Iris van Eck Cellist Iris Van ECK was born in the Netherlands to an artist painter and a piano teacher. She studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Jean Decroos (principal cellist in the Concertgebouw orchestra) & Rene van Ast before moving to the United States where she studied with madame Raya Garbousova. Ms. van Eck was the winner of the Edith Stein Concours in the Netherlands (on flute) and the Concerto Competition at Northern Illinois University (on cello), and has participated in master classes with Paul and Maude Tortellier at the Hochschule in Essen and in Luzern; at the Piattigorsky Seminar in Los Angeles, she studied with William Pleeth, Lynn Harrell, Misha Maiski and Jeffrey Solow and at the Cleveland Chamber music Seminar with Joseph Gingold and the Guarneri Quartet. Ms. van Eck is the principal cellist for the Florida Grand Opera Orchestra and the Florida Classical Orchestra. She has appeared as soloist with various orchestras in the United States & in Europe and is frequently heard on the chamber music circuit in Florida and abroad. She also is the founder of the highly acclaimed "Chameleon Chamber music series at the Leiser Opera center in Fort Lauderdale. Chameleon Musicians is a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to bringing chamber music of the highest quality to South Florida.. She plays a beautiful French cello made by Bernardel Pere in 1831. ----- Arielle Vernède Pianist Arielle Vernède graduated at the Royal Academy of Music in The Hague. Her choice for the piano was purely based on her great love for the music. Being a talented musician, she was very much in demand as a pianist. The musical temperament and emotion was evident already in the early years. In addition to solo playing, she developed a keen interest in chamber music. She followed the master classes in Paris of Claude Helffer and in Luzern by Mieczyslaw Horszowk. Arielle Vernède was awarded various prizes in the Arnold Schoenberg competition in Rotterdam, in the Robert Casadesus competition in Cleveland USA and the 'Silver Wreath 'of the Amsterdam Concertgegouw. This inspired her to continue as a solo musician. Presently she regularly gives solo recitals in the Netherlands and abroad.