About Me
Biography
Education
Jef Kolacny (born 2003) first sat down at the piano at the age of five. What started as a weekly hobby soon grew into a true passion when, at the age of sixteen, he began studying with Jan Vermeulen.
After five years under Vermeulen’s guidance, Jef continued his studies with Julien Libeer, his current teacher. He also regularly takes lessons with Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort and Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri. His teachers have been invaluable throughout his training, and Jef is deeply grateful to them.
©Cindy Van Briel
A passion for the piano
A highlight was winning the prestigious Cantabile Piano Competition in 2022, where he was also awarded for the best performance of the contemporary compulsory work. That same year, he became a finalist laureate of the Steinway Piano Competition Belgium in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall at Bozar.
In 2024, he became a finalist laureate of the international competition ‘Merci, Maestro!’ in Brussels. In addition, he won second prize at the Concours de piano Andrée Charlier in 2021 and third prize in 2020.
In 2023, Jef made his debut as a soloist with Franz Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto under the direction of Wouter Lenaerts. He also had the honour of performing Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with the Mahler Student Festival Orchestra under the baton of Lars Corijn.
©Erchen Theys Photography
A great love for chamber music
Alongside his solo career, Jef cherishes a great love for chamber music. In 2021, he founded the Tinel Ensemble together with five of his closest friends. Together, they give dozens of concerts each year in Belgium and the Netherlands, with a wide variety of programmes.
Jef also forms several regular duos, including with An-Sofie Perneel, Door Van Bergen and Liesl Vanoverberghe. With the latter, he was invited in 2025 to the ‘Iedereen Klassiek’ festival by Klara at the Concertgebouw Brugge.
This season, he joins the production Jukebox Klassiek with Clara Cleymans and Marcel Vanthilt. Thanks to this, he had the opportunity to perform together with the Taurus Quartet, Liesbeth Devos and Leen Van der Roost.
©Cindy Van Briel