Puruñeka Duo wins Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours 2026

We're proud to share that Puruñeka Duo has won the Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours 2026. The duo, formed by percussion students Tirso Ortiz Garrigós (Spain) and Matiss Leo Meckl (Iceland), impressed the jury during the final at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with their distinctive artistic voice. The jury praised their original and authentic approach to the genre: 'The repertoire choice was very refreshing, as was the transparency in your playing.' As winners, they will perform at Grachtenfestival 2026, which takes place from 7 to 16 August.

Studying at the Royal Conservatoire, Tirso and Matiss developed a collaboration rooted in a shared artistic vision and a curiosity for new forms of percussion performance. ‘We strive to redefine contemporary percussion performance,’ says Matiss. ‘We are constantly searching for new sounds, innovative formats and fresh artistic encounters. Our work is rooted in experimentation and in expanding what percussion can communicate and represent on stage.’

In 2025, Puruñeka Duo completed a large-scale artistic project featuring six commissioned works by composers from the Royal Conservatoire, alongside two newly created choreographies and a collaboration with an ArtScience artist from the Royal Academy of Art The Hague. The project resulted in an interdisciplinary performance-installation and highlights their commitment to cross-media collaboration and inventive concert design.

The finals brought together a wide range of young musicians. Among them were Lied Duo (Enrico Clerico and Darta Liepina), also students at the Royal Conservatoire.

We are proud to see two of our student ensembles in this year’s finals and warmly congratulate all prizewinners and finalists.