Kersjes Prize and Scholarships for Royal Conservatoire alumni

Various alumni of the School for Young Talent and the Royal Conservatoire have been recognised by the Kersjes Fund this year. The Viride Quartet has been awarded the €50,000 Kersjes Prize 2026, while alumni Kaya Can Gür and Buğra Yüzügüldü receive the Violin Scholarship and Conducting Scholarship respectively, each worth €15,000.

The Viride Quartet was formed in 2017 by Salomé Bonnema, Nadia ten Kate, Sedna Heitzman and Jurre Koopmans, who met as teenagers at the Royal Conservatoire. Since then, the ensemble has performed at venues including the Concertgebouw and TivoliVredenburg and collaborated with musicians such as baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist Anna Fedorova. The quartet has a particular interest in lesser-known Dutch classical music and is currently enrolled in the postgraduate programme at the Netherlands String Quartet Academy.

The Kersjes Fund praises the quartet for its remarkable cohesion, balance and passionate playing. The award follows an encouragement grant the ensemble received from the fund shortly after its formation in 2018.

Violinist Kaya Can Gür studied at the Royal Conservatoire and gained national recognition in 2020 when he won the Davina van Wely category of the Dutch Violin Competition. His musical interests range from Baroque and classical repertoire to contemporary and electronic music, with historical performance practice at the heart of his work. He is currently further specialising in this field at the Juilliard School in New York.

Conductor and violist Buğra Yüzügüldü recently graduated from the Royal Conservatoire, where he studied viola with Lech Antonio Uszynski and conducting with Ivan Meylemans, Alex Schillings and Jac van Steen. He is now studying orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and has already worked with orchestras including the Residentie Orkest and the Ballet Orchestra.

The Kersjes Fund supports talented young musicians at the beginning of their professional careers. The 2026 awards will be presented on 25 November at De Duif in Amsterdam.

Website Kersjesfonds
Website Viride Quartet
Instagram Kaya Can Gür
Instagram Buğra Yüzügüldü