PE Music Society - Tim Kliphuis (violin) and Charl du Plessis (piano)

Tim Kliphuis (born 30 September 1974 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is a Dutch violinist renowned for mixing gypsy jazz with classical and folk music.

Award-winning Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis has created a brand new style that embraces classical, gypsy jazz and folk. Hailed as a ‘current-day improvising Paganini’, his inclusive approach to music has united audiences and is influencing a new generation of string players.

After his master’s degree in classical violin at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, Kliphuis studied with the European Sinti gypsies. He recorded and toured with gypsy guitar legends Fapy Lafertin, The Rosenberg Trio and Angelo Debarre.

An invitation to the Richard Strauss Festival in Germany marked the start of the Tim Kliphuis Trio (Nigel Clark, guitar and Roy Percy, double bass) whose mission is a ‘total music’ without stylistic barriers. They performed for the Dutch King at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, curated the world fiddle night at Celtic Connections Glasgow, celebrated Stéphane Grappelli at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois-sur-Seine and shared the stage with Les Paul, Richard Galliano, Frankie Gavin, Martin Hayes and Daniel Hope. The Trio collaborated with the Netherlands and Tallinn Chamber Orchestras, The Hague and Cape Town Philharmonic and Sinfonietta Amsterdam and toured America, South Africa and Russia. 

Charl du Plessis most recently made headlines when he became the first pianist ever to perform on top of Table Mountain. He rose to fame when he was the youngest pianist in Africa to be named a Steinway Artist in 2010. He has since embarked on an international career working simultaneously as classical and jazz pianist and has illuminated the music of from Bach to Billie Joel for a new generation of listeners.

In 2017 Charl du Plessis became the first pianist ever to perform on top of Cape Town’s wonder of nature; Table Mountain and was invited to perform at the opening of Steinway Hall, Beijing.

Since making the decision to establish his own jazz trio 2006, Charl du Plessis has alerted audiences to the complexities and capabilities of combining jazz and classic music. The creative possibilities of this musical unit have offered him the means to produce a wide range of music not confined by any style or genre.

His specialisation in the arrangement and refined treatment of crossover music sets him apart from other pianists and has enabled him to build a new audience where the classic music connoisseur and jazz enthusiast meet. The confidence which is afforded by performing his own and thoroughly original arrangements, combined with his classical piano expertise allows him to combine the art of improvisation with insightful and interpretative musicianship.

Charl du Plessis has collaborated with many pre-eminent musicians and has performed with South Africa’s most prestigious orchestras: Johannesburg Philharmonic and Cape Town Philharmonic. International concert tours to Europe and the Far-East in concert halls ranging