About Us

Dimitar Biography

Dimitar Dimitrov was born in Dobrich, Bulgaria. By the age of 2, he was already playing melodies on his accordion. His music education began when he received his first piano lesson at the age of 5. While Dimitar was a student in Michael Slavov’s piano class, at the National Music School “Lubomir Pipkov” in Sofia, he won several piano competitions:

• Hopes, Talents, Masters (Dobrich, 2004)
• Young Virtuoso International Competition (Sofia, 2005)
• The Franz Schubert International Competition (Russe, 2005)
• Grand Prize of the International Festival (San Daniele, Italy, 2005)

Upon finishing his secondary school music education in 2006, Dimitrov entered the Prins Claus Conservatory, Groningen. Here he studied with the renowned pianist, Dr. Tamara Poddubnaya.

Even before his first year at Prins Claus had ended, Dimitrov had garnered victories in 3 Dutch competitions:

• “Prinses Christina Concours,” The Hague, 2007
• “Harten Aas Trofee,” Groningen, 2007
• “Grachten Festival,” Amsterdam, 2007

Following the Prinses Christina Concours and “Harten Aas Trofee,” the jury called him a “Young lion of the piano, in the tradition of the great Russian pianists of the past.”

• In 2008, he won the Grand Prix at “Maria Yudina International Competition,” St. Petersburg in Russia.
• In August 2008 Dimitar won the 1st Prize at the LISMA Foundation International Piano Competition in New York.

In November 2008, Dimitrov’s earlier success in the “Prinses Christina Concours” earned him the spotlight with The North Netherlands Orchestra, as he performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with conductor Michel Tabachnik, during a 3-day tour of the Netherlands.

In August, 2009, Dimitrov performed the Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin with the “Harmonie St.Michael” in Thorn, the Netherlands, which was followed by an invitation for several performances in January 2010 at the concert hall of Tilburg and the theatre “Oranjerie” in Roermond, with the conductor Ivan Meylemans.

In November, 2009, he participated in “Koffie bij de Piano”, a highly valued part of the classical music program in the “Theater aan de parade”, ‘s Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. After the vote of the public, Dimitar received the highest result ever in these series and in June 2010 he was chosen by the public and the youth jury as a winner.

After participating in the YPF Competition (Young Pianist Foundation) in Amsterdam, Dimitar won the “Mozart prize” and the prize of the “Best participant in category C”. He received great praise by Marcel Baudet, Dmitri Bashkirov, Oxana Yablonska, Victor Rosenbaum and the president of the jury Sieuwert Verster. They described him as a great talent with big hopes for his future career.

In June 2010 Dimitar received his Bachelor degree at the “Prins Claus Conservatory” in Groningen.

After an invitation from Jan Wijn, one of the Netherlands most highly regarded pedagogues, Dimitar joined his piano class in September 2010 at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

In September 2011, during his master studies with Jan Wijn, Dimitar was awarded the prestigious “Huygens Scholarship” for outstanding achievements in his education.

In November 2011, Dimitrov was selected as one of the 4 finalists of the “Dutch Classical Talent Competition”, which is held in Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. As part of the competition, Dimitar performed solo recitals in the season of 2012-2013, in 10 of the best concert halls in the Netherlands, including ‘the Concertgebouw’ in Amsterdam.

In March 2013 Dimitar received his “Master of Music” diploma.

In 2022 Dimitar discovered his great passion for composing his own music. He completed his first album “Keep Going” in 2023 and is currently working on his second album.

Elvire Biography

Elvire Boelee started playing piano at the age of 6. She started under the guidance of the American pianist Anne Marie Mott in Tarrytown, New York. Two years later, after moving back to the Netherlands, she continued her studies with the Ukrainian pianist Tamara Boiko.

In 2001 when she was just 11 years old, she participated in the Haydn Music Festival, a Dutch competition for young musicians. She became a finalist.

A few years later in 2004, she participated in the Prinses Christina Competition, for which she was rewarded an honorary mention.

In June 2009 Elvire was admitted to the preparatory year of the Prins Claus conservatory in Groningen. At the same time she also studied Arts, Culture and Media at the University of Groningen.

After one year, in June 2010, Elvire decided to focus her attention completely on her music studies. She was admitted to the conservatory and studied with pianist Bart van de Roer, Nata Tsvereli and Paul Komen.

Because she enjoyed working together with other musicians, Elvire became very active in the chamber music scene. Aside from giving many concerts in a variety of ensembles, she also became active as an accompanist in concerts and competitions.

In 2010 she accompanied national prize winner saxophone player Dineke Nauta in the Prinses Christina Competition. In 2013 Elvire accompanied oboe player Emma van de Galiën who won an honorary mention at the Prinses Christina Competition.

In March 2012 Elvire had the great pleasure of playing the famous Rhapsody in Blue concerto written by George Gershwin, together with the wind orchestra “Harmonie 67” conducted by Floris de Wever, in Groningen. A few weeks later Elvire also performed Beethoven Piano Concerto no. 3, with symphony orchestra “G.S.M.G Bragi” conducted by Pieter van der Wulp, in Groningen.

In 2013 she founded the trio “Pas de Trois” a trio consisting of saxophone, clarinet and piano. Because of their unusual formation, the trio often writes arrangements. They also commission composers to write new works for their ensemble. 

In January 2014 Elvire graduated from the Prins Claus Conservatory. 

Since January 2014 she teaches in Kunst & Coo (Art & Co), the music school in Oosterwolde, Friesland. Here she has the pleasure of transferring her passion for classical music to the next generation.

In the summer of 2014 she formed the DimitrovBoelee piano duo with the Bulgarian pianist Dimitar Dimitrov. They give over 60 performances every year throughout the Netherlands.

Together Dimitar and Elvire also did extensive research in the area of stage fright. They discovered a practicing method specifically designed to give musicians confidence on stage. They debuted their practice method in the “Atlas Theater” in Emmen, the Netherlands, in honor of the “North Netherlands Piano Day”. An article featuring their practice method was published in the “Piano Bulletin” of the EPTA (European Piano Teachers Association) in September 2019.

Elvire participated in masterclasses of several well-known pianists including: Igor Roma, Théodore Paraskivesco, Vladimir Tropp, Daniel Wayenberg and Maria Belooussova.