Elisa Karen Tavenier (1996) started playing the violin at the age of three. Recognising her early
talent, she was accepted into the young talent department of the Royal Conservatory in The
Hague at the age of six, where Coosje Wijzenbeek became her mentor.
After discovering her love for the viola, she started her studies in Amsterdam. In 2018 she
completed her bachelor studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with the highest marks
and earned a distinction for her musical personality under the guidance of Mikhail Zemtsov. She
continued her education and, in 2022, achieved her master’s degree with the highest distinction
at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich, studying with Nils Mönkemeyer.
In addition to her formal education, Elisa has attended master classes with esteemed musicians
such as Tabea Zimmermann, Thomas Riebl, Nobuko Imai, Jurgen Kussmaul, and Anner Bijlsma.
A notable aspect of Elisa’s musical career is her dedication to chamber music. Since it was
founded in 2013 she has been a member of the Animato Quartet, collaborating with musicians
such as Hatto Beyerle, Eberhard Feltz, Marc Danel, and Pierre Colombet. The quartet’s
accomplishments include receiving the Anton Kersjes Fonds prize in 2023, winning the third
prize at the Trondheim International Chambermusic Competition in 2021, and winning first prize
and audience prize at Kammermusikpreis Kultur Gut Hasselburg in 2023. Some of the quartets
highlights of last season were their debut in the Gewandhaus Leipzig, performing at the String
Quartet Biennale Amsterdam and playing viola quintets with her former teacher Nils Mönkemeyer
in Germany.
Elisa’s commitment to the quartet aligns with her solo activities, performing with orchestras like
the Royal Conservatory Orchestra The Hague, the Nanagen Orchestra, and the Nederlandse
Strijkersgilde. Notably, she recorded Henk Badings’ Viola Concerto with Jac van Steen as
conductor. She was a member of the Royal Concertgebouw orchestra academy in 2017 and 2018
and still regularly plays with the orchestra. She also has been invited as principal viola by Phion,
the Philharmonic orchestra of the east of the Netherlands.
Elisa plays a viola by Daniel Royé built in 2017, which she acquired with the support of the
Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrumentenfonds.
