RENELIUS ENSEMBLE

The Renelius Ensemble is a Roma ensemble from Leuven, with both Slovak and South African roots. The musicians have backgrounds in classical music, jazz, and traditional Romanian and Hungarian folk music. They present a moving program that effortlessly shifts between captivating melodies and exhilarating dances.

The Renelius Ensemble is led by René Bikar, a virtuoso violinist and multi-instrumentalist, who frequently shares the stage with renowned artists such as Roby Lakatos, Tcha Limberger, and Géza Hosszu-Legocky. South African Christy Collett is a classically trained violinist with a passion for Roma music. Vojtech Hanko plays the piano, while brothers Mato and Zoltán Pokuta perform on guitar and double bass respectively.

The ensemble has performed at the opening of the New Horizons Festival in Leuven, the Amari Luma Festival in Ghent, and the Leuven Park Festivals in July 2024.