Having recently been awarded the first prize in the Triomphe de l’Art International Chamber Music Competition Wouter Valvekens and Manuel De Almeida-Ferrer have been working as a duo since 2016. They both joined the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp in September 2014 in the classes of Polina Leschenko and Alissa Margulis respectively and have collaborated ever since on different chamber music repertoire, spanning from duo works to quintets with piano, eventually settling for a violin-piano duo formation.

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In the years they have collaborated, the two have explored some of the core repertoire for violin and piano, playing works by Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy, Elgar, Respighi and others in recitals, concerts and festivals throughout Belgium, Portugal and the UK, and are keen to continue their musical development together as well as with their own individual chamber music projects: Manuel is one of the founders and artistic directors of the José Saramago – Ensemble Jovem, a Lisbon based chamber ensemble, and has presented himself in the HARMOS Festival with TRIO Púrpura after being awarded the third prize in the International Chamber Music Competition “Cidade de Alcobaça”, and Wouter has just recently been granted a scholarship by the Mozart-Gesellschaft Dortmund for his work with the Werther Piano Quartet.

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Individually, both musicians have distinguished themselves in national and international competitions. Wouter is a laureate in the Cantabile Piano Competition, Belfius Classics Competition, André Charlier International Piano Competition, International VriendenCultuurPrijs Theaters Tilburg, and, more recently, has been awarded the third prize in the César Franck International Piano Competition. Manuel has been awarded prizes in, Prémio José Augusto Alegria, Prémio Elisa de Sousa Pedroso, Paços’ Premium, “Cidade do Fundão” International Competition and was recently awarded the second prize-winner in the Portuguese National Radio and Television prize Prémio Jovens Músicos and the first prize in the Concurso Nacional de Cordas “Vasco Barbosa”. He has also held a scholarship for artistic perfection in music from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from 2016 to 2017.

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They both currently study in the Royal Acadmey of Music, reading for a Master’s degree, under the guidance of Jack Liebeck and Ian Fountain.