Nihad Hrustanbegovic
Nihad Hrustanbegovic was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina and has been playing the accordion since he was nine years old. During his studies at the school of music in Tuzla he won three different competitions for classical and contemporary music (1988, 1990 and 1991). After coming to the Netherlands he studied at the Conservatory in Arnhem under Miny Dekkers and graduated in 1999. He became a post-graduate student with Gerrie Daanen at the Messiaen Academy. He also studied at the Erasmus-Socrates colleges in Essen, Berlin, Rotterdam and Helsinki and attended masterclasses from Friedrich Lips, Margit Kern and James Crab. In recent years Nihad has performed in as a soloist both in the Netherlands and abroad with classical, contemporary and Balkan music. He is also part of the "Balkan Express Ensemble", "Duo Sonore" and the "Accordion Duo".