Ayaka Niwano and Adrien Michel met in the early 2010s while they were studying in the Paris area.
They quickly embarked on a fruitful and stimulating musical collaboration that led them to form the Caravage Trio in 2014, with flutist Simon Guillot, and later the Caravage Ensemble. They have performed together on numerous occasions in various ensembles ranging from a duo to a septet.
Ayaka Niwano began playing the piano at the age of 4. After receiving first prize (the Acanthus Prize) for her Bachelor’s degree in music at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, her interest in opera dramaturgy led her to pursue graduate research; she earned her Master’s degree in musical dramaturgy at Paris 8 University.
During her studies, she completed a short internship at the Atelier Lyrique of the Paris Opera; this led her to decide to pursue a career as an accompanist. Ayaka was selected for the “International Lied Masterclasses by Udo Reinemann” at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in 2012–2013, and this intensive year allowed her to deepen her interpretation of the lied and art song.
She is a graduate of the CNSMD in Lyon, where she earned her master’s degree in piano accompaniment with unanimous honors (Très Bien). She has won awards as a soloist and accompanist in several international competitions, both as a soloist and as an accompanist (2nd Prize at the Giorgio Cambissa International Competition, Duo Prize at the 8th International Competition for the Interpretation of French Art Songs in Toulouse, 7th International Lied and Art Song Competition in Gordes, etc.), her elegant stage presence and her interpretations—characterized by a well-structured tone and a remarkably strong yet supple sense of rhythm—are highly appreciated.
As a vocal coach and accompanist for several stage productions, Ayaka has a wide-ranging repertoire that includes opera and operetta, as well as mélodie and lied. She will soon serve as the official accompanist for the 3rd Opéra Jeunes Espoirs competition in Avignon in September 2017, and for the 10th International Lied and Mélodie Competition in Gordes in November 2017.
Adrien Michel is a curious and dedicated cellist. Adrien Michel studied at the Conservatoire d’Aix-en-Provence and later in the Paris region (Gennevilliers, Aubervilliers, Bobigny), where he studied under renowned teachers such as François Baduel, Emmanuelle Bertrand, Xavier Gagnepain, Florian Lauridon, and Raphaël Perraud.
A graduate of Pôle Supérieur 93 (DNSPM, DE), a founding member and co-artistic director of the Ensemble Caravage since 2014, he now diversifies his activities as much as possible between teaching, chamber music, orchestral work (Mannheimer Philharmoniker, Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra, World Youth Orchestra, Orchestre Ostinato…), and contemporary composition (IRCAM, C.
(Lacassagne, D. Borrello, L. Ginoux…) thus beginning his career with a focus on eclecticism.