violin
Italian-Austrian violinist Julian Kainrath is a prizewinner of the Ysaÿe International Music Competition and recipient of the ICMA Discovery Award. He made his orchestral debut at the age of 16 with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg under Adam Fischer at the Philharmonie Luxembourg and has since performed on many of Europe’s leading concert stages.
