The Hague String Trio was founded in 2006 by Justyna Briefjes, Julia Dinerstein, and Miriam Kirby. They met in The Hague after years of studying and working in various countries, including Russia, Mexico, Norway, England, Germany, and the Netherlands, and came together to share their love for chamber music. Since then, they have formed a close-knit ensemble.
The trio enjoys exploring the extensive string trio repertoire, from beloved masterpieces to lesser-known compositionswhich they believe deserve more recognition. They work closely with composers such as Robin Holloway, KerryWoodward, and Reza Nakisa, as well as fellow musicians, including oboist Pauline Oostenrijk and pianists Daniël Kramer and Ksenia Kouzmenko.
The Hague String Trio performs throughout the Netherlands and in countries such as England, Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic.
In 2019, the CD After the Darkness was released, featuring music by Jewish composers whose lives were destroyedduring the Second World War through persecution, murder, or exile. The recording received glowing reviews both in the Netherlands and abroad; 4-stars from the BBC music magazine, a Supersonic award from Pizzicato in Luxembourg, a 10 from the Dutch classical music magazine Luister, and a glowing review from Gramophone. Additionally, After theDarkness was nominated for the chamber music category of the 2020 International Classical Music Awards.
In 2021, their second CD, Celebrating Women! was released, a collection of previously unrecorded string trios by femalecomposers from the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. Again receiving many positive reviews, the album was awarded 5 stars by Pizzicato, and the reviewer from MusicWeb International writes: ‘professionals to their fingertips…the performances are excellent’. Both CDs were selected as CD of the week in the radio programme Passaggio on NPO Radio 4.
Since 2023, Visions of Goldberg has been on the programme: a collaboration with digital artist Lisette Huizenga in whichthe Goldberg Variations by Johann Sebastian Bach are presented to the audience in an innovative way by means of a stop-motion film projected as a moving backdrop on a large screen behind the trio during the concert.
Justyna & Miriam are both members of the Residentie Orkest The Hague and Julia is a sought after viola pedagogue in many conservatoires in The Netherlands.
Justyna Briefjes – violin
Justyna studied at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with Peter Brunt, Kees Hülsmann and Janet Krause. In addition to her music studies at the conservatoire she also studied History of Art for two years at the University of Amsterdam and graduated in 2004 from the Academy of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Justyna played as guest principal in various orchestras in the Netherlands such as the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Chamber Philharmonic and the Nieuw Ensemble and has been a member of the ResidentieOrkest, The Hague since 2004, initially as subprincipal and since 2021 as principal of the second violin group.
As well as performing in The Hague String Trio, Justyna enjoys performing chamber music in a wide range of different ensembles. She has taken part in masterclasses with Mauricio Fuks, Herman Krebbers and Alexander Kerr and plays on a violin made in 2019 by Andrew Finnigan and Pia Klaembt in Bremen, Germany.
Julia Dinerstein – viola
Julia Dinerstein studied violin first with Boris Dinerstein, then at the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with Elizabeth Gilels and Andrei Korsakov and subsequently viola at the Maastricht Conservatoire with Mikhail Kugel.
She is a keen chamber musician, and member of The Hague String Trio and the Zemtsov Viola Quartet. Julia has participated in numerous international music festivals both as soloist and chamber musician.
Julia teaches the viola at the Conservatorium Maastricht, Codarts Rotterdam and ArtEZ Conservatorium (Arnhem/Zwolle), and teaches both violin and viola at the Codarts Lyceum Rotterdam, Hellendaal Music Institute (Rotterdam) and Academy for Musical Talent (Utrecht).
She is a sought-after teacher at summer music festivals in Europe and has given masterclasses all over the world.
Many of Julia’s students have been prize winners in both national and international competitions. She won 2nd prize in the Beethoven International Viola Competition in Austria.
Miriam Kirby – cello
Miriam Kirby studied with Joan Dickson at the junior department of the Royal College of Music, with Melissa Phelps at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and privately with William Pleeth. She finished her studies with Johannes Goritzki at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf where she gained her Soloist’s Diploma.
In England Miriam worked with orchestras such as the English Chamber and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras and in Germany was co-principal cello of the Deutsche Kammerakademie.
In the Netherlands Miriam has played with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, toured with the Utrecht String Quartet and been a member of the Residentie Orkest, The Hague since 1998.
She plays a cello made by Bronek Cison in 1996 in Chicago.
