Milan Al-Ashhab began taking violin lessons at the age of five. After attending the Conservatoire in Teplice, he studied at the Academy of Music in Prague under Ivan Štraus and subsequently under Peter Schuhmayer at the University of Music in Vienna. In 2018, he won first prize at the Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition and, in the same year, first prize at the New York Concert Artists Competition. As a student, he won first prize at the International Kocian Violin Competition in the Czech Republic in 2006 and at the International Telemann Competition in Poland in 2007; second prize at the Louis Spohr Competition in Weimar in 2010; and first prize at the Czech Conservatories’ Violin Competition in 2014. In June 2019, he was a prize-winner at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Milan Al-Ashhab has been honoured with the Classic Prague Awards, the Bause Ruys Award and the Josef Hlávka Award, amongst others.
In 2019, he became a member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, brings together musicians from Israel, Palestine and other countries in this crisis-stricken region. He performs regularly as a soloist in Europe.
Marek Kozák, prizewinner of the International Bach Competition Leipzig 2025 and winner of the 2021 Géza Anda International Piano Competition, is one of the most talented Czech pianists of today's generation. During his studies with Ivan Klánský at the renowned Academy of Music in Prague, he attended various masterclasses with Murray Perahia, Garrick Ohlsson and Eugen Indjic, among others. Marek Kozák was awarded 1st prize at the Chopin Competition in Marienbad and the Smetana Competition in Pilsen in 2013 and 3rd prize at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. In 2016, he was awarded 2nd prize at the Prague Spring Competition. In 2018, he was the absolute winner of the European Piano Competition in Bremen and also received the Audience Award. In 2019, he was a finalist in the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. In the same year, he was honored with the Classic Prague Award as Talent of the Year.
Prof. Marek Jerie is one of the most distinguished cellists of his generation. He studied at the Academy of Music in Prague and deepened his musical knowledge in master classes with Pablo Casals, Mstislav Rostropovich and André Navarra. As a soloist and member of the Guarneri Trio Prague, he has performed in the most important music centers in Europe, Australia, Japan, Canada, the USA, South America and China. With the Guarneri Trio Prague, he has recorded the classical and romantic piano trio repertoire on CD for Praga Digitals. Valuable, lost concertos from the Czech cello literature of the 18th century have been performed, recorded and edited by him. Contemporary composers have dedicated their works to him. Marek Jerie taught cello and chamber music at the Lucerne University of Music for 34 years.