Canal City Flute Quartet is an Amsterdam-based professional flute quartet. Mirna Ackers, Ema Bajc, Rama Kumaran, and Alexandre Tkaboca met during their studies with Kersten McCall (Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orkest) at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. The four close friends bring diverse influences from their roots in America, India, France, Slovenia, Germany, and the Netherlands. The goal of CCFQ is to expand the flute ensemble repertoire and bring chamber music for flute ensembles closer to the audience. In addition to the traditional flute quartet repertoire, CCFQ writes programs for children, arrangements of well-known and lesser-known pieces, and original compositions. The members play alto and bass flutes, as well as traverso, Irish, and Indian flutes.
Meet our members
Ema Bajc
Slovenia
Ema fell in love with the sound of the flute when she heard it in an opera orchestra, accompanying her mother onstage. She studied in Ljubljana and Germany, debuting at age 13 with the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and has since performed with the Junge Norddeutsche Philharmonie and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (where she performed with Valery Gergiev). Since 2020, she is a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester (GMJO). Ema values education and her heart lies in creating and organizing concerts for children.
Rama Kumaran
United States
Rama is a storyteller and multi-instrumentalist from California. In 2015, he became the youngest winner of the National Flute Association’s prestigious Young Artist Competition, while completing his Bachelor’s at Vanderbilt University (B.Mus. ’19), concluding his studies with Molly Barth. Rama’s current work includes cross-disciplinary teaching, creative research, and a long-running collaboration with TV and film composer Herman Beeftink. Rama studies contemporary and early music, and his graduate research focuses on “genre” as a teachable idea.
For more info on Rama, visit http://www.ramaflute.com/
Mirna Ackers
The Netherlands
Mirna enjoys versatility and unites her passion for music, her love for arranging and her background as musicologist in her concerts. In 2019, with a scholarship of the Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds, she was able to join the International Summer Academy of the Vienna Conservatory (mdw), where she got to perform solo with the Webern Kammerphilharmonie. She gained orchestra experience as an academist with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and she played projects with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and with Camerata RCO, of which recently the CD Salon (Presque sans violin) was released.
For more info on Mirna, visit http://mirna-ackers.nl/
Alexandre Tkaboca
France
Alex started to play the flute at the age of 9, at Grasse conservatory. He studied in Amsterdam Conservatorium with Vincent Cortvrint and Kersten McCall, and also in Geneva’s High School of Music with Michel Bellavance. Alexandre has performed in orchestras as principal chair in the Bad Kissingen KurOrchester, Cannes PACA Symphonic Orchestra, Orchestre d’Harmonie of Geneva State, Akom Ensemble, and Opus Opéra; in chamber music with Calliopée Ensemble and Interduo; and soloist concerts. In 2019, Alexandre was selected as solo-flutist in Bad Kissingen KurOrchester, where he played several times. He is now living in Switzerland.
Sketches: Maarten Voorzanger