Koen Berger

(Hasselt, °09-01-1984) started playing the cello at the age of 6, using the audio-visual Suzuki-method. Such was his progress that within a few years he was able to join the Hasselts Symfonie Orkest. With this orchestra he participated in numerous music courses and concerts, including concert tours abroad to France, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic.

From the age of 9, Koen received tutoring from Rudy Froyen, Vera Balikó and Marijke Gonnissen. He then continued his studies with professor Jaap Kruithof at the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven, where he obtained his masters degree in cello in 2008. In addition he obtained a first prize in solfege, a teaching certificate and a second masters degree, option chamber music with Roel Dieltiens and Marc Tooten.

During his studies Koen took part in several international music summer courses and masterclasses all over Europe with renowned cellists such as Ran Varon, David Cohen and Olsi Leka. Since 2003, Koen teaches cello at the Hasselts muziekatelier of Valentijn ten Haaf. He successfully played as soloist in a number of cello concertos including Haydn, Elgar and Saint-Saëns.

Beside symphoniaASSAI and the ASSAI Cello Quartet Koen is currently active as principal cellist in the symphonic orchestra of Leuven 't Muziek Frascati and the chamber orchestra Collegium Frascati with which he already undertook two concert tours to China. Furthermore Koen is a playing member of the chamber orchestra La Passione and is closely involved in all kinds of ad hoc ensembles.

Helena Fuertes Plata

Originally from Spain, Helena Fuertes Plata (°1984) was born in Cádiz and grew up in Benavides de Órbigo (León). She started following cello lessons at the age of 11 with Inmaculada Requejo at the Conservatorio Profesional Angel Barja of Astorga, and continued her music studies with Vladimir Atapin and Ignacio Alonso, graduating in the Conservatorio Superior de Musica of Oviedo in 2008 in the class of Antonio Peña. In 2007 she obtained an Erasmus grant to study at the Prins Claus Conservatorium Groningen (the Netherlands) with the cellists Jan Ype Nota and Michael Strauss.

Enjoying living in Belgium already for a few years, in 2012 she concluded her Masters degree from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, under the professor Viviane Spanoghe. Other important influences during her music education were the master classes with renowned cellists such as Amit Peled, Maria Kliegel, David Apellaniz, Adolfo Gutierrez Arenas, Paul Friedhoff or Francois Guye. In addition to her cello studies she developed an intense orchestral and chamber music activity, participating in concerts and festivals in different European cities.

Having obtained a Certificate in Pedagogic Aptitude by the University of Madrid (2009), teaching has become one of her main interests; on top of private lessons and summer courses Helena works since 2012 at the Strings Department of the International School of Brussels. A passionate of orchestra playing, she is member of symphoniaASSAI since its creation in 2009, where she found some wonderful musicians to build an ideal chamber music project with: the ASSAI Cello Quartet.

Johanna Peiler

Johanna Peiler is a young cellist who was born in 1987 in Germany and grew up in Brussels. At age 7 she started taking piano lessons and a year later began to learn the cello.

In June 2012 Johanna obtained her Masters from the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, having studied under Jeroen Reuling. She passed her cello exam "magna cum laude". She also studied for a year at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne with Maria Kliegel.

She participated in various master classes all over Europe with teachers such as Gary Hoffmann, Marcio Carneiro or François Guye, who helped Johanna to develop her expression and technique. Chamber music plays a very important role for Johanna; she sees it as an opportunity to grow both on a musical and a human level through interaction with others. For several years now, she has been participating in different chamber music concert series in Belgium and Germany with various ensembles. Next to the assai cello quartet, Johanna also plays in a duo with pianist Sabine Weyer, with whom she performs regularly.

Johanna has played in various orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles and the Zomeropera Orkest Alden Biesen. She has performed as principal cellist in the Dutch Youth Orchestra NJO as well as in the Belgian orchestra symphoniaASSAI, where she has been playing since its foundation in 2009.

While passionate about classical music, Johanna is also interested in different styles: for over two years now she has been playing in the trio "Just the 3 of us" with a repertoire spanning jazz, pop and improvised music. The trio has released its first CD and holds concerts regularly. Johanna has also been a member and soloist in various choirs, performing in a variety of styles from classical to jazz-pop.

Johanna Peiler also currently teaches cello at the Jugendmusikschule Heinsberg in Germany.

Clara Sánchez González

Johanna Peiler is a young cellist who was born in 1987 in Germany and grew up in Brussels. At age 7 she started taking piano lessons andClara Sánchez González (1987) receives her first cello lessons in Oviedo, her hometown, at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Oviedo (where she also has study piano) with Ignacio Alonso obtaining the "Degree's Final Prize" in 2006 and continues her Bachelor Degree in the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Oviedo under Antonio Peña and finishing in 2010.

After two years in Belgium she finishes her Master Cello Degree in the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel in the class of Ms. Viviane Spanoghe.

Other masters who took part in her musical development are Wolfgang Boettcher, Amit Peled, Adolfo Gutierrez, Francois Guye, Lluis Claret and Raphael Bell.

Because of her interest in chamber music she has played in festivals as Musique3 ( Brussels) or Corteza de Encina ( Ponferrada, Spain) among others and she performs regularly in different concert halls over Belgium and Spain.

Clara has played with professional orchestras as the OF ( Oviedo Filarmonía) or de OSIGI ( Orquesta sinfónica de Gijón), and she has been principal cello of youth orchestras as the JOSPA ( Joven Orquesta Sinfónica Principado de Asturias), JOIOF ( Joven Orquesta Internacional Oviedo Filarmonía) or OCA ( Orquesta Clásica de Asturias).

She has been cellist of symphoniaASSAI since 2009.

Currently she is member of deOrkestacademie in Antwerp and plays as a freelance with the Oviedo Filarmonía in Spain .

Assai Cello quartet

Born in 2013, the ASSAI cello quartet comes as an initiative from four symphoniaASSAI members to expand their activity within the orchestra beyond the symphonic frame. Since then the quartet has been performing regularly in Belgium (Brussels, Antwerp, Hasselt, Peer, Voeren). A highlight in 2013 was the quartet’s residency at the International School of Brussels (ISB) as part of the Visiting Artists and Scholars Program.

Clara Sanchez, Helena Fuertes, Koen Berger and Johanna Peiler have all studied in Belgian Conservatories (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel and Lemmensinstituut Leuven); however, they unite the characters and qualities of three different nationalities: Spanish, Belgian and German.

Passionate about music in general and cello in particular, they want to share their enthusiasm and energy not only through orchestral playing, but also through this very particular chamber music project.

The cello having a very broad range from bass to soprano register, is particularly suitable to form a quartet with fourth identical instruments.

With a wide repertoire of original pieces and interesting transcriptions, works for cello quartet include music that goes from J.S. Bach to J. Jongen, W. Fitzenhagen or A. Piazzolla.

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