The Goeyvaerts String Trio was founded by violinist Kristien Roels, violist Kris Matthynssens and cellist Pieter Stas in 1997 with the sole aim of performing twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoire. The trio takes its name from the Belgian composer Karel Goeyvaerts, who played an important role in developments in European new music. Not only does the ensemble perform existing works, but it also actively commissions new compositions for string trio.
After the trio released its CD recording of string trios by Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alfred Schnittke on the renowned international label Challenge Records, the recording received the highest possible rating in multiple music magazines, as well as a Gold Label from Klassiek Centraal, a nomination for best CD production for the Belgian classical broadcasting network Klara and a recommendation in Gramophone. In 2012, the Goeyvaerts String Trio released a new CD entitled String Trios from the East featuring compositions by Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexander Knaifel, Oleg Paiberdin and Giya Kancheli. Of this recording, the Dutch music publication Luister wrote, ‘These three musicians’ performance here borders on the impossible in terms of concentration and precision.’ The trio’s album Stabat Mater, featuring Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater in just intonation and Ivan Moody’s Simeron, followed in 2014. With the support of over 500 international investors, the Goeyvaerts Trio raised £15,000. Of the trio, the Flanders Arts Institute wrote, ‘We already know they’re outstanding performers, but the fact that they managed to pull this off is proof that they’re also enthusiastic entrepreneurs.’ This CD was showered with the highest critical praise, heralded as Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and included in the list of the ten best Arvo Pärt recordings of all time. Dutch magazine Luister also ranked Goeyvaerts String Trio the highest ranking. The recording was most recently awarded an Edison, and the trio hailed by Klara as ensemble of the year. The Belgian city of Sint-Niklaas also honoured the trio with its 2014 Culture Prize.

Pärt was born in Paide, Järva County, Estonia, and was raised by his mother and stepfather in Rakvere in northern Estonia. He began to experiment with the top and bottom notes as the family's piano's middle register was damaged. His first serious study came in 1954 at the Tallinn Music Middle School, but less than a year later he temporarily abandoned it to fulfill military service, playing oboe and percussion in the army band. While at the Tallinn Conservatory, he studied composition withHeino Eller. As a student, he produced music for film and the stage. During the 1950s, he also completed his first vocal composition, the cantata Meie aed ('Our Garden') for children's choir and orchestra. He graduated in 1963. From 1957 to 1967, he worked as a sound producer for Estonian radio.
Although criticized by Tikhon Khrennikov in 1962, for employing serialism in Nekrolog (1960), which exhibited his "susceptibility to foreign influences", nine months later he won First Prize in a competition of 1,200 works, awarded by the all-Union Society of Composers, indicating the inability of the Soviet regime to agree consistently on what was permissible. In the 1970s, Pärt studied medieval and Renaissance music instead of focusing on his own composition. About this same time, he converted from Lutheranism to the Russian Orthodox faith.
In 1980, after a prolonged struggle with Soviet officials, he was allowed to emigrate with his wife and their two sons. He lived first in Vienna, where he took Austriancitizenship and then relocated to Berlin, Germany, in 1981. He returned to Estonia around the turn of the 21st century and now lives alternately in Berlin and Tallinn. He speaks fluent German and has German citizenship as a result of living in Germany since 1981.

arnabás Hegyi was born in 1980 in Budapest as an overture of a family that by now is proud of having brought up 9 children. He studied conducting, singing, church music, composition and organ playing at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He was recently awarded the Bachelor degree in Early Music singing at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague as a student of Michael Chance, Rita Dams, Jill Feldmann and Peter Kooij. Presently he attends Tilburg Music Academy where he is completing his Master's in Early Music Singing He has won awards at several singing competitions; 1st prizes at the National Singing Competition for Secondary Music Students in 2001 as well as at the National Simándi Singing Competition in 2002. Later, in 2003 he was awarded 3rd prize at the singing competition in Irun, Spain, which same competition he came as first in 2005.
In 2007 he faced three major challenges. First he gained the only countertenor role for Monteverdi’s Orfeo at the competition organized to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the piece in Verona and thus sang Pastore at the piece’s gala performance in Mantova. Soon after this he sang successfully at two singing competitions in Hungary; he won 3rd prize at the International Handel Singing Competition and 1st prize at the International Oratory Singing Competition. In the former he also won a special prize, which gave him a registration at the internet protal MusiciansWho.hu, while the latter secured him an appearance at Zemplén Festival, where he gave two concerts in the summer of 2008. In the same year he also gave a solo concert at Hebden Bridge Arts Festival in England.
His co-operation with Budapest Chamber Opera is also due to his competition results. He sang with the organization in 2002 for the first time, and since then he has played more than half a dozen opera roles in around 40 performances both in Hungary and abroad such as Monteverdi: Il ritorno d’Ulisse (L’humana fragilita, and the roles of the Third Suitor), Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea (Amore), Monteverdi: Orfeo (Pastore), Monteverdi: Il ballo delle ingrate (Amore), Händel: Semele (Athamas), Vivaldi: Il Tigrane (Clearte).
Besides, he has sung in A:N:S Choir and Purcell Choir, and in vocal ensembles Voces Aequales and Arpa d’O. He sings regularly with ensembles such as theHuelgas Ensemble, Netherlands Kammerkoor and Netherlandse Bach Vereniging.
He can be heard on more than 30 CD recordings as soloist, choir- or vocal ensemble singer, or piano/organ accompanist.

After studying communication and multimedia, Olivier Berten enters the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels where he gets a diploma in opera-singing with Marcel Vanaud. He is going to advanced studies in the conservatories of Amsterdam, Metz and Brussels with Udo Reinemann and other masters of Lied. He was in 2004-2005 part ofOperastudio Vlaanderen in Ghent. He makes his debut in the Monnaie opera house as Brühlmann ("Werther" van Massenet) under the baton of Kazushi Ono. In 2008, he was on the stage of the Flemish Opera in the leading role of Villa Vivaldi by Wouter van Looy en Jan Van Outryve. Upcoming projects include "L'enfant et les sortilèges" with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège and "Ne criez pas au loup" in the Opéra Royal de Wallonie.

Zsuzsi Tóth was born in Hungary, where she began her musical studies with piano at the age of 7. She started classical singing at the Faculty of Music of the University of Szeged, receiving the Master`s degree in 2004. During her studies she won a Hungarian State Grant (2002-2003) as well as the "Huygens programma Scholarship" in The Netherlands (2006-2007). She was awarded the Bachelor degree in Early Music singing at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and completed her Master's in 2009 with distinction as a student of Peter Kooij, Jill Feldman and Rita Dams.
She participated on masterclasses given by Martin Klietmann, Mitsuko Shirai, Júlia Hamari, Marius van Altena, László Polgár and Adrienne Csengery. She has given concerts as a soloist with Collegium Vocale Gent, Nederlandse Bach Vereniging (Jos van Veldhoven), l'Arpeggiata, Sete Lágrimas, Collegium 1704 (Váklav Luks) and Le Concert Lorrain. She is a regular member of several early music ensembles such as Vox Luminis (Lionel Meunier) and Tetraktys (Kees Boeke). She participated on several national and international competitions winning two 1st prises, a 3rd prise and a special prise. (Ruma, Yugoslavia, 2002, Budapest, Hungary 2003, Szeged, Hungary, 2004)