Aleksandra Tonelli (1992) is an argentinian-croatian pianist, composer and arranger. She started her music career in Buenos Aires, Argentina, studying
classical piano and music composition. Aleksandra specialized her academic studies in Latin American and Argentinian music. On top of that she also
studied tango and latin american folk music with top performers in the field. Throughout her career she performed in great theaters and festivals in Argentina and worldwide: Santiago (Chile), Paris (France), London (UK), Amsterdam (Netherlands), like the International Tango Festival of Buenos Aires, Centro Cultural Kirchner, Estadio Municipal de Peñalolén, St. Cuthbert’s London, De Doelen Rotterdam, Musis Arnhem, amongst others. She also worked as a session musician for ensembles of different musical genres. Aleksandra was also winner of several scholarships, funds and prizes for her studies and to develop her artistic projects: National Subsidy from National Institute of Music of Argentina - INAMU (2018), Scholarship Scaramuzza’s piano technique from WKMT studios - London (2018), Holland Scholarship by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (2018), twice finalist of the Grada Van Beek-Donner Scholarship (2018 and 2019), Balkon Scenes from FondsPodiumkunsten (2021), twice winner of Makersloket from Stichting Droom een Daad (2021), SENA Muziekproductiefonds (2021), Amarte Fonds (2021), winner of Amarte Studio Concerts open call (2021), among others. Since 2018 she is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where she became a Master of Music in World Music (piano tango/jazz composition) at CODARTS University of Arts. Currently she works as bandleader of Quinteto Irreal and her composition's group through the project "SmartMusic! An Audiovisual Adventure", as well as in Cocoliche Trio and Palacio Alsina tango. She is also an Artistic Research Coach for the Masters programme in the Tango and Performance Practice Domains at CODARTS. Finally she works as a free-lance arranger and composer as well as piano teacher.
Simone van der Weerden (1990) grew up in Someren in the South of the Netherlands. Coming from a family filled with music, it was not a coincidence that Simone dedicated her life to music. It all started with the accordion, but that was only the beginning. Simone decided in 2007 to become a professional musician and study accordion at the conservatory. But it didn’t take her long to realize that tango was her passion. She traded her accordion for a bandoneon and went to the Conservatory of Rotterdam to start her adventure in the unknown world of tango. In May 2014 she was awarded as a first prize winner of the International Bandoneon Solo Competition in Klingenthal, Germany. The jury, consisting of 5 international judges graded Simone with 23,31 out of 25 points which made her world champion ’14 in her category. In June 2014 she successfully graduated at the Conservatory of Rotterdam at the Argentine tango department with a nine. After several musical trips to Argentina, Simone decided to live there for some months after her studies. She followed lessons by the real maestros del tango, like Nestor Marconi and Roberto Alvarez. She also immediately got asked to play in an Argentina based quintet called Finisterre Tango. When she returned to Rotterdam she came back with a lot of inspiration and experience. At the moment, Simone is a member of several successful bands like: LocosLindos tango quintet, Roffa Tango Trio, NAOS quartet, Quinteto Irreal and more. Last June Simone graduated with a master of music degree at the Codarts conservatory with a score of nine. During her study she combined tango with jazz and formed her own new fusion project. Together with three jazz musicians the NAOS quartet was formed. The journey continues and according to Simone the musical possibilities are endless.
Konstantinos Sifakis (1994) in Thessaloniki and raised in Aridea, Pella, Greece. Since 2017 he has been studying the double bass in Codarts University of Arts in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with professors Matthew Midgley and Luis Cabrera. He took part in productions of the Dutch National Opera (with the Nederlands Philarmonisch Orkest), the Greek National Opera, Philarmonia Orchestra of Athens, Chamber Music Festival at Minoa Palace (Crete, Greece) and was selected as a member of the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra for 2017 and 2018, where he played as principal double bass under the baton of distinguished conductors, like Pablo Heras-Casado and Kazushi Ono. He has been the principal double bass of the Greek-Turkish Youth Orchestra, the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of Codarts, Rotterdam and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag, taking part in the Gergiev Festival. In April 2019 he won the audience prize in the 'Prix d' Harmonie' competition for young soloists in Rotterdam, where he also performed with Quinteto Irreal. In 2021 he graduated cum laude from the CODARTS Classical Music bachelor.
Gerrit van Putten (1983) started playing the violin at the age of six. He initially took classes at the Rhenen music school, where he grew up, but soon followed classes and masterclasses with Joyce Tan and Herman Krebbers, among others. When Gerrit turned 11, he successfully passed the entrance exam at three conservatories. It was decided to go to the Young Talent Class at the Arnhems Conservatory. Here he took lessons with Anna Wiersum. From the age of sixteen he continued his violin studies at the Rotterdam Conservatory. There he studied with Natasja Morozova, András Czifra and GordanNicolic in vocational training. In 2010 he obtained his Masters Degree, Cum Laude, after having already obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Cum Laude. He started playing tango with OTRA Orquesta Típica in 2016 where he played several styles of tango repertoire until the formation of Quinteto Irreal in 2019. Nowadays he regularly gives solo concerts and also gives violin lessons with young talented students.
Frank Schumm (1994) is a young and talented guitarist from Rotterdam. As a little 7 year old boy he started playing classical music, but later turned towards the Argentine tango. In 2018 he graduated from Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam, and now he works as a professional musician and music teacher. Apart from classical and tango music, he has a wide interest in various music styles, including jazz, gypsy jazz, Brazilian choro, rebetiko, fado and Argentine folklore music.