Francisca Galante - viola

Lucien Renette - violin

Francisca Galante (born in 2003) began her music studies at the age of three and was admitted to the Escola Artística de Música do Conservatório Nacional at the age of six, in Isabel Pimentel's viola class. In 2020, she was admitted to Francien Schatborn's class at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

Francisca has won several first prizes in national and international competitions, including: the "Concurso Nacional de Cordas Vasco Barbosa" (2017); IMKA Internet Music Competition (2017); Concurso Nacional Cidade de Montijo (2018); The North International Music Competition (2018); and Prémio Ilda Moura (2019). Francisca also won 3rd prize at JOVEM.COM in 2019, and first prize with her chamber music group at the same competition in 2017. Francisca has also won several prizes in the Netherlands. In 2021, she received 2nd prize at the national finals of the Princess Christina Competition. There, she also won the JON Prize, which allowed her to perform solo with the JON (Dutch Youth Orchestra). She also won the Britten Competition, which allowed her to perform solo with the Britten Youth Orchestra.

In August 2021, Francisca was invited to perform at the Oranjewoud Festival. In the summer of 2022, Francisca participated in a tour of Portugal with the Amsterdam Doktet. That same year, she participated in two projects with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2024, Francisca has been a member of the Seiji Ozawa International Academy, a prestigious academy dedicated to string quartets. Francisca is currently a member of the Otilka String Quartet. She is also touring with violinist Iris van Nuland, performing Britten's Double Concerto for Violin and Viola with the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, conducted by Jurjen Hempel. In the 2024/2025 season, Francisca will be an academy graduate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. She plays a viola built in 1947 by Ansaldo Poggi, provided by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Foundation.

Lucien Renette (born 2003) began playing the violin at the age of eight. Four years later, he was accepted into the Young Musicians Academy at the Tilburg Conservatory, after which he continued his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Tjeerd Top. Since 2024, he has also studied with Vera Beths.

Since the age of 12, Lucien has performed extensively throughout the Netherlands as a chamber musician and soloist. In 2020, he and three friends founded the Otilka Quartet, which has since become a permanent ensemble that regularly performs on various stages. They have also appeared on various radio and television broadcasts, performing music by Ravel, Tchaikovsky, and a world premiere by Hans Henkemans.

From 2018 to 2020, he was also first violinist and principal violinist of the Netherlands Youth Orchestra, and in 2022 he became concertmaster of the VU Orchestra. With the VU Orchestra, he has been involved in major projects, such as performing Puccini's La Boheme at the Royal Theatre Carré with the Dutch Touring Opera and Mahler's Symphony No. 2 at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with the Netherlands Concert Choir. In 2024, he performed again with the VU Orchestra to a full Concertgebouw, this time as solo violinist in a performance of Strauss's Ein Heldenleben. He also played as a soloist during the 2024 summer tour of Rudi Stephan's Music for Violin and Orchestra, including performances at a sold-out Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ and several venues in France and Germany.

In 2024, he was selected as principal violinist of the Amsterdam Sinfonietta Academy and participated in the "Sinfonia Concertante" project with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, conducted by Antje Weithaas. Lucien has also reached the finals of various competitions and won first prize, the audience award, the laureate prize, and the Gaudeamus Music Week prize at the 2019 Princess Christina Competition. Together with the Otilka Quartet, he won second prize at the 2024 Triomphe de l’Art in Brussels. He has performed solo with orchestras on numerous occasions, working with conductors such as Dominic Seldis, Arjan Tien, Jurjen Hempel, and Jules van Hessen.

Lucien plays a Carlo Antonio Testore violin, circa 1740, Milan. On loan from the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

More information: Galante-Renette

TICKETS: 14sept.stager